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While the nation was being rededicated in Washington, on Sunday, May 17th, IFA Iowa held a rededication on the steps of the Capitol Building in Des Moines. There were over 80 in attendance. Intercessors throughout the state, some of whom had never met each other before, including several pastors, joined in unity, believing that Iowa would return to its rich biblical roots.
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IFA Iowa State Leader Tom McGovern (center, dark blue shirt) praying and reading proclamations over Iowa.
IFA Iowa State Leader Tom McGovern said they began with worship. “We started with commemoration of rededication, 250 for America, which is one of the prayer pieces provided by IFA, and then we prayed into that after we read the commemoration. We also had an Iowa Rededication Proclamation that our governor will sign, but we didn’t have time to get it done before our event. But the appointment has been set to have it signed on June 16, 2026.”
“There was such a sweet spirit of unity that was there. People showed up and prayed spontaneously. They were being led by the Spirit to pray out what was on their hearts, and it aligned with the Word of God, our Iowa values, and our state government. It was really a beautiful day; everybody thought it was such a beautiful time with the Lord.”
Tom shared that three other cities in Iowa held rededications on the same day as theirs. “There were rededications in Pella, Burlington, and Ottumwa, Iowa. In addition to the one in Des Moines, we had a total of four events that I know about; there might have been others going on in the state that did their own thing,” Tom said. “We have prayed in the Iowa Capitol for over thirty-three years from noon to 1 pm. I was invited to join the Pella Rededication, but could not as we were having ours at the same time.”
“You could feel that spirit of unity, and we sensed that it was right. It was right with the Holy Spirit because we’re aligned with God’s heart. We’re engaged. We’re not sitting on the sidelines saying, Lord, do your thing. I mean, we’re involved and active, and we’re partnering with God, and that is a beautiful thing. God is really moving among his people, and it’s a blessing to be part of it.”
“After we did the one rededication proclamation. We went and prayed for God’s purposes for Iowa. This was a piece that IFA put out, and they always say, “Pray for your state.” We made it personal and inserted Iowa into that, praying for God’s purpose for our state. We read that aloud, prayed, and then recounted Iowa’s spiritual heritage.”
Left to right: IFA Iowa State Leader Tom McGovern, IFA Prayer Leader Greg Lehner, and Deb Davis of the Iowa Prayer Caucus.
The Iowa Band was a group of 12 ministers who came out of Lyman Beecher’s Church (who was a part of the Second Great Awakening, along with Charles Finney) and came to Iowa in 1843. Their mission: To establish God’s Glory and His Word in the Beauty of His Holiness. The Iowa Band is also known as the most influential group of leaders in the 1830-1900 reform movement. They alone were the group that established the Reformation in Iowa.
“We prayed and proclaimed Pastor Beecher’s prophetic words over Iowa from his prophetic journey book. “If this the nation is, in the providence of God, destined to lead the way in moral and political emancipation of the world, it is high time she understood her high calling and was harnessed for the work.” “It plainly explains that the religious and political destiny of our nation is to be decided in the West and hinges on Iowa,” Tom said.
Like many states in the nation, Iowa has a history with God. In 1857, a revival broke out in Strawberry Point, Iowa. It is noted that the churches in the state were in unity and allied, sharing everything for the kingdom of God. However, in 1861, when the Civil War broke out, Iowa chose to embrace the causes of social and personal injustices rather than the kingdom of God.
The Iowa Band came with the mandate of Isaiah 25:6-7: “The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine.” And on this mountain, He will swallow up the covering, which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations.
Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains and will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many people will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways, and that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion (Isaiah 2:2-3).
Going back to the Iowa Band’s mission, to establish God’s Glory and His Word in the Beauty of His Holiness. Moses says to the Lord in Exodus 33:18, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” And in Exodus 40:34-35, the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. So, we ask You, Lord, show us Your glory!!!
In a twelve-year span, what the Iowa Band accomplished and established is nothing short of miraculous. “They established Oberlin College (Ohio) in 1842, Iowa College in 1846, University of Northern Iowa in 1845, Grinnell College in 1859, and the First Christian State Convention in 1845. In 1845, they planted over 600 churches, 200 schools, and Bible classes, as well as a sending center at the church in Maquoketa. They organized the civil government in Burlington, Iowa City, and Des Moines, and established a sending and training center for young people in Keosauqua, Denmark. Maquoketa, Burlington, and Muscatine 1845-1857. They also trained nearly 10,000 missionaries and leaders for the cause of Christ to go further west,” Tom shared.
Aside from the Iowa band, we discovered that Robert Parnham from Muscatine, Iowa, was also a part of Iowa’s church history. When the church became more political, fell away from God’s purposes, and rejected God’s revelation, Robert moved west to Kansas. His son Charles Parnham would become the father of the Pentecostal movement. This same Charles Parnham, who would teach young William Seymour, who would go on to lead the Azusa Street Revival. In recounting his state’s spiritual heritage, Tom also found out that Evangelist Billy Sunday was raised in Ames, Iowa. It is believed that up to one million people received Christ under his 50-year ministry.
Tom said he and the intercessors prayed into Iowa’s rich biblical heritage and prayed and proclaimed to build on the foundations laid by their forefathers. “We prayed that those wells of revival would be re-dug and we would return to that spirit of evangelism and revival,” Tom said. They plan to hold more rededications in Iowa. There is much work to be done, more ground to be covered, but rededicating the state to the Lord’s purposes is going to produce a harvest of righteousness in Iowa and across the nation.
Iowa intercessors outside of the state capitol in Des Moines.
Father, we thank you for every rededication. We agree with IFA Iowa and pray for a full return to the Lord and for the wells of revival in Iowa to be dug anew. We say spring up, oh wells of revival in Iowa and throughout the nation. If what we have seen is just a glimpse of ankle-deep waters, we pray that you take us deeper, Lord. We don’t want to be knee- or waist-deep; we want to be fully submerged in Your Presence. Uncap every river of revival in America that has been blocked up by our own disobedience and rebellion, and as we rededicate and repent and turn our faces to You and your original plans, let your river flow once again, in Jesus ‘ name.
Are you encouraged by the rededication stories?
IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: IFA Iowa State Leader Tom McGovern.
