First Christian Church
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1837
- HeadquartersBloomington, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
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.
First Christian Church firmographics
Firmographics- 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
First Christian Church industry classification
Industry- 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
Where First Christian Church is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bloomington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
First Christian Church business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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
First Christian Church product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use First Christian Church
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
First Christian Church technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
First Christian Church partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- RIP Medical DebtcoreFCC 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 FundcoreGlobal 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 CounselingminorPartnership providing counseling services to the community through the Reach Out ministry.
- Regional Alternative SchoolminorPartnership supporting regional alternative school with needed items and resources through the Gifts for Another Table program.
- Advocate BroMenn Medical Center (Compassion Closet)minorPartnership providing Compassion Closet supplies through the medical center to support patients in need.
- Not in Our Town (NIOT)coreGrassroots 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 OrganizationscoreFCC supports local food pantries, the Boys and Girls Club, Bent & Sheridan schools with needed items through the Gifts for Another Table initiative.
- Disciples LGBTQ AllianceminorResource partnership providing LGBTQ-related resources for the congregation as part of FCC's Open & Affirming commitment.
- Fresh Start Ministry (Lincoln Correctional Center)minorPrison ministry providing coats, underwear, shoes, and clothing to those leaving Lincoln Correctional Center and re-entering society.
- Regional Christian Church in Illinois and WisconsincoreRegional denominational affiliation providing oversight and connection to the broader Disciples of Christ movement.
- The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and CanadacoreNational 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
First Christian Church competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect 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
First Christian Church social profiles
Digital presenceFirst Christian Church financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
First Christian Church leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
First Christian Church funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
First Christian Church M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about First Christian Church
What does First Christian Church do?
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.
Is First Christian Church a public or private company?
First Christian Church is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was First Christian Church founded?
First Christian Church was founded in 1837. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is First Christian Church based?
First Christian Church is headquartered in Bloomington, United States, in the North America region.
How does First Christian Church make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Tithes and Offerings are the primary driver. The others are planned Giving / Legacy Circle.
Who are First Christian Church's main competitors?
Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is listed as a direct peer. Regional players are First United Methodist Church of Bloomington, Trinity Lutheran Church (Bloomington, IL), St. Mary's Catholic Church (Bloomington, IL), Second Presbyterian Church (Bloomington, IL) and First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, IL. Others are Not in Our Town, RIP Medical Debt, Midwest Food Bank and Habitat for Humanity of McLean County.
Does First Christian Church have an API?
No public API is recorded for First Christian Church.
What industry is First Christian Church in?
First Christian Church's product category is Religious Congregation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAJAA, Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues), with a secondary code of BPAGAJAG, Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling). Its NAICS code is 8131 and its SIC code is 8300.