Beginning on January 1, 1965 approximately thirty core families met in the home of the Reverend Don Manwarren and his wife Elaine  for Christian fellowship and to plan a new  faith community for the Des Moines area, focusing on the growing area of Urbandale.

On Pentecost Sunday, June 6, 1965, Covenant Christian Church was formally chartered. The congregation met at the ice arena for the next two years, gathering for weekly worship in the Peppermint Lounge amidst earthy smells of beer and recreation.

 

On April 16, 1967, the congregation participated in a groundbreaking ceremony and construction began on at the current location. The first service in the building was held March 24, 1968. It began with a procession from the Ice Arena.

In 2005, in celebrations of Covenant’s 40th anniversary, the congregation began worship at the Ice Arena and processed up the hill to the current sanctuary for a communion service.

In 2015 we celebrated our 50th anniversary with a special visit from our founding pastor, Don Manworren.  In a weekend of celebration, he and other pastors from our past called us to remember who we are.

To this day, we continue to search for ways to be God’s earthy people in the world, believing that the world needs more “salty Christians.”