First Church welcomes everyone.

...we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another. Romans 12:5

We are a church of faith.

We believe that there is a God, who created and cares for everything and everyone.

Each one of us is made by God and for God.

We learn about God and ourselves in the world through the Bible. To be understood through the Bible, God loves questions and doesn’t expect we will all agree on everything.

We are believers and seekers from all walks of life.
Whoever you are, whatever your story, in this church, you are family.

We are a church of action.

Our work to help God’s children takes us into our local neighborhood and around the world.

Every Monday night we offer a home-cooked meal to anyone who is hungry. We take our “FREE PRAYERS” booth to events right here in Des Plaines, where we meet and pray with people from all walks of life. We help feed needy children through our Community Backpack Program.

We also support disaster relief, promote affordable housing, and more. We would love to have your help and energy.

We've been here a while.

It started in the 1820s.

Methodism was brought to the wilderness of Northern Illinois as early as 1820's by Circuit Rider preachers. (One of the windows in the Nave depicts a typical Circuit Rider making the rounds of the designated preaching points.)

Our roots in Des Plaines

In 1831, settlers in Des Plaines were organized into a "Methodist Class Meeting" before Illinois became a state.

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Our first church, built in 1871 on Lee St, near Thacker St. Construction and furnishings cost about $4000, with seats for almost 200 people. It was sold to the Des Plaines Lutheran Church in 1886.