About FC

Our Mission

Prayerfully partnering with the Holy Spirit's movement of people from unbelief to belief in every area of life.

Our Vision

Double Kingdom Impact: mobilizing the 99 for the 1.

History of FC

There was a dream of establishing a new Christian Church in Newburgh. This dream became a reality in December of 1978, when Pastor Al Karges committed his time to planting First Christian in Newburgh. For nearly six months, cell groups met in homes for Bible Study. Finally, on Sunday morning, May 20, 1979, the first worship service of First Christian Church in Newburgh took place in the Plaza Cinema Theater. In July of 1979, the church purchased six acres of land across from Castle High School. By Christmas of that same year, the land purchase was completely paid for by sacrificial giving. On September 12, 1982, a Service of Dedication was held for the new worship facility at that location. In April 1995, the church completed the construction of a Family Life Center.

In 2002 it was determined that expansion at the prior location was not feasible. In June of 2003, after an extensive search for land, the congregation agreed to purchase 12 acres at State Route 261 and Outer Lincoln Avenue. The construction project would take almost three years, which included a seven-month delay after the nearly-finished facility took a direct hit from an F-4 tornado on November 6, 2005. On July 2, 2006, we worshiped at our current location for the first time.

Since that time, First Christian has flourished in helping others move from unbelief to belief in every area of life. As a church we have seen over 1,000 baptisms and the impact of those who follow Jesus and call FC is immeasurable. We look forward to seeing what God will continue to do in us and through us for years to come!

What We Believe

First Christian Church is an Independent Christian Church founded on the teachings of the 66 books of the Bible. This statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and inerrant Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of First Christian’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Eldership and senior teaching staff are First Christian Church’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.

We believe God is the creator of everything from galaxies to the inner workings of a cell. He is all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful. Never far away from us at anytime, he's perfect in every way. One of the encouragements we have is that God is unchanging and always longs to establish and strengthen His relationship with mankind. True to His nature, He has created us in His image as male and female. (Gen 1:1, 27-28; 1 Jn 4:16; Ps 139:14-16; Job 28:24; Mt 19:26; Ac 17:27; 2 Sam 22:31; Jas 1:17; Jn 3:16).

We believe the Bible is God's story to us and for us. It contains absolute truth and is accurate to principles of how we should live now. We believe the Bible teaches truth about honoring God with our lives, whether it deals with handling finances, that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman, or using the gifts He has given us to build up the church. God's Word helps us transform, becoming more like Him in our attitudes and actions, helping us partner with Him in doing good works (2 Tim 3:16; 1 Pet 2:2).

We believe Jesus is God's Son, the image of his Father. This is the story of Jesus: his mother was a virgin when she conceived, he lived a life of perfection (not even one sin), he called and trained others to follow him, he was crucified on a Roman cross to pay for all sins ever committed, and after three days in a grave God raised him to life again. We believe in Jesus' promise to prepare a place with God for everyone who places their faith in him (Mt 16:16; 2 Cor 4:4; Mt 1:23; 2 Cor 5:21; Lk 6:13; Col 2:14; Mt 16:21; Jn 14:2-3).

We believe God's Spirit lives in those who have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. The Spirit promises to guide us into truth and helps transform us into people who are representatives and ambassadors of God on earth. Life is good but it can also be hard, the Spirit's role in many ways is to be a comforter for us in all aspects of life (Gal 5:22; Rom 8:26; Jn 14:16-17; Jn 16:13).

Church is a descriptive word used of people who are growing to be more like God in our attitudes and actions. There will always be a lot of diverse thinking within the church as well as people at different points within their spiritual lives. The gathering of Church happens throughout the week in groups and conversations and on the weekends when everyone gets together. Being a Church is more about what we hold in common: a common belief that Jesus is God's Son our Savior and Lord and a common mission in life leading others to know God and live for Him (Eph 2:21, 4:4-6, 11-16; Heb 10:24-25).

We believe the good news in the Bible is God offers forgiveness to his creation. Reality is that all of us have lived our lives in such a way that resulted in us turning our backs on God by living in sin (disobedience in attitude and action). Early in the Bible we see the true nature of mankind in our actions of sin from jealousy to rage to greed and more. Through believing in Jesus as the sacrifice for our sin on the cross we can know God has forgiven us and begin to live our lives in the way God created us to live. Baptism is an act of obedience we practice in which we identify with Jesus in his death and resurrection. We are called a new creation when we place faith in Jesus and live in obedience to Jesus (Jn 3:5, 16; Rom 3:22-24; Ac 3:28; Eph 2:4-9; 2 Cor 5:17).