Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand, the Democratic nominee for governor, has regularly attended Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Des Moines as of late 2025, according to a local journalist. The Polk County church’s public positions on LGBTQ issues and abortion have become a point of contention in the state’s governor’s race, even as Sand has campaigned on an image of moderation and independence from party orthodoxy.
Sand has frequently invoked his Christian faith on the campaign trail, quoting scripture and describing himself as a Christian who is not beholden to either political party. He has said political parties are “poison” and has claimed to have voted for Republicans in the past.
“I am a Christian. I’m a conservative. But I’m not a party-based person,” one voter said in a Sand campaign press release. “I like to vote for the person as opposed to the party. And to me, (Sand) just seems really honest and down to earth. And I enjoyed him.”
Plymouth Congregational’s own materials describe a markedly progressive congregation. Its website’s “about” page features an image of churchgoers at a gay pride parade and states the church does not interpret the Bible literally. The church says it “has been an LGBTQ+ Open and Affirming congregation for more than 30 years.” A profile compiled by the United Church of Christ includes an image of the church flying a pride flag and describes it as “a progressive powerhouse in the region.”
Drag Performances and a Transgender Guest Pastor
In May 2025, the church hosted a concert by drag performer “Flamy Grant,” according to event advertisements. Grant’s broader catalog includes sexually explicit material, including lyrics referencing sexual acts and content critical of traditional church teachings on gender.
About a year later, Plymouth promoted a “family-friendly karaoke fundraiser” on its Facebook page headlined by drag performer “Tess Tura,” who hosts a podcast that has discussed unprotected gay sex among other topics.
In 2023, the church invited transgender pastor Paula Stone Williams to serve as a guest pastor for one weekend, according to a local media report. Williams had recently published a book titled “As a Woman: What I learned about power, sex, and the patriarchy after I transitioned.”
Children’s Programming and Political Activism
A 2025 job posting from Plymouth disclosed that the church partners with the Rainbow Faith Coalition, which states that “LGBTQ+ identities are God-given, honored and celebrated” and that living into those identities, including in name, pronoun and gender expression, should not be a barrier to participation in any area of faith life, including children’s education. The church also offers Our Whole Lives, a sexuality education curriculum co-published by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ, with classes beginning in first grade covering sexuality, relationships, gender identity and sexual health.
In February 2025, Plymouth’s pastors joined a protest at the Iowa statehouse “to pray and stand up for our trans and gender nonconforming friends and neighbors,” according to a post on the church’s Facebook page. Church leadership had also participated in a pro-LGBTQ rally outside the statehouse in prior years.
The church mobilized after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, supporting abortion-rights advocacy and referring to women as “all who hold the potential to bear life.” Plymouth held a prayer vigil supporting abortion access in May 2022 and rallied at the state capitol in July 2023 against abortion restrictions. The church also marked Transgender Day of Visibility and Transgender Day of Remembrance on Facebook between 2021 and 2023, after then-President Joe Biden became the first president to formally recognize Transgender Day of Visibility in 2021.
Campaign Response
A spokeswoman for Sand’s campaign defended his church attendance when asked by Fox News Digital.
“Rob Sand goes to church weekly and does so in Iowa, unlike Zach Lahn. Rob’s faith is deeply important to him, and like many, he has never found a church where he agrees with everything, but does prefer traditional services with liturgy and classic hymns,” the spokeswoman said. “Rob has always been independent-minded, and he isn’t going to take lessons in morality from a sex toy salesman who lives in Kansas.”
That remark referenced FirmTech, a wearable sexual wellness device company that once counted Republican gubernatorial nominee Zach Lahn as an investor. Lahn has said the product was originally developed to monitor cardiovascular health and that he divested before the company shifted toward sexually suggestive marketing. Sand has also pointed to Lahn’s regular flights to Kansas as evidence of weak ties to Iowa; Lahn says he lives full time in Iowa and that the flights stem from shuttling children from a previous marriage between the two states. Lahn’s campaign did not disclose where he attends church when asked by Fox News Digital.
A spokesperson for the Lahn campaign criticized Sand’s church ties directly.
“This is disturbing material, but it’s right in line with Rob Sand’s liberal views. If you believe men can become women, then what’s to stop you from teaching it to schoolchildren? Values matter and Rob’s values are NOT Iowa values,” the Lahn campaign spokesperson said.
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