Bridge Church Expanding To Oskaloosa
Oskaloosa’s Campus Pastor Darik Knooistra at the new Oskaloosa campus.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – When Oskaloosa News stopped by the location for ‘The Bridge Church’ recently, the finishing touches were being worked on.
The Bridge Church will hold its grand opening on September 17th, hosting a 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. service inside what many remember as Slumberland Furniture in the Heartland Square Mall.
According to their website, the Bridge Church started with Pastor Marty Schmidt, who “felt called by God to plant a church that would make a difference. A church that his friends who had given up on the church would love to attend.”
Schmidt wasn’t new to the ministry as he came from the Third Church in Pella and was challenged to start a new congregation, and Ottumwa was the place they were drawn to.
The Bridge Church held its first service at the Bridge View Center in 2007 and has since expanded to three additional locations, including Oskaloosa.
In an interview, Oskaloosa’s Campus Pastor Darik Knooistra said those first steps into Ottumwa, “we were supposed to be something different. That’s really been the key phrase that, not only we’ve described ourselves as, but a lot of people say about The Bridge as they come in.”
Knooistra said The Bridge Church’s vision has been to “rebuild, repair, restore. So every place we go to, we just want to make it better. We want to offer what we can, offer our gifts and talents and really activate our local congregation or local church to be the church.”
On the move into Oskaloosa, Knooistra said, “Osky has been on our heart for a long time, and I think part of it is, our connection to Third you know. A lot of us on our staff are from Pella.”
Many Oskaloosa community members drive to Ottumwa to attend The Bridge Church. When the building became available, they looked at the property and said, “Yeah, this is awesome.”
“We teach the Bible. We teach Jesus, and we’re super passionate about that,” added Knooistra.
Last Sunday, the Oskaloosa campus of The Bridge Church held a soft opening but will open on September 17th, starting with their 9 a.m. service, and will also offer a 10:30 service.
You can learn more about The Bridge Church by visiting their website HERE – https://www.thebridgechurch.cc/visit
