First Congregational United Church of Christ of Portland

What First Congregational United Church of Christ of Portland does

First Congregational United Church of Christ of Portland is a non-profit religious congregation founded on June 15, 1851, making it one of the oldest continuously operating congregations in Oregon (eight years predating Oregon statehood). The organization occupies a Venetian Gothic church building at 1126 SW Park Avenue, Portland, completed in 1895 and designed by Swiss architect Henry J. Hefty with a 175-foot bell tower evocative of Boston's Old South Church; the mailing/office address is 1137 SW Broadway. The church is a member congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC) following the 1960 merger of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church, and is affiliated with the Central Pacific Conference. It holds Open & Affirming and Immigrant Welcoming (since 2019) designations and is part of the Christians Against Christian Nationalism network.

The organization's core offering is weekly Sunday worship at 10:30am, with a full sermon archive streamed via YouTube and a website at uccportland.org serving as the primary digital hub. It maintains a 55-rank custom pipe organ designed by Music Director Grant Edwards in collaboration with Bond Organ Builders, a choral program (soprano, alto, tenor, bass sections plus the Park Avenue Jazz Ensemble), and pastoral care, counseling, and Called to Care visitation ministry. Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Derek Austin (joined 2024) leads the church alongside Music Director Edwards (serving since 1995), Operations and Communications Manager April Alexander, Facilities Manager Steve Eggers, and a small event/custodial team, totaling 11-50 employees.

Revenue is derived entirely from voluntary donations, tithes, and offerings — the church does not charge for worship services. The operating model is supported by an ecosystem of partner-hosted ministries: Potluck in the Park (26 years, ~30 gallons of beverages weekly for 300-500 persons), Clay St. Table (food pantry, including a Latinx overflow pantry and "Soup Sundays"), ArtReach Gallery (rotating public exhibitions, including the 2026 Camille Kerpen Retrospective), the Immigrant Welcoming Committee (advocacy, Know Your Rights education, accompaniment, and the Bienvenidos Quilt Project with 800+ quilts delivered), Eve's Circle women's fellowship, and advocacy coalitions including IMIrJ and Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans. There is no proprietary technology, no app, no AI capability, and no commercial product line; the organization's "products" are ministry programs and a streaming media channel.

Name

First Congregational United Church of Christ of Portland

Legal name

First Congregational United Church of Christ of Portland

Website

https://uccportland.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1851

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Congregational United Church of Christ of Portland is a 173-year-old non-profit mainline congregation in downtown Portland offering weekly worship, music, and community ministries, funded by voluntary donations and serving members, food-insecure neighbors, and immigrant families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAJAA

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

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGAJAG

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

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

Keywords

• Religious worship services
• Pastoral care ministry
• Religious education programs
• Community food assistance
• Immigrant advocacy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

First Congregational UCC provides weekly Sunday worship services (10:30am) supported by a YouTube sermon archive, pastoral care, religious education, and an extensive music ministry featuring choir and a custom 55-rank pipe organ. Beyond worship, the church delivers a portfolio of community ministries including food assistance (Clay St. Table pantry, Potluck in the Park), immigrant support and advocacy (Immigrant Welcoming Committee), an in-building art gallery (ArtReach Gallery), care visits for isolated members (Called to Care), and a women's fellowship (Eve's Circle).

Product overview

First Congregational United Church of Christ of Portland offers a unified worship ministry centered on weekly Sunday services at 10:30am, supplemented by an extensive YouTube sermon archive. The church provides community programs including food outreach (Potluck in the Park, Clay St. Table pantry), the Art Reach Gallery exhibition space, music ministry with choir and pipe organ, and support services (Immigrant Welcoming Committee, Called to Care, Eve's Circle). These programs operate as distinct ministry offerings rather than a modular product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Worship Services
• ArtReach Gallery
• Potluck in the Park
• Clay St. Table Food Pantry
• Choir and Music Program
• Immigrant Welcoming Committee

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United Church of ChristcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational denominational affiliation. The church voted in 1960 to affirm merger of Congregational Christian Churches and Evangelical and Reformed Church, becoming part of UCC. Church is Open & Affirming and Immigrant Welcoming Congregation designated.
• Central Pacific ConferencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional conference of UCC. In 2016, CPC declared itself an Immigrant Welcoming Conference. Church participates in conference activities and represents IWC congregations in biweekly meetings.
• Portland Baroque OrchestraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated arts organization; listed as partner in church's affiliation section.
• Sanctuary HallminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated organization; listed as partner in church's affiliation section.
• Camp AdamsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCC-affiliated camp; listed as partner in church's affiliation section.
• ArtReach GallerycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGallery housed in church building at 1126 SW Park Ave. Hosts rotating art exhibitions open to the public, including current exhibition of Camille Kerpen Retrospective (August-October 2026).
• Clay St. TablecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood pantry organization serves low-income and houseless neighbors six days a week. Church provides space for overflow pantry (especially for Latinx pantry) and kitchen for food preparation. Church donates hearty soups every first Sunday ('Soup Sundays').
• Potluck in the ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit organization. For 26 years, church has provided approximately 30 gallons of beverages for 300-500 hungry persons every Sunday afternoon. Other churches and nonprofits provide food while church provides beverages.
• Bienvenidos QuiltsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuilt-making project launched to make and deliver over 800 quilts for children and families at the border or locally. Church hosts and supports this initiative.
• Green Valley-Sahuarita SamaritansminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImmigration advocacy network. Church participates in monthly meetings to coordinate advocacy and support efforts and attends Advocacy Day at Oregon State Capitol.
• Oregon Historical SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProcessed and cataloged the church archives totaling 70 cubic feet. Collections inventory available at Archives West.
• Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition for immigrant advocacy. Church attends Advocacy Day at Oregon State Capitol with this organization.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Portland): A historic Episcopal cathedral in downtown Portland with comparable liturgical programming, progressive theology, music ministry (including a major pipe organ), and outreach partnerships — the closest direct peer for a mainline historic congregation in the same city.
• First Unitarian Church of Portland: A progressive downtown Portland congregation with a comparable values profile (LGBTQ+ affirming, social-justice oriented), a similarly historic building, and similar music/community-arts programming — a near-substitute for inclusively-minded congregants and donors in the same metro.
• Augustana Lutheran Church (Portland): An ELCA Lutheran congregation in Portland with similar historic-building presence, choral and organ music programming, and progressive social-justice engagement that competes for the same mainline donor pool.

Regional players

• Rose City Park Presbyterian Church: A mainline Presbyterian congregation in the Portland metro with comparable community-outreach programming and denominational-affiliated structure — relevant for understanding the competitive set of historically-rooted mainline churches in the region.
• Mission: Food for the Hungry (Portland): A Portland-area faith-rooted anti-hunger nonprofit that overlaps with the church's food-security programming and represents an alternative vehicle for funders choosing between church-based vs. independent food-service delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ: The UCC regional body that the church is a member of and that coordinates Immigrant Welcoming Conference activities — the natural denominational peer that provides governance, resourcing, and inter-church programming scale.

Emerging players

• Clay St. Table: A Portland food-pantry nonprofit that operates from the church's building and provides the church's most tangible community-impact programming — a tightly-coupled partner that is also a peer in faith-rooted community food service.
• Potluck in the Park: The 26-year-old nonprofit the church supports every Sunday with beverages for 300–500 hungry guests — a peer in faith-rooted meal-service delivery that shares the church's social-service mission footprint.
• Portland Baroque Orchestra: A performing-arts ensemble affiliated with the church that uses its historic building and pipe organ for concerts — a mission-adjacent peer that leverages the church's cultural assets and competes for cultural-program donors in Portland.

Others

• Oregon Historical Society: The institution that has cataloged the church's 70-cubic-foot archive — a peer/partner in heritage stewardship, and a benchmark for comparable historical cultural institutions in the Portland region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@firstcongregationaluccport8709/streams
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-congregational-united-church-of-christ

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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