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Jordan Creek was established as a new United Methodist church in the
summer of 1995. The church initially met in a gym at Jordan Creek
Elementary School and rented office space. In June of 1995 Mike
Orthel was appointed the first pastor of Jordan Creek Church. In the
fall of 1995, nearly 25,000 telephone calls were made to surrounding
neighborhoods to let people know about Jordan Creek. In October a
core group of 48 people met to help plan for Jordan Creek's first
worship service. The first worship service was held on December 17,
1995 with 63 people in attendance.
In January of 1997, a formal chartering service was held, and 43
members were received into the United Methodist Church.
In June of 1997, Gary Hoyt was appointed pastor of Jordan Creek.
Gary led the church in the development of programs to help the
church reach out to the community.
In October of 1997, the members of Jordan Creek presented ideas
for a church building to leaders of the United Methodist Church, and
the United Methodist church responded in January of 1998 with the
offer of a $100,000 forgivable loan.
A miracle occurred at the end of January, 1998 when a gift of land
was given to Jordan Creek with the intention of selling the land to
help the church building campaign. The sale of this land resulted in
an additional $100,000 for Jordan Creek's ministries.
In February 1998 the members of Jordan Creek began a long-term
stewardship campaign to realize the dream of a church building.
In April of 1998, the United Methodist Church again offered
assistance to Jordan Creek with the successful campaign of 13 area
churches to raise $25,000 per year for three years for Jordan
Creek's ministry.
In July of 1998 the United Methodist Church approved the building
location and plans, as well as the opening of a faith-based
childcare in conjunction with Jordan Creek church. Then, in October
of 1998 the United Methodist church issued a "Builders Call" to
other United Methodist churches who could help Jordan Creek in
prayer and financial support.
In November of 1998 Jordan Creek purchased 10 acres of land at
68th Street and EP True Parkway in West Des Moines. At the time of
purchase, this land was on the very edge of thriving West Des
Moines, almost entirely surrounded by farm fields.
Almost one year later, in August of 1999, a ground breaking
celebration was held for an 11,400 square foot Family Life Center
facility featuring multipurpose worship and recreation space,
classrooms, and offices.
The building was nearing completion by the end of January, 2000,
and the first worship service was held in the new building on
February 6, 2000. The following Monday, the Jordan Creek Kid's
Connection child care center was opened.
The members held an open house on March 26, with a grand opening
celebration.
In June of 2001 Jordan Creek's leadership began a campaign to
focus on building and strengthening the spiritual house, similar to
the campaign to build the physical house. This included new programs
based on spiritual gifts in the areas of prayer, mission, outreach,
leadership and staff development, visioning, and church development.
In January of 2003, a refined leadership model was introduced
that was designed to equip the various ministry teams to be even
more successful in developing and nurturing new ministries.
By 2004 Jordan Creek had grown to the point that additional
classroom and meeting space was needed. The surrounding community
had also grown too, and Jordan Creek was no longer surrounded by
farmland. New housing developments had sprung up around Jordan
Creek, as well as the announcement of Iowa's largest mall to be
built right across the street from Jordan Creek Church.
Because of Jordan Creek's (and the community's) growth, the
decision was made in 2004 to close the Jordan Creek Kid's Connection
childcare facility, and use the space and resources that were gained
in Jordan Creek's other ministries.
In the summer of 2004, additional staff were added in the areas
of worship, children's ministries, and youth ministries.
2005 was an exciting year for Jordan Creek with the debut of the
first-annual reenactment of the Passion Story during the Lent/Easter
season. The church also held its first FunFest as an outreach
project with games, food, and family activities for the surrounding
community.
Phil Dicks joined Jordan Creek church in the spring of 2006,
followed by Alice Burress as our ministry assistant in the fall of
2006.
Lynn and Lisa Sargent joined us as worship leaders in the spring
of 2007.
2007 promises to be another exciting year for Jordan Creek as our
community of faith continues to grow, reach out to the community,
and seek God's purpose.
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