Our Story.

Nothing is impossible with God.

From the onset, we have been a people who believe that nothing is impossible with God. In the fall of 2010, Pastor Jonathan Barthalow started holding a small group Bible study in the Maucker Union with hopes to establish a healthy Chi Alpha ministry on the campus. He did this while living in Des Moines. For the next three years, he would drive up to Cedar Falls every week to lead Chi Alpha. He had a vision to reach every student with the message of Jesus and was willing to sacrifice to make that happen. His pioneering spirit made all of this possible.

In the fall of 2011, we began holding large group worship gatherings in the Communication Arts Center. That same fall, Daniel Quinby and Emily Knoke began their freshmen years at UNI. They met during the very first Chi Alpha service and began dating soon after that. The two of them, along with many other students, helped Pastor Jonathan establish Chi Alpha.

The following year, in the fall of 2012, we launched student-led small groups. After that school year, Pastor Jonathan transitioned and would later plant a church in Waverly called Crosspoint Church that is thriving today and partners with Chi Alpha. Daniel and Emily also transitioned as they got married and moved to Minneapolis, MN to train for full-time ministry. 

In the fall of 2015, we welcomed Pastor Daniel and Emily Quinby back to Cedar Falls to be our first full-time directors on the campus. Under their direction, we have seen growth and vitality as we have chased God's dream for our campus.

In the fall of 2016, we outgrew the Communication Arts Center and moved our gatherings to Lang Auditorium to make room for more people.

In the spring of 2019, we began pioneering a Chi Alpha at Hawkeye Community College. Our dream is to see Chi Alpha flourish both at UNI and Hawkeye. However, we hope it doesn’t stop there as we also want to continue reaching other campuses and help plant churches in Iowa.

In the fall of 2020 Pastor Daniel and Emily stepped out of Chi Alpha to plant our partner church, Sent Church. Now the ministry is not only reaching college students, but people all over the Cedar Valley.

As Pastor Daniel stepped out of Chi Alpha, Pastor Derek and Taylor Quinby stepped into the Director role for Chi Alpha after serving on the team for two years. This past year Chi Alpha saw incredible growth despite the global pandemic and is reaching more students than ever before.

Over the last eleven school years, God has moved powerfully on our campuses through Chi Alpha as students have come to know Jesus, met their best friends, and found their destinies in Christ. Despite the victories of the past, we believe that the best is still yet to come at UNI, Hawkeye, and through Sent Church! We won't stop until every student is making disciples who make disciples who live a life of Real Devotion, Real Community, and Real Responsibility.