Last week, I mentioned the 1803 Louisiana Purchase which greatly expanded the territory of the United States.  The purchase was almost a gift from Napoleon who was afraid it was going to fall into the hands of the English.

Iowa was a part of that purchase. In 1834 when Iowa was made a part of the Territory of Michigan for governmental purposes, a young couple, William and Hepzibah Mathes-Manley were married.  They had already made plans to move from their old Kentucky home to start their new life in the new territory.  Before crossing the Mississippi from Illinois into Iowa, the couple met Pastor John Logan, and an invitation was extended to him to “come over and help us.”   Quickly the young couple got settled, and they found a few other believers in the area.  So there was a small congregation awaiting Brother Logan.  On this day in 1834, the first gospel message was preached in what was to become Iowa, and a day later the first Baptist church in Iowa was formed there.  The Articles of Faith of the new church had been carried by William and Hepzibah from their home church, the Brush Creek Baptist in Green County, Kentucky.  They were adopted and eleven people organized the Long Creek Baptist church.

We see in this that there was no preliminary “mission work” started before the church was formed.  There was no church building, no sufficient budget and not even a full time pastor.  But a church was founded, and from what I understand, it is in existence to this day.
– Source: “This Day in Baptist History III” by David Cummins