Faith and Obedience Leads to Fulfillment of Envisioned Expansion
Growth has been trending upward ever since the congregation moved into new quarters in March of 2024. Weekly attendance is 370, more than double the average when it moved from its previous location just north of downtown.
“Once people get saved, they know a lot of people to invite,” says Lead Pastor Craig R. Ruesch, 57, who came to the eastern Iowa church in 2021. “They’re so excited, sometimes they bring their entire family.
“Because we’re so visible in the fastest-growing area of town, we just draw people—a lot of them are unchurched. We pray and God brings them in.”
While visitors deciding to follow Christ is exciting, the church's journey to its current home is also a fascinating story – one of faith and obedience.
It goes back to 2004, when former pastor Mike Kelly suggested the church pay a million dollars for 17 acres of land near Interstate 80.
That was a move some considered radical. Known then as Bettendorf First, the church had been in the central part of town ever since the 1930s.
The original adherents met in a room at city hall until they learned of an opportunity to purchase a building in a residential neighborhood about a mile north of downtown.
Serving as a deacon when Kelly suggested the move, Steve A. Zarley remembers questioning the future transition from the familiar location to a seemingly more remote one. Like many, he asked, “Why do we need to do this?”
Today, Zarley adds: “I’m glad we did.”
Zarley, 74, calls Kelly a “visionary.” When the deacon asked the pastor why they should buy land with nothing on it but cornfields, Kelly replied, “It’s obvious: we’re going to need the space. We’re going to expand, and that’s where the new growth will occur.”
“I think the Lord led him,” Zarley says. “We were kind of buried off the beaten path at our old facility.”
Part of the Quad Cities—a metropolitan area of about 470,000 composed of cities along the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois—Bettendorf’s population of just over 40,000 has grown approximately 19 percent since 2004. And thanks to Kelly’s obedience, the church is positioned in a prime location amidst that growth.
The former pastor spearheaded the vision, too, hosting an annual picnic and worship service on the property, Zarley says.
“He wanted to keep us aware of why we’re doing this,” says the retired Army civilian contractor. “At that service, we would renew our pledges.
“After we paid off the land, many of us continued giving an equivalent amount so we could someday start to build.”
Before they did, though, setbacks occurred. Although Kelly left in 2011, son Patrick filled the pulpit after that.
But when the younger Kelly stepped down as the pandemic and lockdowns struck, attendance waned. By the time Ruesch arrived, it had dwindled to 110.
“They were really hurting as they endured the pandemic without a pastor for over a year,” says the graduate of Southeastern University, who had previously pastored in Wisconsin and Georgia.
“I think there are two amazing things about this move,” Ruesch says. “One, by faith the church bought the land for a million dollars and paid it off in 10 years. And two, they agreed to go mobile by selling the old building and meeting at a high school for a year while the new church was being built.”
“We almost lost the church; we were a bit stagnant,” Zarley says of that bleak period. “Then we had a search committee looking for a pastor and Craig came back as the most desirable candidate.”
When Ruesch arrived, the church got another staff member: wife Brooke, an elementary education graduate of Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is now worship pastor.
Though the pastor shared the vision for a new home, it wasn’t until Ruesch went to the property with a group from the church and prayed that he received divine direction.
As they prayed, Ruesch recalls the Lord impressing on him that the new building would produce as many souls as there were ears of corn on the land. He says that every stalk of corn was representative of a soul being saved.
Those souls aren’t just visitors to Hope Church. The missions-minded group has sent two people to the mission field since 2015 and supports 30 missionaries. Most of its $75,000 in annual giving goes to AG Missions.
Superintendent Jonathan Barthalow of the Iowa Ministry Network calls Hope’s move part of a “God-ordained vision” that led them to build in a strategic location.
The events in Bettendorf reflect a move of God that is affecting numerous communities across the state, Barthalow says. Among recent developments the superintendent named are salvations and baptisms taking place by the hundreds, and small-town churches reporting record attendance this year.
“God is doing big things in small towns, cities, and university campuses across Iowa,” Barthalow says. “It’s exciting to celebrate with people. As we look at the big picture, which includes what’s happening in Bettendorf, we rejoice.”
Zarley says what’s happening at Hope Church can be attributed to faithful prayer, which takes place throughout the week.
“That’s our focus,” says the longtime adherent. “As long as we’re faithful in prayer, we see people getting saved. I see souls getting saved as the most important thing we do.”
