Churches in Des Moines

Active churches in Des Moines

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

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.”
47s
“A quick little exhortation for our church this morning, nice, warm, fuzzy one. Sin will destroy your life. Sin is chaotic, and sin will bring bring destruction upon your mind, heart, and soul. Take it to the bank all the time. Some of you think you're getting away with your sin. Some of you think your sin is not that big of a deal. And I'm just telling you, Daniel is a great example that sin always comes for the sinner. If you reap, you will, or if you sow, you will reap. And that is the reality. So, confess your sin this morning, living waters, and run to Jesus. Amen?”
51s
“If recall if you recall in the gospel a few weeks ago, Jesus invited Peter to walk across the water to him and Peter realized that on his own he couldn't do it. It was only because of the presence of the Lord. That had changed Peter. He now knew Jesus in a whole new way, not like the other disciples but he knew from his own experience that Jesus was there to save him. When we wonder about the strength of our faith, we need not be terribly anxious. Peter and the other disciples failed Jesus so many times over and over again in the scriptures. And you know what? Jesus always took them back. He might have been disappointed at times but he never gave up on them.”
83s
“That's quite true, Paul. Any man hung on a tree is cursed. But he realized that Jesus was hung on a tree and became a curse to take away the curse that was upon our lives. He took everything that was destined for us. He stepped in and took it upon himself. Guilt, shame, hurt, pain, all of that he took upon himself, and it changed the plan of Paul. In fact, he was known as Saul and changed his name to Paul. He took on his Roman name because Paul now wanted to share the truth about who Jesus He wanted to share. He wanted the world to know about this curse breaker, this one who have come to take away the sins of the world. Therefore, we don't have to walk around feeling shame and hurt.”

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 11 churches in Omaha 5 churches in Bellevue Precinct