Churches in Des Moines

Active churches in Des Moines

9001 Fleur Drive, Des Moines
lifenow.org
25 sermons · 6 days ago
1701 E. 33rd St., Des Moines
parkchurchdsm.com
7 sermons · 6 days ago
218 6th Ave, Suite 200
thegatewaychurch.com
7 sermons · 6 days ago
4200 E 25th St, Des Moines
gracehome.com
1 sermon
717 E 26TH ST, Des Moines
izbcusa.wixsite.com/izbcusa
1 sermon
112 County Line Rd, Des Moines
gracebaptistchurchdsm.org
1 sermon
3100 Easton Blvd, Des Moines
sunshineobc.com
1 sermon
901 19th Street, Des Moines
highpointdsm.church
1 sermon
1800 Grand Ave, Des Moines
dsmcc.org
1 sermon
3700 Cottage Grove Avenue, Des Moines
gracedesmoines.org
1 sermon
4530 E. 46th St., Des Moines
lifechangedsm.com
1 sermon
5720 Urbandale Avenue, Des Moines
standrewsdsm.org
1 sermon
1116 Army Post Road, Des Moines
fortdsm.org
1 sermon
1001 Pleasant Street, Des Moines
dmfirstchurch.org
1 sermon
3829 Grand Avenue, Des Moines
centralpresdsm.org
1 sermon
600 6th Ave., Des Moines
stjohnsdsm.org
1 sermon
831 42nd Street, Des Moines
tablechurchdsm.org
1 sermon
4114 Allison Ave, Des Moines
westpres.org
4 sermons
2330 62nd Street, Des Moines
westoverdsm.com
1 sermon
950 35th Street, Des Moines
desmoinesfellowship.org
1 sermon
607 High St, Des Moines
saintambrosecathedral.org
1 sermon
821 Arthur Avenue, Des Moines
unionpark.church
1 sermon
511 Des Moines St, Des Moines
chlcdesmoines.org
1 sermon
323 East Locust Street, Des Moines
wcdowntown.org
1 sermon
3000 SE 22nd Street, Des Moines
lwfdesmoines.com
3 sermons
814 School Street, Des Moines
corinthianbc.org
1 sermon
1639 Garfield Ave., Des Moines
philadelphia.adventistchurch.org
12 sermons
1701 25th Street West, Des Moines
simple.church
5 sermons
5990 NE 14th St, Des Moines
capitolcitychurch.com
3 sermons

Types of churches in Des Moines

Contemporary Des Moines Churches

Many congregations across downtown, Ingersoll Avenue, and the South Side offer modern worship music, practical teaching, and a casual, family-friendly vibe. They often meet in renovated spaces or flexible auditoriums and draw young professionals from the East Village and families from nearby neighborhoods.

Des Moines Churches for Students

Churches near Drake University and Grand View University focus on college-friendly service times, small groups, and rides from campus. You’ll find student outreach concentrated around the Drake neighborhood’s Dogtown corridor and along East 14th Street, with free meals, mentoring, and volunteer opportunities that fit semester rhythms.

Historic Liturgical Churches

In neighborhoods like Sherman Hill, River Bend, and Beaverdale, long-established congregations worship in brick and stone sanctuaries with stained glass, pipe organs, and choirs. These churches emphasize traditional liturgy and multi-generational stability, often hosting seasonal concerts and community service rooted in their historic campuses.

Multicultural and Spanish-Language Churches

Reflecting Des Moines’ growing diversity, many congregations on the East Side, along MLK Jr Parkway, and the South Side offer services in Spanish and other languages such as Karen or Swahili. They often provide ESL classes, immigration support, and vibrant cultural celebrations that connect immigrant families with long-time residents.

Sermon clips from Des Moines churches

35s
#PrayerFirst
“Looking back at Acts, when the church is thriving, what do we see the disciples do? They get together and they pray. When the church is being persecuted, what do we see the disciples do? They get together and they pray. When they are lost and looking for a direction, we find them praying. Right? When the mission is clear, there they are again, praying. Right? In season and out and everything we see the answer for them. The first and last thing they do is pray.”
57s
#GodsPlanMyTrust
“So here's our big truth this morning. The greater my confidence in God's plan, the less my need to take matters into my own hands. The greater my confidence in God's plan, the less my need to take matters into my own hands. I love to take matters into my own hands, don't you? Let's fix it. Let's just get this right, and let's get it over with. It's me saying, want to take my plans and make my things happen as in my life, and I don't wanna wait on God and his ways. But the more confident that I'm saying, is in control, everything that he brings into my life is for a purpose and for my good. Therefore, I can say, God's got this, and he's gonna take care of this. And the more that I see that, the more confidence I have in him, the more that I can trust his hand rather than my own plans.”
47s
#FreedomInChrist
“But I want you to understand that freedom from addiction, and and this is what I love is, Oscar kinda spoke on it. I think pastor Megan kinda spoke... Everybody's kinda blended into what God wanted me to share this morning. And the songs we sang is that freedom from addiction is just a byproduct of what Jesus Christ does in our life and what he does in our lives of our students. It's not it's not the purpose. It's not the reason why I want them in the program. It just happens because of who he is. It's an amazing byproduct. an awesome byproduct, but it's not it's not the it's not the reason. It's Jesus is doing what he's doing in the hearts because he wants to know... He wants his children to know him. That's his sole desire.”
52s
“Elijah had human frailty, but he called on the same God you call him. It can have the same outcome. It can have the same possibility and powerful prayer and powerful results. He was in right relationship with God. That's the key. He was in right relationship with God, and he prayed earnestly. So it's not in your power. It's the power of Christ within you. And so you have to trust and know that it is not about your past. It is not about where you feel you're at right now or how you perceive your situation. Situation. Are you in right relationship with God? Then you're qualified. That's it.”
34s
“Not for God to just be our personal, like, servant, like, here, God, you do this for me, and now you do this for me. No. It's to align ourselves under God's will. What do you want from me, God? What mission do you have for me? Who do you want me to share my faith with, God? Who do you want me to be kind to? Who do you want me to to love? Who do you want me to forgive? God, what is your will for my life? What do you want for me? I I know I have my own plans, God, but what are your plans? I'm gonna trust your plans because they're better than my own.”
49s
“Grace, saving grace, is free. Saving grace, it it gets us into the kingdom of God. But grace doesn't doesn't give you permission to sin. Grace gives you the ability to live a godly life. Ka ching ching. Listen, when it comes to the way that you're shaped, different doesn't mean defective. Different assignments require different tools, but it's all for one purpose, and that is to win people to Jesus and to teach and to train them as disciples.”
67s
“What we are seeing here is not, oh, oh, Jesus. What we are seeing here is the father glorifying the son, the son glorifying the father. I realize this is backwards from the way we're used to looking at it in the world. We want to see a savior riding in on a white horse and saving the day. And ironically, that will happen someday. But that's not what's going on here. If we are willing to look, if we look with earthly eyes, what do we see? We see a man who's standing there being, having been beaten twice, once by the whip, once by the fist, mocked, humiliated. But if we are willing to look for just a moment with spiritual eyes, we will see the glory of God.”
53s
“That's really what it looks like. God's saying, I don't want any of us to practice being a 50 footer. We can do that. Oh, yeah. I have my flaws. You know? Oh, I I struggle with unforgiveness or I have anger issues or, yeah, I dabble on porn a little bit. But it's like you you we okay it. And the big worry is, am I still going to heaven? That's not you know what the big worry is? Why why don't we let God completely and see us bone stock naked and say, okay, god, I wanna be closer to you. I want and to to encounter you in a way where I don't have these little divots and these little flaws. I I wanna be yours, but that comes at a cost.”
51s
“one reason why you and I shout right now, that's why I didn't mind when I heard my sister screaming today, is because we got another chance because somebody died in our place. When God moves you from a season of disobedience to a season of another chance, that's a good time right there to praise him. You ain't got the I don't need nobody else. When he covered you and you knew you were guilty, that's a good time to praise him. You you're alive right now when you should've been dead. You need to you you should've started acting up right there. When he kept you, when you act like you didn't wanna be kept, you should've acted up right there. Every now and then, when you wake up in the morning, I don't care if you even you've got your clothes on yet.”
53s
“Humility helps not only those around you, but your own soul. When we recognize what motivates us and what pushes our buttons, we can know ourselves. Hopefully, we have people that call us to task that we trust enough that we'll listen. It may hurt a little bit, but that's what the spirit of the living god's doing with that still small voice needling you. That's what guilt is. That's God going, hey, cool it. It'll be alright. I've got your best interest at heart. I'll help you through.”

Why Des Moines churches are unique

As Iowa’s capital, Des Moines blends an intimate downtown around the East Village and Drake with family-friendly suburbs like West Des Moines and Ankeny, giving worshipers both urban and neighborhood options. Churches in Des Moines mirror this landscape with flexible service times, contemporary and traditional styles, and weeknight gatherings that fit commuter life small group culture strong kids programs for young families. The city’s influx of new graduates and career starters also shapes ministries for early-career believers young adults and professionals.
Des Moines churches serve a notably diverse population, including long-time Midwestern families alongside growing Hispanic, African, and Asian communities and recent refugees. This diversity shows up in language options, music styles, and practical help like ESL, food assistance, and immigration guidance multilingual or bilingual services cross-cultural worship gatherings refugee and immigrant support ministries. The result is a welcoming, globally aware expression of faith rooted in local needs.
Set along the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers and anchored by institutions like Drake University and Grand View, the city fosters civic-minded, volunteer-driven congregations. Churches in Des Moines often coordinate seasonal service projects and collaborate across neighborhoods from Beaverdale to the South Side, extending their reach through shared networks and satellite sites community service and local outreach college student ministries multi-site campuses across the metro.

Recent sermons from Des Moines churches

Nearby cities: 13 churches in West Des Moines 20 churches in Ames 23 churches in Cedar Rapids 12 churches in Omaha 5 churches in Bellevue Precinct