Second Congregational UCC/First Presbyterian Church of Rockford

Worshipping God

By employing a wide range of traditions, liturgies and music in a familiar format, we hope a diverse body of people can know the presence of the living, loving God. By the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we can come before God with all of our emotions and experiences to praise, confess, learn and sing. We desire to revel in the written and spoken Word of God, that encourages us to love one another and walk with Jesus in our city.

Welcoming All People

Second First Church desires to mirror the Kingdom of God where all of God’s children (all people) are welcomed as we are, cherished for our differences and drawn together in the one body of Christ. We desire our church structure and expressions of faith reflect the diversity of race, culture, politics, gender and sexual orientation in the Rockford community. SecondFirst Church seeks to encourage each of us to live into who God created us to be!

Serving Our Neighbors

We want to serve one another through Christian care, fellowship and prayer. We desire for the walls of our church to be permeable to the neighborhood, where there is no external distinction between neighbor and member. With the understanding we are all in need at different times (there is no “us” and “them”), we seek to serve the physical, spiritual and materials needs of our members and neighbors. We desire to work tirelessly for justice on behalf of those who are broken by life’s circumstances.

Sharing God’s Grace

We have been so richly blessed by the grace of God made known to us in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. We seek to share this grace with one another and with the greater Rockford community. While many believe following God restricts them to a set of rules, we want to tell the world of God’s expansive, life-giving and extravagant grace. We seek to align ourselves with the God of grace who is working toward making all things right and new, where all people are loved, upheld and cherished.