About
History
Altoona Regular Baptist Church began when four families from Runnells, IA were burdened for the neighboring city of Altoona, IA. Through their prayers, a Bible study began to meet weekly in the Altoona Legion Hall. On Easter Sunday, 1961, fifty-two people gathered for the first services of what would become Altoona Regular Baptist Church. By November of that same year, a charter membership began, and in 1962, the church’s constitution was finalized. Altoona Regular Baptist Church was officially organized as a church. We never want to lose the burden of those first four families from Runnells, IA.
God has continued to bless Altoona Regular Baptist Church as we have grown from a burden to a Bible study to a thriving church. Our church still values biblical teaching, timeless worship, committed relationships, and community engagement.
Mission
Glorifying God by Making Disciples for Advancing the Gospel
Glorifying God. We exist to see, savor, and show the glory of our great and good God. While there are many needs we can serve, our only enduring purpose is the glory of God. Our passion is to spread the fame of God’s reputation in everything we say and do.
Making Disciples. We bring glory to God by creating followers of Jesus Christ through his gospel. Jesus lived, died, and rose to rescue all who trust in him. Our goal is to help people come to know God and grow in maturity so that they care for one another and sow the message of the gospel to create more disciples!
Advancing the Gospel. Our vision is to see the gospel flourish in our community and around the world. We desire to see more churches planted to reach the unreached right here in the Des Moines metro and surrounding communities.
We praise God for what he has done both in us and through us, and we look forward to many more years of faithful ministry in our community.
We are associated with the Iowa Association of Regular Baptist Churches (IARBC) and the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC).
Doctrine
-
We believe that the gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ lived perfectly died in the place of sinners, and rose from the dead so that all who trust in him might be forgiven and born again. We are fundamental in our position, which means we hold to the truths that undergird the gospel, such as the virgin conception of Jesus Christ.
-
We believe the Word of God is central to our doctrine. In its original form, God superintended men to write his words accurately, faithfully, and sufficiently. He preserves his Word for us today, which is the supreme authority for all matters in our lives. We are dispensational in our position, which means that the Bible should be consistently interpreted with a literal understanding with the result of an Israel-church distinction.
-
We believe that there is only one living and true God, glorious and worthy of our praise. God is triune, three distinct persons, yet united in one essence: Father, Son, and Spirit. He is the sovereign, eternal, and holy Creator of all things.
-
We believe that God made directly mankind in his image as male and female, but all of mankind was plunged into sin and death through the rebellion of the first man, Adam. Everyone is born a sinner and is under the just condemnation of God.
-
We believe that God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die as a substitution in the place of sinners to fully cover sin. He rose from the dead after three days and now is in heaven, where he intercedes for believers. All salvation is on the basis of God’s grace and is obtained through faith in Jesus Christ for God’s glory.
-
We believe that the local church is a covenanted body of immersed believers for the fellowship of the gospel. We are pastor-led, deacon-served, and congregationally-governed, all under the authority of Jesus Christ our head. We are Baptist in our position, which among many things, namely means that we require our members to be born-again, immersed, obedient believers.
-
We believe that all men are appointed to die and will spend eternity in eternal life with him or in eternal, literal punishment. We are pre-tribulational, which means Jesus will return to rescue his church from the coming tribulation. We are pre-millennial, which means that Jesus will return to reign for a thousand years on the earth. After this, the new creation will come where we will live with God forever without sin or death.
Leadership
Senior Pastor
Josh Robinson
Josh is a midwest transplant who, though born and raised in South Carolina, has grown to love Iowa. He has undergrad degrees from both Bob Jones University and Faith Baptist Bible College, and he is currently working on his M.A. through BJU Seminary. Josh is married to Krista, and they have four children: Clinton, Judah, Avery, and Theodore. In his free time Josh enjoys watching sports, playing with his children, reading a good book, or watching a movie. Josh’s passion is equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry (Eph 4:12).
Associate Pastor
Joe Turman
Joe is originally from Minnesota, where he previously worked in IT before God led him toward pastoral ministry. He completed his B.A. and M.Div at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, where he also served as Dean of Men. Joe enjoys reading, drinking coffee, running, and especially spending time with his wife, Lydia, and their son, Josiah. Joe is passionate about helping others know and grow in Christ (Col 1:28).