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WHAT WE BELIEVE
Following God's Word
A New Testament Church Since 1875
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That the Bible is God’s Inspired Word and the authority of the Bible is the only guide to personal and public faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:16)
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That Jesus is God’s Son (John 3:16)
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That Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-34)
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That all have sinned (Romans 3:23)
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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord
(Romans 6:23)
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That Jesus is the only source of our salvation (John 14:1-6)
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That Jesus will come to claim the saved (John 14:1-6)
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That when we accept Christ as our Redeemer and are obedient to Him, we receive the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)
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That Jesus gave us the ordinance of The Lord’s Table (Communion) (1 Corinthians 11:26) According to the custom of the early church, we celebrate communion each first day of
the week.
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That where God’s word, the Bible, speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent.
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That faith in Christ, repentance from sin, confession of Christ as Lord, and water baptism as an outward expression of inner change are our guiding principles.
OUR LEADERSHIP AND STAFF
Meet the Spiritual Team
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Elders
Here, we will insert a blurb about our elders and their role in the church. We can also mention the process for selecting elders, if we want. Ultimately, this sections is up to you.
Pastoral Team
Gale & Denise Juhl
Gale and Denise were high school sweethearts and have now been married for over 45 years. They have four married children and nine grandchildren. In their lives, marriage and through their family they have sought to serve Christ through a variety of vocations and service.
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Gale and Denise have come to ministry through non-traditional paths. Gale got his undergraduate degree in education at Drake and taught at Bondurant High School after graduation. Gale returned to Drake to get his Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Drake Law School and practiced law for 30 years. Gale has also taught Business Law at Drake University and Risk Management Classes at Grand View University. During his time as a practicing attorney Gale served as Elder at his local church. As an Elder his Pastor approached Gale about working with churches in Iowa that had no Pastor. At that time Gale took up a bi-vocational role (tentmaker) working as an attorney, Pastor and farmer. During this time Gale received a Master of Theology from Lincoln Christian Seminary. Gale and Denise have previously pastored churches in Osceola, Runnells, Waterloo, Carroll and Pleasantville. Gale also served as interim and pulpit supply Preacher for several churches between Pastors. Gale and Denise came to Early Chapel Christian Church in 2021 and have been blessed to be a part of what the Kingdom is doing in and through this local congregation.
Gale and Denise have been blessed by serving in missions both foreign and domestic. They have served and journeyed to the Dominican Republic and Zimbabwe. Gale has also done a teaching mission to Pastors in Galilee, Israel. Domestically, they have served with International Disaster Emergency Services helping with recovery from floods, tornados and hurricanes in the United States. They have also served in a variety of inner-city missions with Good Samaritan, Freedom for Youth, and Hope Ministries. Gale taught Bible and Theology for junior and senior high students for two years at Joshua Christian Academy, which is an urban school in Des Moines. Denise has also served on the Board and worked within Jericho Ministries. Gale has also worked with two university campus ministries and served on their board of directors.
Gale and Denise are committed to training up the next generation of servant leaders in the church. They have led a Teen Discipleship Group (Dgroup) for over 25 years in their home and in the churches they have served.
Denise adores her large family and thoroughly enjoys having them all together, feeding them and planning games, activities and outings. She has enjoyed serving the Lord in her vocational pursuits including, assisting and teaching homeless young adults with job skills and pointing them to Christ as Lord and Savior. She has enjoyed helping at risk populations with training and employment opportunities, including widows, seniors, disabled teens, and exploited women. Most recently she was on the Development team with Hope Ministries, assisting with raising funds for the new Hope Center for Homeless Women and Children’s that became a reality and opened in January 2025. Denise has enjoyed leading many Bible Studies including Discipleship Group for teens with Gale for over 25 years. She has also enjoyed leading Bible studies for homeless adults, at-risk teens and exploited women. Today she enjoys serving Early Chapel Christian Church alongside of her husband Gale, with community and people connections, hospitality, Youth Ministry and Women’s ministry. Denise enjoys cooking, gardening and hospitality especially for large groups. She shares, Jesus is her role model, as He fed large groups physically through food and fellowship before He shared spiritual food for their souls, by sharing Gods love for each person, not wanting one to perish but have eternal life. Denise is also assisting her 94-year-old Mother, Greta who is still in her own home, with her medical appointments and day-to-day needs. Denise started a weekly soup route this past fall for her mom, neighbors, relatives and church family who needed a home cooked soup of the week, along with delivery of soup, she aimed for a short visit at each stop and a note of encouragement.
Denise has enjoyed watching God grow Early Chapel both spiritually and numerically. “All glory and honor go to God alone!”
Church Heritage
Over 138 years ago this church was organized and met in the Jackson township school. In 1890 Thomas Early sold the church one acre of land for the price of $5.00. Not long after that the name was changed to Early Chapel Church. The first church was completely destroyed by fire after being struck by lightning on June 9, 1915. It was then decided more land was needed and Mr. Early was approached. He sold two more acres to the church for an additional $5.00. By May, 1916, a new structure had been erected and later a parsonage. On Sunday February 28, 1965, the church burned down again. Once more the small congregation deliberated what to do and decided to rebuild as long as it didn’t cost more than $35,000. By October of 1965 the church could meet in the new basement. The first service upstairs was January 9, 1966, and the new building was dedicated in May of that year. Out of the disasters of both 1915 and 1965 this church rose stronger than ever to serve Christ. Over the years descendants of some of the original members along with new members have come to worship and serve the Lord at Early Chapel Church. In January, 2012, the Church board was challenged to make our basement fellowship hall handicap accessible. A Building Committee was formed and met for over a year considering options, visiting other churches, meeting with potential builders, and reviewing possible plans. In June, 2013, the Building Committee presented their plan for a Handicap Accessible Fellowship Hall Addition to the entire congregation for approval. The plan was to be supported financially through commitments and pledges. The proposed plan vote passed with a 96% congregation approval. Ground breaking was held July, 2013. Building began following the Hog Roast in August that year and proceeded quickly. Soon after the first of the year we were able to start using the Fellowship hall while final touches were added to bring it to completion. September 28, 2014, we held a Dedication Service in our new Handicap Accessible Fellowship Hall. Today we continue to remember all who have gone before us and those who have worshiped here at Early Chapel. Our members continue with our purpose-- to serve our Lord Jesus Christ! Today going forward let us continue to do so by Following God’s Word and witnessing to our community through all we do. 2 Corinthians 13, 14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”