Christianity is not a solo act. While we often speak of our "personal" relationship with God, we must not ignore the necessity of our "corporate" relationship with God. Although that phrase may sound strange, the Bible is clear that much of what the Lord longs to give to His people only comes through the avenue of relationship with other believers. God intentionally created us to be interdependent.
That interdependence cannot be fostered in a church service. This is why Heartland has Life Groups. The groups are patterned after the Acts 2 model used by the early church: "The believers devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer." Life Groups consist of 10-15 people who meet in a host home for food, fellowship, teaching, discussion and prayer.
If you call Heartland your home, we want to invite you to join one of our Life Groups - this is your opportunity to go deeper with God by going deeper in relationship with His people. Please review the groups described below and then follow the link to the signup form.
ARE YOU READY FOR REAL LIFE - TOGETHER?
Join a Life Group
Review the leader bios, then TAP the link above to select the group you prefer to join.
Life Group Leaders
Patrick & Suzy Oben
LOCATION: Ankeny
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Friday @ 6 pm
Children Welcome
Both born and raised in Cameroon, Central Africa, we have been married for nine years and are blessed with three daughters, now 7, 5, and 4. Patrick has been living in the US since 2009, and Suzy studied in London before moving to the US in 2015. Suzy is a full-time mom, while Patrick works as a physician. We enjoy living in Iowa, though January and February winters often prompt us to ask the Lord many questions!
Patrick enjoys writing and playing ping pong, while Suzy excels in cooking, organizing and administering events, as well as going to the gym.
Being part of the Heartland family has been a treasure and blessing for us. We love the Lord, love digging deep into His Word, and watching His Spirit move.
Whether in the seriousness of the Spirit or simply trying different dishes and having fun together, we eagerly look forward to meeting you!
Dan & Monica Robeson
LOCATION: Maxwell
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Thursday @ 6:30 pm
No Children
We have been married for over 30 years and have been blessed with seven children and seven grandchildren, and are looking forward to many more! The Lord moved us to an acreage in the Maxwell area 28 years ago, where we have enjoyed raising our children. We love Heartland, and we’re grateful to be here. We believe real-life connections are essential for encouragement as we hear from the Lord daily and apply the message we receive each week. We would love to walk with others in making those connections!
Ian & Alyssa Sipley
LOCATION: Des Moines
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Sunday @ 5:30 pm
Children Welcome
Hi! We’re Ian and Alyssa Sipley, and we’re so excited to open our home and build community with others at Heartland. We’ve been married for just under five months and live on the east side of Des Moines with our sweet, small 5-year-old Havanese dog, Oreo.
Kids are absolutely welcome! We’re passionate about walking through life with Christ alongside others and creating a space where people feel known, encouraged, and supported.
Ian is an engineer by day, but in his free time he loves cooking and smoking meats—he even took 2nd place in the Church's BBQ competition! He also enjoys photographing beautiful landscapes. Alyssa teaches middle school science in Des Moines. After spending time living overseas, she’s always eager for a new travel adventure.
We’d love for you to join us as we grow together in faith and friendship!
John & Rebecca Sipley
LOCATION: Ankeny
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Sunday @ 12:30 pm
Children Welcome
We have been married for 42 years, and have 3 adult children and a godson and goddaughter with 3 god grandchildren. John is retired from computer IT support and a television video and audio career and presently on the audio team at Heartland. Rebecca is a project manager for a technology company.
John enjoys photography, reading, Scripture study, tech gadgets and unique light features. Rebecca enjoys reading, Scripture study, sewing garments and a new hobby of collage quilting.
The Kingdom of God advances through relationships and connections! We look forward to opening our home and gathering with a group of Kingdom builders! We will learn and grow together, encourage and challenge one another, laugh and eat good food! Come and join us!
Kirk & Vicki Stamper
LOCATION: Nevada
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Thursday @ 6:30 pm
No Children
We met back in high school and have been happily married for 39 years. Along the way, we've been blessed with two married children and five wonderful grandchildren. We both accepted Christ at a young age—Kirk at 16 and Vicki at 5—and have been serving the Lord ever since. Over the past 23 years, we've been involved in various ministries, including worship, teaching and leading Bible studies, children's church, and youth group.
We would love to encourage you in your Christian walk and dive into God's word together as we navigate this crazy world. We firmly believe that life is so much better with the love and support of fellow believers.
We hope you'll join us for food, fellowship, and fun as we grow closer to the Lord and to each other.
Joe & Amanda Watts
LOCATION: Truro
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Monday @ 5:30 pm
Children Welcome
MEETING BEGINNING IN NOVEMBER
We have been married for 16 years, have a junior in high school and a 5th grader. We grew up mostly in Des Moines but traded city life for country life in 2019, not long after finding Heartland.
We love spending time with family and anything to do with being outdoors. Our oldest keeps us busy with sports activities and the youngest with 4H.
We surrendered our hearts to Jesus when our oldest was four-years-old. It has truly been the greatest adventure and we know there’s still much of the story to be unveiled! We’re passionate about doing life with people on their own adventure with Jesus and encouraging one another along the way. Community is a blessing we value greatly, especially after moving out of Des Moines. We would love to have you join us in our home as we navigate our journeys in the Lord together!
Tiffany & Nicole Wuertzer
LOCATION: Ankeny
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Sunday @ 12:30 pm
Children Welcome
We’re sisters in our mid-30s who made Heartland our home church in January 2022 and have been hosting a life group since 2023. After moving to the Des Moines area to help with a church plant, we found ourselves seeking a new church home—and Heartland quickly felt like family. Raised by Spirit-filled, Bible-believing parents alongside our older sister and younger brother, we’re now living near Heartland and feel blessed to open our home to this amazing church community.
We have very different personalities. Nicole is methodical, merciful, and a great listener. Tiffany is outgoing/energetic, talkative, and loves to encourage others. Both of us bring a unique dynamic to this group, to be used however God wills. We are blessed to be able to provide a space to grow together as a Church community!
Ron & Le Ann Van Wyngarden
LOCATION: Johnston
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Sunday @ 12:30 pm
No Children
We’ve been married 13 years, and we’re blessed with 3 married kids and 6 grandchildren - we really enjoy pickleball, biking, walking and hanging out with our grandkids.
The more we read and study the Bible, the more serious we take each part! We’d love for you to join us in that exciting process.
Group currently full
Group currently full
Gary & Marlene Aspenson
LOCATION: Pleasant Hill
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Thursday @ 6:30 pm
Children welcome
We moved down to the Pleasant Hill area 6 years ago to be closer to family. Gary enjoys golfing and entertaining 6 grand-kids, Marlene loves hearing anyone’s testimony and mentoring. This will be our 4th year of hosting a Life Group! We love engaging with the body of Christ, iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17). Also being able to have more intimate time with our guests and share prayer concerns. Looking forward to another year getting together with our Heartland family.
Group currently full
Group currently full
Jan & Steve Haag
LOCATION: Ankeny/Johnston
DAY / TIME: 2nd & 4th Sunday after church
No Children
We have been married for 40+ years, and are blessed with 4 kids and 9 grand-kids. We’re interested in the state of our nation, truth, justice and theology! We pray for each other and take decreeing from the Word of God very seriously. We have all types of appetites so we bring our own lunches, enjoy the fellowship and pray. We stay connected by text mostly during the rest of the week because the Kingdom of God is built on family.
Group currently full
Group currently full
Chuck & Judy Meline
LOCATION: Ankeny
DAY / TIME: 2nd & 4th Tuesday @ 6:30 pm
No Children
We’ve been married 60 years and are the parents of 2 married children, a son and a daughter, and 7 grown grandchildren. Being fairly new to Heartland after serving 30 years in another church, we are still getting to know people but love to meet new people and build relationships.
Group currently full
Group currently full
Doug & Norha Stoutenberg
LOCATION: Ankeny
DAY / TIME: 2nd & 4th Sunday @ 1 pm
No Children
We have been married for 15 years and have raised 3 children. Heartland has been our home church for 8 years. For fun, we like to read the Bible, watch sports, hunt, and fish, but nothing brings us joy quite like sharing time with friends and family. We love Life Groups, and believe God's Word when it says iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Life Groups help us know that we are not alone in this world, and provides us a space to laugh and mourn with others.
Group currently full
Group currently full
Christopher & Grace Pudenz
LOCATION: Ankeny
DAY / TIME: 1st & 3rd Tuesday @ 5:30 pm
Children Welcome
We have been married 2 1/2 years and had a beautiful baby boy in December. We met while attending Iowa State University, working on our graduate degrees.
Although Grace grew up attending Heartland, we are new members, and are very excited to get integrated into the Heartland community. We are passionate about hospitality and connection, as well as delicious food. In our free time we enjoy traveling, walking or hiking, reading books, and working on our garden.