After seeing steady growth in the annual Christmas Day dinners served at southeast Iowa’s Washington First, last December church secretary Diana L. Hartmann directed the preparation of enough food for 500 people.

That was five times the number served at the first dinner they hosted in 2018. But in 2023, volunteers’ eyes widened as the crowd grew until they had dished out nearly 600 sit-down and take-out meals — something Hartmann believes was a miracle.

“We were blown away,” says Hartmann, 71. “We said, ‘Wow, where did that extra food come from?’”

This real-life parallel to Jesus feeding the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21) is only one of the developments there the past decade. The church had dwindled to about 15 people when W. David Watson arrived as pastor in 2014.

Today, Washington First averages 60 in Sunday attendance. More importantly, it has developed a reputation as a community-minded congregation that reaches out to neighbors.

This past summer, with food furnished by a regional Convoy of Hope office, members delivered 1,000 bags of groceries to various low-income apartments.

The church has had a long-standing alliance with the humanitarian aid organization. Soon after Watson arrived, he enlisted Convoy to team up with Tom’s Shoes to provide free shoes to all children in kindergarten through second grade.

“A lot of kids are on free and reduced lunches here,” Watson says. “That was one of the first inroads into the community we had.”

Washington First made others over time. It started serving Christmas Day dinners after the church that started them 25 years earlier wasn’t able to continue.

In addition, it began sponsoring community Easter egg hunts and other seasonal festivals featuring games, children’s activities, and gospel-based presentations; the next is a Harvest Carnival on Oct. 26.

Four times a year the church partners with the Optimist Club to take their turn serving a free Saturday lunch at a neighboring church to about 100 people.

Watson also visits two nursing homes regularly to sing and deliver sermons to residents. Several members go with him for outreach.

Watson had been a fulltime youth and then associate pastor at two other AG churches. But when he arrived in the town of 7,200, he had to add elementary school music teacher to his duties.

However, the additional time demands weren’t the biggest challenge he faced. That one came from trying to persuade remaining members they needed to reach beyond the church building.

“They were very much in a self-preservation mode,” says Watson, 49. “I’ve watched God shift that to a Great Commission mentality of winning the lost and making a difference in the world around us. It’s still a work in progress but I’ve watched Him turn that to where the church is actually making a difference.”

Iowa Ministry Network superintendent Jonathan R. Barthalow saw that with his own eyes during a speaking engagement at the church late this summer.

In addition to two people responding to Barthalow’s altar call, the congregation celebrated 16 members completing a nine-week discipleship course.

“They’re a hungry group of people,” says Barthalow, 43, who took office in July. “It was great to be with them and see their love in action and their heart for outreach. Even with limited resources they’ve been faithful and the Lord has blessed them to be fruitful in their community.”

“That fruit has included conversions and what the church refers to as “Holy Spirit baptisms.” (The church is an Assemblies of God church, which believes the Holy Spirit brings a person to conversion, but a second work of the Spirit is necessary to be filled with the Spirit.) Watson estimates performing 10 to 12 baptisms annually and seeing a similar number of Spirit fillings. Not all the converts have joined the church; Watson regularly fields calls from non-members wanting to be baptized.

“Recently I was contacted by a man who said, ‘My son wants to be baptized and I haven’t been; will you do that?’” Watson says. “A terminally-ill man contacted us last year and said, ‘I have accepted Christ and I want to be baptized before I die. Would you be willing to baptize me?’

“I love the fact that our church has a lot of first-generation Pentecostals. People come and know there’s something more. We talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and they want that.”

Secretary Hartmann, who is also the church’s bookkeeper and a Bible study leader, is a Washington native who moved to Cedar Rapids before returning to her hometown in 2008. She says Watson helped her get outside the walls of the church in order to spark conversations that led to chances to share her faith.

“Pastor Dave has a heart for people and families, especially kids,” she says. “He’s a pastor and a friend; you can call him any time and he’s right there for you. Through his example he has demonstrated how faith can be lived out in practical, every-day ways, inspiring others to follow suit and make a positive difference. This fosters a spirit of outreach and connection.”

Watson says the reason any church is placed in a neighborhood is to make a difference, whether the congregation has 30, 60 or 1,000 members.

“If we’re not meeting needs in the community, our message is hollow,” the pastor says. “Do we recognize what people need in Washington? They need the message of Christ and a message of hope in a world that seems hopeless right now.”

This article was originally published by AG News.

Kenneth C. Walker is a freelance writer, co-author, and book editor from Huntington, West Virginia. He has more than 4,500 article bylines and has written, edited, or contributed to more than 90 books.