Missions
The mission of Veritas Church is to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ. We desire to do this by being a faithful presence in our local context, sending people from our church family out to the nations, and partnering with brothers and sisters around the world who share this same mission.
Thailand Team
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Alex & Kennedy Yutzy
Alex grew up in Kalona, IA and started attending Veritas in 2021 after moving back to the area from graduating college in Ohio. In Alex’s free time he enjoys riding motorcycles, hiking, fishing, and working out. He has a heart for making disciples and sharing the Gospel with people.
Kennedy graduated from the U of I in 2020 and moved to Thailand in 2021. She has had a heart for international ministry and making Jesus name known among the nations. She loves baking, playing games, and Dr. Pepper.
Alex and Kennedy started dating in 2023 while Kennedy was living in Bangkok Thailand and they got married in 2024. Together they have been leaders in International Friendship Connection in Salt Company. They plan to head to Bangkok in Summer 2025. -
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Megan Thompson
Megan first attended Veritas Church in August 2016, during her freshman year at the University of Iowa. She came to know Christ through the Veritas and Salt Company Iowa City community a year later. In the summer before her senior year, she went overseas to East Asia through Salt Company, and through her experiences sharing and interacting with the people there, grew a heart for people who are considered unreached and have limited access to the gospel. She has now been living and serving in Bangkok, Thailand since January 2021. In her free time, she likes to attend hip hop classes at a dance studio in Bangkok, skateboard with friends, and discover new coffee shops in the city.
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Matt Swanson
Matt, originally from Cedar Falls, Iowa, first came to Veritas in 2021 during his freshman year at university. Over the summers of his college years, he had the opportunity to go overseas and witness God’s global church for the first time, and grew a big heart for the nations and unreached people groups. Now, he is living and serving the church in Bangkok, Thailand starting in Summer 2025. In his free time, he likes to paint, play sports, and play music.
Taiwan Team
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Jamie & Jess Schmidt
Jamie was sent out from Veritas Church in 2014 to serve overseas in Asia. He met Jess (from Cornerstone Church in Ames, IA) when she joined the team and they are now married and living in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Jamie and Jess live in Taiwan to make disciples and help plant churches. Their focus is on reaching university-centric populations with the Gospel, developing leaders, and empowering those believers to reach the rest of the country.
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Laura Edeker
Originally from Parkersburg, Iowa, Laura started attending Veritas Church in 2015 as a college student. Since graduating, she has worked in international ministry in several countries. She currently lives in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. The focus of her ministry is to bring the gospel to Taiwanese college students, with the goal of church planting and raising up disciples within the Taiwanese church.
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Emily Naatjes
Emily first attended Veritas in 2019 as a college student. Before moving overseas, Emily went on a summer trip to Thailand and did a two-year residency with IFC, the international student ministry of Veritas Church. During that time, the Lord grew her heart for international students and people with little access to the Gospel. In 2024, Emily will move to Taiwan. Her focus will be helping to reach students in Kaohsiung with the gospel.
The Hope Center
Community Development
Located in Serenje, Zambia, the Hope Center is a focal point for orphan care, pastor training, and agricultural development. Partnering with Brookside Church in Omaha, we help provide a healthy meal, schooling, and biblical training for 50-60 local orphans six days a week with approximately 150 more orphaned children cared for through our network of rural churches. Agricultural development at the Hope Center focuses on maintenance and production of a diverse garden, orchard, and maize fields to help feed the orphans at the Center. Plus we also work with widows and orphan caregivers in the rural “bush" churches to train and provide resources for more efficient and sustainable maize production.
Church Strengthening
We desire to come alongside the Zambian church become strong as it faces diverging doctrines, cults and shallow theology. Therefore, our efforts not only include helping the orphans of Serenje, but teaching and equipping groups of pastors, as well. We partner with the Zambians to provide training for rural pastors scattered throughout the African bush so that they can grow in the knowledge of the Lord and become good shepherds of their local churches. We regularly send staff, elders, and members to do pastor training. Local pastors have a vision to plant 50 new churches in northern Zambia and we have a great opportunity to come alongside them to accomplish their goal.
Pray with us and get involved!
Pastor Training
Pray for pastors to be trained with a solid biblical foundation for the strengthening of the Zambian church.
Pray for 50 churches to be planted over the next 10 years in Northern Zambia as the gospel goes out from village to village.
Pray for these churches to have a great heart for the orphans who are in their midst.
The Hope Center
Pray for the churches of Zambia to have the heart and resources for taking care of the vulnerable orphans.
Pray for the incredible team of Zambians who continue to make the Hope Center flourish to God’s glory.
Pray that feeding centers, like the Hope Center, would spring up amongst the 300+ churches in the network we partner with in Zambia.
Local Ministries
At Veritas, we love to see our people involved in a variety of ways in our local community. Below is a digest of a few organizations that we especially direct people to. If you have any questions about where to jump in, don’t hesitate to ask our Missions team!