About Us

Leadership

Pastor Bryan Schneider (Teaching Elder)

A picture of Pastor Bryan Schneider and his family on a dirt road near Sharon RP Church

Pastor Bryan was born & raised in Southern California. He served in the Navy for 4 years. This is where the Lord graciously saved him. God prepared him for ministering to us by studying history at Geneva College and church history at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He then earned his Masters of Divinity at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. While in college he married his wonderful wife Olivia. They have been blessed with 4 children: Nathan, Deborah, Daniel, and Ellie.

Our Ruling Elders

Elderly couple standing in the yard of Sharon RP Church smiling

John Smith

John is a retired manufacturing engineer and instructor at South East Iowa Community College. Raised on a farm and married to his bride for over 60 years. John has led the as clerk of our session and a man who deeply desires to see God’s people to love Jesus and the Scriptures.

Picture of a middle aged couple smiling outside in the yard of Sharon RP Church

Jim Pilling

Jim is an active farmer with his brother and a lifelong resident of the Mediapolis community. Jim loves to care for his wife and spend time with the grandkids. Jim has a passion for prayer and gentle nature is admired by all. Make sure to follow Jim on instagram to learn more about ag life and rural tales.  

A picture of an elder and his large family standing in a field next to Sharon RP Church

Ben Turner

Ben is an engineer, inventor, and builder extraordinaire. Originally from Indiana Ben and Laura moved to Iowa to raise their children in the country and active members of the church. Ben is devoted to the Lord, his family, and the congregation. Ben thinks deeply and loves people thoughtfully.

Simon

Simon and Natalie are the proud parents of two and have a deep love for the Lord and the lost. Simon is a gift from God to the congregation having been ordained after finishing graduate work. Simon’s a medical professional who loves caring for people. 

Who We Are

A congregational photo of the members of Sharon RP Church

What's this place all about?

We're all about Jesus Christ. Jesus told us to pray for His goal — “Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.”

That starts with God’s work — He gives us new hearts to love Him. We are people who desperately need His love and grace. We are His children. He grows us. He unites us to Jesus. And He makes us bear fruit.

We’re a multigenerational church. We want to see your children rooted in their faith. We want to see your young people walking in the light of the Lord. We want to see you finish the race well.

Loving Jesus Christ. Everything starts with who He is and what He has done. He’s given us the greatest gift — himself. He’s saved us and loved us and given us His Holy Spirit. Do you desire to grow in that love?

  • Growing is tied to what Christians call discipleship - following, learning, and being changed. At Sharon this happens primarily in 3 ways - word, sacraments, and prayer. We grow more and more like Him when we are saturated with His word: reading, hearing, studying, meditating, memorizing, and even singing. We grow in our faith as we partake of the sacraments - the Lord’s Supper or Communion, and baptism. Lastly, we grow by praying. We pray as individually, as families, in our smaller groups, and every time we are together for worship. We pray for our needs, each other’s needs, our communities needs, and for needs around the world.  

    Life is about bringing God glory. Do you long to know Him and the power of His resurrection? Our desire is to see you, our community, and the world changed by the powerful working of His spirit.

  • You’ll notice a certain flavor about our church. It’s because there is a rich history we’re a part of called the Reformed Church. Sharon RP Church is about Christ, Grace, Faith, the Bible, and God’s Glory.

    • Christ is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is our hope and high priest. He is our savior and our king.

    • God has saved us by Grace and not by our works. God has made us alive - in Jesus. In Jesus we have our life.

    • God has given us faith to believe in the person and work of Jesus. It is by Grace through Faith in which we are saved. What a free gift!

    • God has given us His perfect word. It is perfectly inspired without error. The Bible He gave us is our rule for faith and life.

    • God made the world for His glory. God made us for His glory. God made the church for His glory. The purpose our of lives is to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

    Want to dig and find out exactly what we believe? 

    Click here and read more from Pastor Bryan: https://sharonrpc.org/bold

    Or read our confessional documents: https://rpcna.org/history/constitution.pdf

    The Reformed Faith as summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.

    You can find out more about  our denomination by clicking here: https://rpcna.com/

    Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA).

    Our denomination is a member of the North American Presbyterian & Reformed Council (NAPARC) (https://www.naparc.org/) as well as the International Conference of Reformed churches (ICRC) (https://www.icrconline.com/).

 
 

Where are you?

Come for a drive to the country and visit. We’re a few miles down the gravel road between Mediapolis and Morning Sun in South East Iowa.

 

Sharon RPC… That’s a Weird Name.
I wonder what it means?

Sharon?

The name for Sharon is from places in the Bible like Isaiah 35:1-10. God promises His grace to His people. In the valley of Sharon the people will the Glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God.

RP?

Okay, hold on. This one will have to be split up into 3 parts. The R. The P. And then RP.

  1. R is for reformed

At the end of the dark ages (think end of the 1400s) the church in Europe had been corrupted. There were all sorts of teachings and practices that were not in line with what God taught. God began to stir up in peoples’ hearts a distaste for what the church had become. It was also at this time that ancient manuscripts of the Bible in started being studied again in their original languages (Hebrew & Greek). When scholars and priests began to read the Bible they realized something had gone wrong. People started wanting change. This started formally in 1517 when Martin Luther called a debate with scholars in Germany to hash out some of the issues. From here things bloomed as more and more started to read the Bible and desire a religion based on what God had said. This is where our theological roots are. There is WAY more to that story and the theology. You’ll love learning about it in Sunday School and being steeped in it as we study the Bible together. (click here to read more on our beliefs)

2. P is for Presbyterian

Presbyterian is a big scary word for some. That’s okay because it’s not English, per se. Presbyterian comes from a Greek word presbuteros. That word means is normally translated elder or overseer by most Bibles. When the Lord gave us instructions on how the church was to be organized he said it was to be ruled by elders (Titus 1:5). Presbyterian means that the church is governed by elders.

3. RP is for Reformed Presbyterian

Reformed Presbyterian is a link back to our history. In the 1500s and 1600s Presbyterianism was the official religion of Scotland. When the kings decided they didn’t like that they tried to stop the people from their worship and force them to do His will. They said no - He tried to kill them. When all of that had finally ended in 1688 Presbyterianism was reinstated in Scotland. However, those who persecuted the RP’s were allowed back into the church even as pastors and elders. Reformed Presbyterians maintained their church and beliefs. Eventually they immigrated to the United States where in 1774 the denomination was officially formed.

 
 

What does is it look like to be a disciple of Christ?

Click below to explore the steps of becoming and living as a follower of Jesus.