First Christian Church

What First Christian Church does

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Bloomington, Illinois is a self-governing nonprofit religious congregation founded in 1837 by William T. Major. It operates from a city-block campus at 401 W. Jefferson St. in downtown Bloomington that includes a sanctuary (built 1959), an educational wing (1931), and a later addition (1989). The congregation serves the Bloomington, IL community and broader regional members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination, with which it is affiliated through Regional Christian Church in Illinois and Wisconsin and the national denomination.

The church's core offerings center on weekly traditional worship services held Sundays at 9:00 a.m., featuring hymns, organ and piano music, the Chancel Choir, sermons, and weekly communion. Supporting programming includes adult small-group Bible studies (multiple long-running groups), youth and family ministries led by an Associate Minister, nursery and child care, and justice and reconciliation initiatives. Community outreach spans partnerships with local food pantries, schools, Boys and Girls Club, Not in Our Town, the Fresh Start prison ministry at Lincoln Correctional Center, INtegRIty Counseling, Advocate BroMenn Medical Center's Compassion Closet, and RIP Medical Debt — the last of which facilitated the elimination of $330,000 in community medical debt. Services are delivered in-person, via livestream through the website and Facebook, and through a facility-use program that makes the campus available to mission-aligned nonprofits.

The business model is nonprofit and donation-funded, with no product pricing. Revenue is generated through voluntary tithes and offerings (collected in service and online via Simple Church Giving) and through planned/legacy gifts administered via the Legacy Circle program. Go-to-market is community-led: outreach relies on the historic local brand, word-of-mouth, livestreaming, community partnerships, and an explicit Open and Affirming public posture. The organization employs approximately 8 paid staff and operates with lay leadership through a board of deacons and elders; it has no subsidiaries, no external ownership, and is not a target of private equity, venture, or M&A activity.

Name

First Christian Church

Legal name

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Bloomington, Illinois

Website

https://blmfcc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1837

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Christian Church is a Disciples of Christ congregation in Bloomington, Illinois offering weekly traditional worship, faith formation for all ages, and community outreach programs, funded by voluntary member tithes, offerings, and planned legacy gifts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Congregation Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Religious congregation
• Christian worship services
• Community outreach ministries
• Youth family ministry
• Justice reconciliation programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Traditional church tithes and offerings collected during weekly worship services and through online giving. Congregants give freely, joyfully, in proportion to income, and generously as part of Christian stewardship.
2. Planned Giving / Legacy Circle: Legacy giving through estate plans, trust documents, wills, life insurance designations, and charitable gift annuities. Members who have made planned gift arrangements are recognized as Legacy Circle members.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

First Christian Church provides traditional Christian worship services every Sunday at 9:00 AM featuring hymns, organ and piano music, the Chancel Choir, sermons, and weekly communion. Beyond worship, the church operates small group Bible studies, youth and family ministries (including nursery, Worship & Wonder, and grade-based youth groups), justice and reconciliation ministries (anti-racism, LGBTQ inclusion), and community outreach programs including food pantry support, prison re-entry ministry (Fresh Start), counseling partnerships, and RIP Medical Debt medical debt relief. The church also offers facility rentals for community events and livestreamed services for remote participation.

Product overview

First Christian Church offers a traditional worship service with a comprehensive set of ministry programs and community services. Core offerings include Sunday worship at 9 AM featuring traditional hymns, organ and piano music, Chancel Choir, sermons, and communion. The church provides small group ministries (adult Bible study groups, youth groups for grades 3-12, and family programs including nursery, Worship & Wonder for children, and high/middle school small groups). Community outreach programs include food pantry services, medical debt relief partnerships, prison ministry, and partnerships with local organizations. Additional offerings include an online giving platform through Simple Church Giving, a Legacy Circle planned giving program, facility rental for community events, and livestreaming of Sunday services. The church operates as part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services Weekly traditional worship services held Sundays at 9:00 AM in the sanctuary featuring hymns, organ and piano music, Chancel Choir, sermons, and weekly communion. Open to all individuals and families in the Bloomington, IL community and beyond.
• Small Group Ministries

Quantifiable outcome

• $330,000 in medical debt eliminated for community members in need

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RIP Medical DebtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFCC partnered with RIP Medical Debt to eliminate $330,000 worth of medical debt for community members in need. This partnership represents a significant social impact initiative.
• Disciples Mission FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal outreach partner supporting worldwide ministry opportunities. Part of FCC's commitment to the Disciples of Christ mission of being a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.
• INtegRIty CounselingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing counseling services to the community through the Reach Out ministry.
• Regional Alternative SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting regional alternative school with needed items and resources through the Gifts for Another Table program.
• Advocate BroMenn Medical Center (Compassion Closet)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing Compassion Closet supplies through the medical center to support patients in need.
• Not in Our Town (NIOT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrassroots community organization working to build an inclusive, safe community addressing racism, discrimination toward LGBTQ community members, bullying in schools, and other forms of exclusion or oppression.
• Local Food Pantries and OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFCC supports local food pantries, the Boys and Girls Club, Bent & Sheridan schools with needed items through the Gifts for Another Table initiative.
• Disciples LGBTQ AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResource partnership providing LGBTQ-related resources for the congregation as part of FCC's Open & Affirming commitment.
• Fresh Start Ministry (Lincoln Correctional Center)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrison ministry providing coats, underwear, shoes, and clothing to those leaving Lincoln Correctional Center and re-entering society.
• Regional Christian Church in Illinois and WisconsincoreOthersRegional denominational affiliation providing oversight and connection to the broader Disciples of Christ movement.
• The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and CanadacoreOthersNational denominational affiliation connecting FCC to the broader Disciples of Christ movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): Another Disciples of Christ congregation with similar mainline Protestant identity, weekly communion practice, and emphasis on openness. Direct denomination peer offering a comparable model of progressive mainline ministry.

Regional players

• First United Methodist Church of Bloomington: Mainline Protestant congregation in the same Bloomington, IL market with overlapping outreach programming and similar congregational structure. Comparable in size, denominational posture, and community-facing ministry model.
• Trinity Lutheran Church (Bloomington, IL): Mainline Lutheran congregation in Bloomington operating traditional worship with community outreach. Comparable in city, denominational family, and member demographic profile to FCC.
• St. Mary's Catholic Church (Bloomington, IL): Historic Catholic parish in downtown Bloomington with comparable long-tenure community presence and a similar mix of social services and worship programming.
• Second Presbyterian Church (Bloomington, IL): Mainline Protestant congregation serving Bloomington with traditional worship, music programming, and justice-oriented community engagement that parallels FCC's ministry mix.
• First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, IL: Comparable-sized mainline Protestant congregation in a similar mid-size Illinois city with traditional worship and community justice programming. Useful for benchmarking stewardship and engagement.

Others

• Not in Our Town: National grassroots anti-hate organization partnered with FCC. Adjacent peer in the inclusion/anti-racism space where FCC actively partners and could expand its coalition footprint.
• RIP Medical Debt: National nonprofit that partnered with FCC to eliminate $330,000 of medical debt. Adjacent enabling organization that FCC could deepen its social impact relationship with going forward.
• Midwest Food Bank: Regional food distribution nonprofit headquartered in nearby Bloomington-Normal. Comparable community-scale organization with faith-rooted origins and partnership potential around food insecurity programming.
• Habitat for Humanity of McLean County: Local Habitat affiliate serving the same Bloomington-Normal geography with a faith-inspired community development model. Comparable in mission framing and partner ecosystem overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@BLMFCC
• Facebookfacebook.com/BLMFCC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Christian Church