SQUARE: Slang. A person who is regarded as dull, rigidly conventional, and out of touch with current trends (American Heritage Dictionary).

That definition may not sound very hip. The truth is, if you're looking for information on the latest trends or advice on how to look or act cool, you're probably not going to find it here. But that doesn't mean you're not going to find fun stories and meaningful writing. We've come to terms with our square lifestyle, and we've had a darn good time doing so. We take our faith seriously. Because we are secure in that, we're okay calling ourselves square. Afterall, it's hip to be square.

It's especially hip to be square in Des Moines. To outsiders, Des Moines is a small dot on the map. Another thing to fly over. Not much culture. Not enough people. Not a lot to offer.

But over the past few years we’ve witnessed the beginnings of a renaissance that continues to take shape. Des Moines is a small city, but we are proud to live here. The economy has grown, and thousands of young people are coming to begin their careers.

Veritas isn’t the first to realize how cool Des Moines is. Fast Company rated it as the hippest city in the USA in 2003. And other publications preceded Veritas in seeing the opportunity to communicate with this young, vibrant demographic. But we saw that something was missing. We know that people in Des Moines have spiritual interests. We know that they are looking for something intellectually stimulating to read.

During the summer of 2006, we decided to start a magazine. Three of us began to define what we wanted it to be—whom it was for and what our mission would be.

After taking the following fall and winter off, we revisited the idea in April 2007. We started to fill the departments with story ideas. Our calendar was filled with goals and deadlines. We filed paperwork that would make us a real non-profit.

Our first goal was to create a prototype. With the prototype, we got feedback from a focus group. We have since been plugging away—producing this website and praying that it would have an impact on the city.

Our goal is that Veritas would expose young adults to Jesus through the lives of people who are passionate about him. We want to document what God is doing in the city through these lives and through the church. We want God to use Veritas to challenge young adults in the city with truth that impacts the world. We want to impact the city.