| LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA |  |
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| LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA | |
Pg 172
Wapello, Iowa
Transcribed by Sharon Elijah, September 20, 2016
Dean Buster was Pastor of the first Grace Bible Church in the State of Iowa, which was dedicated on November 1, 1964. He welcomed his Wapello congregation to their very own church during dedication services that Sunday morning.
Some 100 persons from four different states attended the morning dedication services in the new church.
The frame church had interior walls of blond mahogany paneling. A birch pulpit matched the contemporary pews. The floors were hardwood with the center aisle and altar area carpeted. The church had both an organ and a piano. Most of the interior work was done by members. The main floor also had a cradle room and pastor’s study. The church was located on the corner of Highway 61 and Mill in north Wapello.
The roots for Grace Bible Church started growing many years before 1964. For the past 14 years Rev. Buster had preached to his people in the city owned Lee Town Mission in Mt. Pleasant, and each Sunday evening in the Letts Town Hall. Rev. Buster drove some 60 miles each Sunday from his home in Grandview. In addition to his ministry, which spans 33 years, Dean had worked as a Yard Motor Operator with the Land & Building department at Alcoa in Bettendorf, for more than 16 years.
Rev. Buster began his ministry in 1931 in a schoolhouse near Wapello, Iowa. He held pastorates in several Iowa cities, in Illinois and Wisconsin. He was ordained by the Worldwide Grace Testimony, now known as Grace Mission, Inc. at the North Shore Church of Chicago in 1941.
The Grace Bible Church was established with the sole purpose of obeying II Timothy 2:14—“study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” and to show their completeness in Christ. His ministry revealed that Salvation solely was dependent on Faith and not by works and he stood for the Gospel of God’s Grace and the revelation of the Mystery by the Apostle Paul.
In addition to Sunday services and other pastoral duties, Rev. Buster has taught Bible on several radio stations (Muscatine, Iowa and Carthage, Ill.) He has also written several articles on the Bible.
The church closed in the late 1960’s. Rev. Buster died October 28, 1970.
| Board of Directors | ||
| President | Pastor Dean F. Buster | Grandview |
| Vice Pres. | Pastor Wm. Van Amerongen | Mt. Pleasant |
| Sec-Treas. | Clarence Van Amerongen | Mt. Pleasant |
| Director | Mr. Carl Buster | Bettendorf |
| Director | Mr. Chan Buster | Wapello |
| Director | Mr. Merwin Buster | Davenport |
| Director | Mrs. Juanita Colton | Burlington |
Pg 173
| Church Officers | |
| Ministers | Dean F. Buster |
| Associate Minister | William Van Amerongen |
| Minister of Education | Juanita Colton |
| Organist | Robert Van Amerongen |
| Pianist | Patricia Buster |
| Church School Personnel | |
| Pianist | Clarence Von Amerongen |
| Sec-Trea. | Juanita Colton |
| Adult Teacher | Dean F. Buster |
| Primary Teacher | Marilyn Van Amerongen |
| Jr. High Teacher | Carolyn Buster |
| Junior Teacher | James Wade |
| Beginner Teacher | Ida Belle Buster |
Picture: Grace Bible Church, Hwy 61 N. & Mill Ave. Wapello, Iowa
Picture: Rev. Dean Buster