Broadway United Methodist Church

Broadway is located in downtown Council Bluffs, Iowa and is proud to be both a historic downtown church and an active downtown church.

History

The land occupied by Broadway United Methodist Church was originally the site of the Ocean Wave Saloon, which employed a young orphan by the name of Henry DeLong. Henry and some friends attended a revival meeting in Macomb, Illinois with the intent of causing a ruckus and breaking up the meeting. Instead, he was converted.
After the Civil War, Henry returned to Council Bluffs and used money he had earned by ironing other soldiers' shirts to purchase the site of the Ocean Wave Saloon, which had since burned to the ground. He donated the land to the Methodist Church to "be used for church purposes forever!"
Fifteen years earlier, Reverend William Simpson had established a Methodist mission housed in a log building near the site of the Ocean Wave. The congregation later built a frame church building on West Pierce. This building also served as the first public school in Council Bluffs. By 1865, the church had 149 members and had outgrown the building.  
On the land donated by Henry DeLong, a new church was built. The building has been replaced, remodeled, and extended, but the congregation has been worshiping at this location since 1866.

What We Believe

Broadway is a United Methodist church. As such, we share many beliefs common to all Christians with some emphases particular to United Methodism and our own local character.
We believe in God, who created the world and constantly sustains it. We believe that Jesus Christ was and is the incarnation of God and that through his life, death, and resurrection from the dead we also have new life. We believe that the Holy Spirit is God's presence with us, inspiring, comforting, and guiding individuals and the church.  
We believe that we are a part of Christ's universal Church, though not the whole. We believe in cooperation with other churches and other denominations to do the work of God in the world.   
You can find more information about the beliefs of the United Methodist Church at www.umc.org. To go directly to the "What We Believe" section, click here.