OUR TEAM

Dave Beroth -- Lead Pastor
Graduating from Northwest University, Dave entered full-time, vocational ministry, serving as a youth pastor in the state of Washington for more than a decade and then senior pastor in Montana for 10 years before landing in Iowa. Dave has four passions: strengthening his relationship with Christ, spending time with his family, golf and extreme body workouts (FXB). Dave enjoys dates with his wife, Elli, and loving on his grandchildren, Lukis, Karli and Dylan. If he had to pick a foursome for a golf game, he would pick Fred Couples and his twin sons, Levi and Matt. But once Lukis is old enough to play, Fred Couples will have to retire.

When you stop by the church, you might catch Dave brewing a good cup of coffee or teaching someone new golf techniques to improve his or her game. Moreover, his calling is coaching people to overcome their obstacles and to discover God's truth for their lives, teaching life principles from God's Word and leading a team of people to accomplish His will.

Dave likes long walks at sunset with his wife Elli, golfing 36 holes in a day and the mountains in Montana. He dislikes long, cold winters.

Check out the books Pastor Dave has written.

Fun facts to know:

Born in: Tacoma, WA

Favorite Food/Drink: Mexican and Chinese, Coffee, Water with lemon

Favorite Music: Jazz and the Oldies

Favorite Books: The Great Divorce (C.S. Lewis), Knowing God (J.I. Packer), The Pursuit of God (A. W. Tozer), Spiritual Leadership (J. Oswald Sanders), Courageous Leadership (Bill Hybels), all leadership books by John Maxwell, Inside Out and The Pressure's Off: There's a New Way to Live (Lawrence J. Crabb), Changes That Heal and Integrity (Henry Cloud). The rest are too long to list.

Favorite Movies/TV Shows: The Greatest Game Ever Played, Remember the Titans, Braveheart, Big Break

Claim to Fame: He shot two Hole-in-Ones on the same golf course in Hamilton, MT: Holes #2 and #15

Extras: He enjoys assembling golf clubs.

Blog: www.desmoinesfirstblogs.org/leadpastor

Steve Beeman -- Spiritual Formations
Obtaining his wealth of knowledge, Steve graduated from Hillis Elementary (best in the west), Meredith Junior High, Hoover High School (Go Huskies), North Central University and Moody Graduate School. Steve married his wife Shawna, after meeting on staff several years before. Steve's passions include learning, serving, ministering to the Asian population of Des Moines, cooking and eating. You are in for a treat when Steve makes lunch!

Steve likes people, nature, astronomy and eating, especially desserts and breakfasts. He dislikes poor service in a restaurant and dubbed movies.

Fun facts to know:

Born in: Des Moines, IA

Favorite Books: The Bible (of course!), John Piper's books, Erwin McManus's books and the classics found on www.ccel.org.

Favorite Music: Country, Worship, Rock, Khmer, Latin, Japanese, Jazz, Classics, Oldies -- all found on his iTunes.

Favorite Movies/TV: Only ones with good endings.

Favorite Drink/Food: Water (is there anything else better than water?), Food. He still has yet to find a food he does not like.

Claim to fame: Nothing to claim.
Blog: www.desmoinesfirstblogs.org/pathways

Jason Moore -- Worship & Creative Arts
Jason and his wife, Stacie, graduated from Azusa Pacific University in Southern California. They have four children -- Caleb, Chaim, Caden and Keira. Jason has pastored since 1995 in Georgia, South Carolina and California. He loves to see people taking risks and being creative while building the Kingdom.

Jason likes days at home with the family with nothing to do. He does not like cheese.

Fun facts to know:

Born in: Springfield, MO

Favorite Books: Lord of the Rings, Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy, Judges

Favorite Movies/TV Shows: The Princess Bride, the Die Hard series, Dead Poet's Society
Favorite Music: Wynton Marsalis, Liszt, Chopin, country, U2, Lincoln Brewster, Christ for the Nations -- it depends on his mood. The best, though, is when he is in the room when the people of God are worshiping.

Favorite Drinks/Food: Spaghetti, a good salad (no cheese), some warm Italian bread, caffeine-free Diet Coke and banana pudding or oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Claim to Fame: Convincing Stacie to go out with him.

Jeff Ostrander -- Chief Operations Officer
Jeff is a graduate of Norwalk High School (home of the Warriors) and Grand View University (home of the Vikings). He and his wife, Peggy have a daughter, Grace.

You might find Jeff at a Farrell's eXtreme Body Shaping class, kickboxing, golfing or riding his motorcycle (Harley Davidson). His favorite thing of all is spending time with Peggy and Grace.

Fun facts to know:

Born in: Springfield, MO

Favorite Books: Books by Oswald Chambers, If You Want to Walk on Water You Have to Get Out of the Boat, What's So Amazing About Grace, Experiencing God

Favorite Movies/TV Shows: Can we see movies now? Fireproof, Facing the Giants, Flywheel
Favorite Music: Mercy Me, Third Day, Casting Crowns, Jeremy Camp, David Crowder Band

Favorite Drinks/Food: Water, Mexican or Italian food, anything prepared on the grill.

Claim to Fame: Convincing Peggy to marry him and getting to be Grace's daddy.

Blog: www.desmoinesfirstblogs.org/finances

Jason Pool -- Student Ministries
Jason is a graduate of New Sharon, IA -- North Mahaska Schools (Go fightin' Warhawks) and North Central University, with a major in Youth Ministry. His absolutely favorite things to do include spending time with his family, train for the next race, take a Sunday afternoon nap and help students and families grow in their relationships with each other and with Jesus.

He enjoys reading a good book, viewing a good movie, pickin' and grinnin' on his guitar, hearing his guitar amplified at high decibels, seeing and smelling freshly cut and manicured lawns and experiencing the feeling after a workout. He does not like green eggs and ham.

Fun facts to know:

Born in: Oskaloosa, IA

Favorite Books: The Life You've Always Wanted, Reaching the Heart of Your Teen, The Hobbit, Chronicles of Narnia, The Complete Farside

Favorite Movies/TV Shows: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight (Bruce Wayne is an ordinary man with extraordinary abilities), Law & Order, House and Iron Chef (when folding laundry with his wife)

Favorite Music: If he was stranded on a desert island, his iPod would contain Lincoln Brewster's All to You, U2 (complete set), A Charlie Brown Christmas and Eric Johnson's Ah Via Musicom

Favorite Drinks/Food: On those special occasions, Pepsi with grenadine (quite tasty), Gatorade or plain water with lemon (beverage of choice). He loves a good sandwich with all the trimmings and what could be described as the best kept secret in town, a grilled steak in the backyard with his wife's tasty Mediterranean spice rub.

Claim to Fame: Christian recording artist Sara Groves played keyboard in his youth ministry in Minnesota.

Blog: www.desmoinesfirstblogs.org/students

Greg Youmans -- Community Care & Outreach
Greg started out in the business world with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota before entering the ministry and becoming credentialed with the Assemblies of God through Berean University. Our Community Care ministry includes Food Pantry, Margret Cramer Medical Clinic, Prayer, Singles, Single parenting, Visitation, Royal Ambassadors, and Community Outreach. He also teaches in the Guest Connection class on Sunday mornings.

Along with his wife Laurie, he likes spending time with their three children and their families: Dan, Natalie and Andrea and their spouses, Sara, Tim and Ryan, and five grandchildren. His other passions are seeing people experience deep fellowship with the Holy Spirit, personal worship, riding his Harley, playing piano and running.

I can do without heat, humidity, broccoli and sitting still.

Fun facts to know:
Born in: Anchorage, AK
Favorite Books / Books Currently Reading: Divine Conspiracy (Dallas Willard); Can Man Live Without God? (Ravi Zacharias); The Reason for God (Tim Keller); Deep Church (Jim Belcher); A. Lincoln, (Ronald C. White, Jr.); The God I Don’t Understand (Chris Wright)
Favorite Music: Johnny Lang, Bruce Katz, Jadon Lavik, Eric Clapton, Norah Jones, Future of Forestry, Needtobreathe, Phillip Phillips, Rend Collective Experience, Bethel Music (Loft Sessions)
Favorite Movies/TV Shows: Lincoln, Cinderella Man, Elementary
Favorite Drink/Food: Espresso, Smoothies, Eggs (with mushrooms/cheese/spinach/red pepper/chipotle peppers), Dark chocolate, Ice cream
Claim to Fame: I have two -- making the cut to marry Laurie (yes!) and owning a '69 Toyota Corolla Sprinter as my first car (I use the term "car" loosely to describe a four-wheeled motorized vehicle -- the name Sprinter was someone's delusion).