Heartland Church is a Christ-centered community called to provide opportunities for creative and inclusive worship, spiritual growth, and service.

If you are looking for a place of worship and a faith community in the Des Moines area, we invite you to come and be a part of Heartland Church, where creativity and inclusivity are our means of glorifying God and doing so joyfully!

Meet Some Servants in Ministry at Heartland:

Mark Davis is our Pastor.  Mark has a Ph.D. in Theology, Ethics, and Culture from the University of Iowa and a D. Min. from Union Presbyterian Theological Seminary in VA.  Mark is the author of Talking About Evangelism, published by The Pilgrim Press in 2007.  He also plays the saxophone on occasion and likes to lift people's spirits by ensuring that they are not the worst golfer on the course at any given time.  Mark can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Barb Nish is our Parish Associate for Worship Planning.  Barb has an M. Div. from McCormick Seminary in Chicago, bringing together gifts of ministry and music in very unique ways.  An accomplished organist, pianist, and singer, Barb oversees the music for our worship services, including arranging and writing original music.  Barb can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Martie Larsen is our Parish Associate for Youth, Adult Education, and Small Groups.  Martie is a Commissioned Lay Pastor, having worked in college and youth ministry for many years in central Iowa.  Martie works directly with the children and youth at Heartland, as well as overseeing our Small Group ministry and Adult Education opportunities.  Martie can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Scott Valentine is our Youth Minister, and our Grand Poobah of all things mechanical.  A Commissioned Lay Pastor, Scott has been working with our youth since 2002 and continues to draw energy from them even as he offers it to them.  Scott is also one of our leaders in our ongoing sister-parish relationship with El Tablon, El Salvador.  Scott can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Jill Tallman is our Administrative Assistant, who is ultimately responsible for our record-keeping and office functions.  Jill's office hours are generally from 9:00am - 1:00pm on week days.  Jill can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Kathy Mahler is our Mission Delegate in El Salvador.  Working on behalf of the Des Moines Presbytery and working with the Equipo Pastoral (Pastoral Team) in Berlin, Kathy organizes and leads delegations of US church groups as they build sister-parish relationships with various cantons surrounding Berlin.  Kathy blogs about her work at http://www.oursisterparish.org/ Kathy can be reached at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

On Easter of 2006, Heartland distributed a 10 Year Ministry Vision that was the result of many conversations, lots of prayer, and dedicated listening to where God is leading us in our path as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Built along 5 gathering categories, here are is the vision that continues to guide us, even while it is always being reformed.

We see our journey continuing with emphases on Worship worship.pdf ; Service service.pdf ; Community community.pdf ; Education education.pdf ; and Outreach outreach.pdf.  We'd love to hear your reactions at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it