First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa

What First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa does

First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa is a nonprofit Baptist religious organization founded in 1820 and headquartered at 721 Greensboro Avenue, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It operates over 200 years of continuous ministry with a 41-person staff led by Senior Pastor Dr. Drew Chapman, who was affirmed in December 2024 succeeding Dr. Gil McKee after a 25-year tenure. The church delivers two Sunday worship services at 8:30am and 11:00am, Life Groups at 9:45am, and Wednesday night programming, supported by a hybrid physical-digital footprint that includes a Family Ministry Building at 802 23rd Avenue.

Its core product is the ministry program portfolio, organized by demographic: Kids Ministry (birth through 5th grade), Students Ministry (6th-12th grade via ttownstudents.org), College Ministry (via firstcollegetuscaloosa.org), Adult Life Groups, Senior Adult Ministry, and a Music and Worship Ministry encompassing Adult Choir, Worship Orchestra, Revelation Student Choir, Children's Choirs, Prime Time Singers, and Drama/Tech Teams. Specialized programs include the Child Development Program — a Christian preschool/daycare for children six weeks through pre-K with a $100 enrollment fee and monthly billing — and an International Ministry that operates Iglesia Biblica Bautista (Spanish-language worship led by Eliobin Rodriguez) and the Tuscaloosa Chinese Christian Church (led by Chengkun Bao), plus ESL classes on Wednesday evenings and Thursday mornings.

The business model is a hybrid of voluntary contributions and fee-based services. Revenue is generated primarily through voluntary tithes and offerings collected in-person, by mail, and online via the ChurchCenter giving platform, which supports recurring ACH contributions. Secondary revenue comes from the Child Development Program's monthly tuition. Distribution is multi-channel: in-person at the main campus, online streaming via YouTube/Facebook/Vimeo, the FBC Tuscaloosa Sermons Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, RightNow Media video resources, and a weekly PDF newsletter. The church's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on Life Groups, Discover First sessions, baptisms, women's ministry events, senior trips, and summer programming to attract and retain congregants. Strategic partnerships include the West Alabama Food Bank, One Mission Tuscaloosa County, Sav-A-Life/New Day Women's Center, Good Samaritan Clinic, Community Soup Bowl, House of Hope, FCA West Alabama, Lifeline Services, and Alabama WMU. The 2030 Vision articulates quantified ministry goals including 700,000 spiritual-growth steps, 24,000+ neighbors impacted, 400 healthier families, 70 sent into ministry, and 4 churches strengthened in the Tuscaloosa area.

Name

First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa

Legal name

First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa

Website

https://firsttuscaloosa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1820

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa is a nonprofit Baptist church founded in 1820, serving multi-generational congregants in Tuscaloosa, Alabama through Sunday worship, life-stage ministries, language-specific churches, ESL programs, and a Christian preschool/daycare (Child Development Program).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Other Schools and Instruction (6116)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Preschools (EDACABAF), Faith-Based Childcare Centers (EDACAAAN)

Keywords

• Worship services
• Christian preschool
• Religious education
• Community outreach
• Multilingual ministry

Headquarters

HQ city

Tuscaloosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Voluntary financial contributions from congregation members including regular tithes (10% of income suggested) and special offerings. Collected during in-person services and through mail-in checks.
2. Online Giving: Safe and secure online giving through ChurchCenter platform. Recurring ACH contributions available for regular givers who give set amounts at intervals, saving the church processing fees.
3. Child Development Program Fees: Fees for Child Development Program (CDP) providing Christian day care and preschool for children six weeks through pre-K. Both full-day and half-day care options available with a $100 application fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa is a historic Baptist congregation that delivers weekly worship services, age-segmented discipleship ministries (children, students, college, adults, seniors), a Christian preschool/Child Development Program, English-as-a-Second-Language classes, and bilingual worship services in Spanish and Chinese, along with local, national, and international missions outreach. Programming is delivered in-person at the Tuscaloosa campus and remotely through online streaming, a sermon podcast, and the RightNow Media video resource library.

Product overview

First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa offers a comprehensive suite of ministry programs and digital services centered around worship, education, and community engagement. The church operates a hybrid ministry model combining in-person services (Sunday mornings at 8:30am and 11am, Wednesday evenings at 5pm) with digital platforms including online streaming via YouTube/Facebook/Vimeo, the FBC Tuscaloosa Sermons Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and RightNow Media video resources. Core ministry programs include Kids Ministry (Birth-5th Grade), Students Ministry (6th-12th Grade), College Ministry, Adult Life Groups, Senior Adventure Ministry, and Music/Worship Ministry. Specialized services include the Child Development Program (Christian preschool/daycare for infants through pre-K), English as a Second Language classes, Spanish-language worship (Iglesia Biblica Bautista), and Chinese-language worship (Tuscaloosa Chinese Christian Church). The church also provides online giving capabilities and missions programs spanning local, national, and international outreach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-Person Worship Services

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• West Alabama Food BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFBC Tuscaloosa partners with the West Alabama Food Bank which serves a nine-county area with over 315,000 residents. The WAFB distributes food to households in need through a network of 65 agencies, having distributed over 17 million pounds of food in 21 years.
• One Mission Tuscaloosa CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on mobilizing local churches to offer holistic care for people in all areas of life: spiritual, mental, emotional, relational, material, and physical.
• Sav-A-Life / New Day Women's CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPregnancy resource center offering compassion and support to women and men facing unplanned pregnancies, providing love and hope in Christ.
• Good Samaritan ClinicminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing primary health and dental care for low income and medically uninsured residents in West Alabama.
• Community Soup BowlminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports the Community Soup Bowl which serves hot meals to the homeless and needy in Tuscaloosa, operating for over 30 years.
• House of HopeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry helping broken people know God, find freedom, and discover their purpose.
• FCA West AlabamaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFellowship of Christian Athletes chapter serving athletes and coaches in 10 Alabama counties with eternal purpose focus.
• Lifeline ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaternity home services helping pregnant women with physical, mental, and spiritual health by connecting them with the local church.
• International Missions PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChurch participates in international missions efforts including ongoing community service projects and overseas missions trips to meet physical and spiritual needs globally.
• Feeding AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWest Alabama Food Bank is an affiliate of Feeding America, the Nation's Food Bank Network.
• Alabama WMU (Woman's Missionary Union)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports missions through World Mission Offering including Annie Armstrong, Lottie Moon, Myers-Mallory, and Lifeline Children's Services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• First Baptist Church Atlanta: Long-established Southern Baptist church in the Southeast with multiple Sunday services, family ministries, missions, and a strong community outreach footprint — same denomination, similar institutional heritage, and similar ministry model.
• Church of the Highlands: Large multi-generational church in Birmingham, Alabama with similar Southern Baptist-adjacent DNA, comprehensive ministries across all age groups, community outreach, and digital broadcast — directly comparable in both geography and ministry model to First Baptist Tuscaloosa.
• Saddleback Church: Multi-generational church with strong small-group (Life Group) model, global missions, family ministry, and senior adult programs — closely mirrors FBC Tuscaloosa's ministry structure and discipleship approach.
• Bellevue Baptist Church: Historic Southern Baptist megachurch in Memphis with extensive Sunday programming, music/worship ministry, missions, and family education — same Baptist tradition and similar historic-institution profile as FBC Tuscaloosa.
• Elevation Church: Multi-campus church with strong digital presence, weekly sermon podcast, online streaming, and comprehensive children and student ministries — comparable in tech-enabled reach and modern worship production.
• McLean Bible Church: Large Virginia-based church offering multiple Sunday services, robust online streaming, comprehensive family/children/student ministries, and global missions — directly comparable in programmatic breadth and multi-channel digital strategy.
• North Point Community Church: Major Southeastern U.S. church featuring multiple Sunday services, life groups, children and student ministries, online streaming, and small-group-driven discipleship — same operational playbook as FBC Tuscaloosa at a larger scale.

Others

• RightNow Media: Faith-based video streaming platform that FBC Tuscaloosa offers free to members — adjacent enabler of the church's digital discipleship and resource library strategy rather than a direct competitor.

Emerging players

• Watermark Church: Large Texas-based church with multiple service times, comprehensive family ministry, recovery and discipleship programs, and active digital content distribution — comparable ministry breadth with a more contemporary execution model.

Regional players

• Church of the Nazarene Tuscaloosa: Local Tuscaloosa-area congregation offering similar family and community ministry programming — directly comparable in geographic market and target demographic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@FirstTuscaloosa
• Facebookfacebook.com/FirstTuscaloosa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-baptist-church-tuscaloosa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Baptist Church Tuscaloosa