Specialties
First United Church is an inclusive community of Christian faith. We are a unified congregation proudly affiliated with two denominations - American Baptist Churches USA and United Church of Christ - but our congregation includes persons from many different religious backgrounds. Both denominations are committed to the principles of congregational independence and freedom of the individual believer to interpret scripture in the light of his own experience of God. As we value diversity on the one hand, on the other we are united in our faith in Jesus Christ. That faith is central to our witness as a congregation. Our purpose is to help each other live out this Christian commitment through worship, study, and service, as we are also committed to invite others to share the good news of Jesus Christ.
First United is an open, welcoming, and Affirming congregation.
History
Established in 1825.
First United Church is a union of two congregations, American Baptist and United Church of Christ. The church's Baptist roots go back to 1825, when Monroe County pioneers first established a congregation in Bloomington.
In the 1930s through the '60s, First Baptist was a leading progressive force in the community. Our church was the first in Bloomington to desegregate.
In 1973, the First Baptist Church united with a smaller United Church of Christ congregation which had its origins in a house church centered on the Indiana University campus. Over time the two congregations, similar in theological and social perspectives, have melded into one. This reality was symbolized by another name change, when in 2003 we became "First United Church."
In September 2008, the congregation voted overwhelmingly to became officially an open, welcoming and affirming church in the ABC and UCC traditions. This action reaffirmed the progressive tradition of our 183 year old congregation.
Meet the Manager: Jack S.
Rev. Dr. Jack Skiles was called to be senior pastor at the First United Church on April 30, 2006, and officially assumed his position on July 1.
Rev. Skiles is a native Hoosier with a degree in psychology from Ball State University. He completed his M.Div. at Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Kansas City) and his D.Min. at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. Following two associate minister positions, the first at a merged ABC/UCC congregation in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and the second at First Baptist of Indianapolis, he was called to the South Church in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. Rev. Skiles pastored the South Church for 16 years, growing it in numbers and transforming it into a vital, intergenerational congregation.
We are fortunate that Rev. Skiles' hopes to return eventually to Indiana could be realized at First United Church which, with its traditions of openness and tolerance, grounded in a genuine Christian faith, is a place where he can be comfortable.
