History

Foundations

Testify Church of Christ was legally incorporated on March 24, 2009 by Roger and Shawna Huston.  However, its mission and vision for ministries came several years before when Roger and Shawna realized that there needed to be a congregation in Iowa that focused on the bible and its blueprint for worship and ministry.  Even though the Restoration Movement has congregations that try to addess this need, all of them in Iowa either differed on worship and minsitries or roles for women in the church and home.  Much of today's current  Restoration Movement congregations are stipulated by tradition or heritage.  So by the time of its first service on April 5, 2009, Testify Church of Christ existed as the only acappella Church of Christ in Iowa with equal women’s roles. 

In addition to their desire to help restore Christians to the New Testament vision for worship, Roger and Shawna knew that many congregations in America had lost their tendency to embrace what Roger refers to as the “radicality of the gospel;” which is a congregation that embeds itself within the commandments and teachings of Jesus.  From these commandments and teachings one thing was evidently clear—a love of neighbor that surpasses superficial mores and embraces ministries to the marginalized.  So they created a congregation that tries to continually reform itself back to the earliest Christian beliefs and practices.  With these principles in mind, Testify Church of Christ also wholly subscribed to the Stone-Campbell Movement or Restoration Movement’s idea of being “Christians only” as a way to combat denominationalism and congregational schisms. 

“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female;

for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

- Galatians 3:28  

Recently

While Testify began its services at the Marriott Towne Place Suites in Johnston, it has since moved to the Courtyard Marriott in West Des Moines.  The new location is still near the interstate but is also closer to city amenities and households which has proved helpful for its growth over the past few months.