In 1961, Ames newcomer, Israel Saturen, encouraged a handful of dedicated people to establish an organized Jewish religious group. As a result, the AJC was formalized in 1962 as a Reform Congregation.
Initially, the group met in members' homes. Shortly thereafter the minister of the First Baptist Church invited the AJC to use the Church lounge for services and meetings. In 1969 the Congregation membership decided to rent its own quarters in downtown Ames. The members remodeled a former bowling alley to include a sanctuary, social space, and classrooms. In 1977 the building housing the Congregation was sold and the 30 family AJC had to move.
After much research the Congregation accepted an offer from the Episcopal Parish of Ames to purchase an acre of land next to St. David's in north Ames. While Ames' first permanent synagogue was being built, the AJC was invited to hold religious services at St. David's. And St. Cecilia Catholic Elementary School provided space on Sundays for the AJC's religious school classes.
The formal dedication of the new Synagogue was on September 17, 1978. All three Des Moines Rabbis participated in the ceremony, with the priests from the Episcopal Parish. A new sanctuary and formal classroom addition was completed in 1994.
The AJC has grown to over 60 families. Student Rabbis from the Union of American Hebrew Congregation's Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio or a part time ordained Rabbi serve the AJC's pulpit.
The Congregation has established a burial section in the Ames Municipal Cemetery that has been officially dedicated and named 'Mt. Sinai'.
The AJC offers a well rounded program for its members and serves as the representative of Judaism in the Ames religious community.