Hope Starts Here on Spring Creek Road
On the east side of Rockford, just off Spring Creek Road, a sprawling Pentecostal congregation called City First Church has spent the better part of a century working out what it means to bring hope to a city. From its flagship campus at 5950 Spring Creek Road, the church runs three physical locations - in Rockford, Illinois; Cape Coral, Florida; and Janesville, Wisconsin - and serves two correctional facilities. Beyond those walls, City First Anywhere streams six Sunday services into living rooms across all 50 states and more than 60 countries. The church's tagline, painted across the homepage in oversized script, is the simplest summary of the whole project: "Hope starts here."
City First grew up out of a cornfield. Pastors Jeremy and Jen DeWeerdt, who now lead the church, tell the story this way: nearly a hundred years ago a small congregation began meeting outside Rockford, later moved into a storefront downtown, and eventually built one of the city's first large auditoriums. Today the Spring Creek campus anchors a ministry that includes preschool and kindergarten, a children's academy, a leadership college, a special-needs program, and a global livestream.
From a Cornfield to a Century on Spring Creek Road
The current senior pastors grew up inside City First. Jeremy DeWeerdt started in the student ministry, later founded what is now City First Leadership College, and stepped into senior leadership in 2007. Jen DeWeerdt has shaped community and family life at the church for years and founded the Original Women's Conference, a gathering where she says thousands of women have discovered purpose and direction. Married since 1995, the DeWeerdts are parents of three sons and grandparents of one, and hold master's degrees in ministerial leadership from Southeastern University; Jeremy also holds a Doctor of Ministry from Portland Seminary at George Fox University.
Under their leadership, City First continues to add campuses and ministries. The Cape Coral location launched under Jason and Bianca Callahan in March 2024, and the Janesville campus is pastored by Ben and Kate Burton, a couple with more than a decade of ministry experience between them. The church's mission statement keeps things simple: "We exist to introduce everyone to Jesus and teach them to follow Him." The vision statement widens it: "To be a movement of God's love, so cities are full of hope and people are full of purpose."
Six Sundays in Every Time Zone: City First Anywhere
The most distinctive thing about City First is its online footprint. City First Anywhere is treated as a campus in its own right. Six Sunday services stream at 8:30 AM, 10:00 AM, 11:30 AM, 4:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 8:00 PM Central Time, viewable on the City First app, through Apple TV, Roku, Google Play, Amazon Fire TV, and a podcast feed. A Spanish-language service is posted on YouTube each Wednesday for the global Spanish-speaking audience.
City First Anywhere is more than a broadcast. People gather in homes, on smart devices, and in watch parties in dozens of countries. The church's annual reporting puts City First Anywhere views in the tens of millions across roughly 80 countries. Kids are not left out: City First Kids At Home offers separate online experiences for ages 2 through kindergarten and for first through fifth grade, each filled with music, Bible stories, and family discussion questions.
Sunday Mornings at Spring Creek
For those who show up in person at Spring Creek Road, the day runs like clockwork. Doors open for three identical Main Worship Experiences at 8:30 AM, 10:00 AM, and 11:30 AM. Each service pairs energetic, contemporary worship with teaching that the pastors say is meant to encourage the everyday. The 10:00 AM service offers live Spanish translation through the City First App for in-person attendees who prefer to follow the sermon in their own language.
Families with children can leave them in City First Kids, which runs at every hour in age-appropriate rooms from nursery through fifth grade. Five- and six-year-olds through sixth graders have their own experience called Remix 56 in The Forum at 10:00 and 11:30 AM, designed to bridge the gap between children's ministry and youth ministry. Adults with special needs have two dedicated environments: Illuminators at 10:00 AM and Champions Club at 11:30 AM.
First-time visitors are encouraged to RSVP so a host can meet them at the door. Parking is plentiful outside the building, and a coffee shop in the lobby serves free drip coffee alongside gourmet drinks. Dress is "come as you are" - every style is welcome.
Cape Coral and Janesville: The Same Family, New Addresses
City First Cape Coral gathers at 121 Del Prado Boulevard South for two Sunday services at 9:30 and 11:00 AM, with City First Kids and Champions Club during both hours. The Florida campus launched under Jason and Bianca Callahan in 2024. The Callahans met in youth ministry, have been married since 2017, and are parents to Truth, Dove, and Haven. Wednesday at 6:30 PM the Cape Coral youth gather for their own midweek service.
City First Janesville meets at 2618 Mt Zion Avenue at 10:00 AM each Sunday, with City First Kids during the service and youth nights on Thursdays at 6:30 PM. Pastors Ben and Kate Burton, married since 2015 and parents to Charlee Kate and Hudson, lead the Wisconsin campus. Each location keeps the same essentials - the same worship style, the same children's check-in system, the same online access through City First Anywhere - while running as its own community.
God Behind Bars at Dixon and Hardee
City First partners with God Behind Bars to host church services inside two prisons. The Illinois ministry at Dixon Correctional Center began as a vision of Pastors Jeremy and Jen in 2014 and launched its first service in 2017; the Florida ministry at Hardee Correctional Institution joined later. Each week, staff and volunteers step inside the facilities to lead worship, host small groups, and walk alongside the men and women incarcerated there. Inmates also stream City First's services through the Pando app; the church's most recent reporting counts nearly a million such views.
The prison ministries are not a side project. They are listed alongside Rockford, Cape Coral, and Janesville as official locations of City First, and the church teaches that Jesus is present with those who visit the imprisoned. Visitors are welcomed to serve: those interested in Dixon can email dixon@cityfirst.church, and those interested in Hardee can email hardee@cityfirst.church.
Champions Club: Built for Every Ability
Champions Club is City First's special-needs ministry and one of the programs the church is best known for locally. It serves kids, teens, and adults with intellectual or physical disabilities, sensory sensitivities, or anyone who needs a slower-paced environment. At Spring Creek, Champions Club runs at 11:30 AM and Illuminators (for adults) at 10:00 AM. Cape Coral offers Champions Club during both Sunday services.
The program is built around specialty rooms - a sensory room, an educational room, a physical-therapy room, and a spiritual-therapy room - and rotates participants through each for about 15 minutes during the service. Volunteers are trained and the program aims for a one-to-one child-to-teacher ratio whenever possible. Champions Club families say the program gives their children a church experience designed for them rather than adapted from a typical classroom.
City First Kids, Remix 56, Youth, and Young Adults
Children's ministry at City First is structured by age. Nursery and toddler rooms introduce the littlest ones to God's love through play. Preschool rooms use Bible stories, songs, and crafts. Elementary (kindergarten through fifth grade) gathers for dynamic worship, interactive lessons, and small groups. Remix 56 picks up fifth and sixth graders in The Forum at 10:00 and 11:30 AM, giving them a youth-style service of their own.
Beyond Sunday mornings, City First Kids Academy runs on Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM for first through fifth graders at the Spring Creek campus. Registration is free; supplies include a lanyard, T-shirt, Bible, and tabs. The semester is eight weeks long and includes pizza, small groups, Bible verse memorization, and hands-on challenges.
City First Youth meets in three different rhythms across the three campuses. In Rockford, youth life groups gather on Sunday evenings: middle schoolers (grades 6 to 8) meet from 5:00 to 6:30 PM in the Christian Life North Gym, and high schoolers (grades 9 to 12) meet from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in host homes. Cape Coral youth meet Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM. Janesville youth meet Thursday nights at 6:30 PM. Each gathering mixes games, small groups, and teaching.
City First Young Adults, for ages 18 to 30, gathers Wednesday nights at 7:00 PM at the City First Leadership College Building next door to the Spring Creek campus, with worship, a message aimed at their stage of life, and room to build friendships. Life Groups for young adults are also available.
City First Academy and City First Leadership College
City First Academy is the church's adult education program, held at the Spring Creek campus. It offers two certificates - one in Biblical Studies, one in Leadership Studies - each worth 12 college credits through Southeastern University. Students can also audit classes for a fraction of the cost and skip the homework. The senior leadership team, executive team, and pastors teach the courses themselves.
City First Academy - Kids is a parallel track for first through fifth graders who want a deeper Bible study than Sunday morning allows. Children meet weekly during the Kids Academy semester to memorize verses, complete monthly challenges, and earn pins for their lanyards.
City First Leadership College is a separate, more intensive program founded by Pastor Jeremy that trains ministry leaders. The church also points adults toward Southeastern University for accredited degree paths and toward the New Beginnings 14-day devotional for those brand new to faith.
Life Groups, Freedom Groups, and the Dream Team
Life Groups are the small-group backbone of the church, meeting throughout the week in homes and on campus. The directory lists groups for every life stage; new visitors can browse the directory, contact a leader directly, and try a group. Care Groups are also offered for specific seasons such as Divorce Care and Grief Share.
Freedom Groups are a 13-week journey through identity in Christ, walking in the Spirit, forgiveness, the power of words, and worship. The groups are designed for anyone carrying weight from earlier chapters of life and want a structured path through healing.
Serving happens through the Dream Team, which is organized into Champions Club, Church Online, Facilities, First Impressions, God Behind Bars, Kids' Ministry, Life Groups, Productions, Student Ministries, and Worship. New volunteers move through Growth Track, a four-Sunday journey of Connect, Discover, Develop, and Deploy that meets on the first four Sundays of each month.
Baptism, Child Dedication, and the Next Steps
City First practices believer's baptism by immersion. The church holds baptism celebrations several times a year, with the next one scheduled in late November. Parents can also bring children forward for child dedication, a public commitment to raise a child in a Christ-centered home surrounded by the support of the church family. Both sign-ups are available through the church's online portal.
For those new to faith, the church offers a 14-day devotional called New Beginnings, a Faith Foundations video series, and a clear path through Growth Track into Life Groups and the Dream Team.
Beliefs and Values
City First teaches classical Pentecostal doctrines rooted in the Assemblies of God tradition. The church believes in one God eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; in the Bible as the inspired and authoritative Word of God; in humanity's separation from God through sin and salvation through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; in baptism by immersion as a public profession of faith; in the practice of communion; in Spirit-filled living; and in tithing as a biblical model for generosity.
The church's four core values are Know God, Grow in Faith, Live It Out, and Pass It On - each drawn from a short list of Scriptures and meant to move Christians from Sunday worship into daily obedience and evangelism.
Generosity and the Legacy Offering
Tithing is taught as the biblical baseline - 10 percent of income given back to God through the local church - and the church offers a Generosity Rockstars program for those just starting out, encouraging a $20 per week recurring gift. The annual Legacy Offering, held at year end, funds five areas: building and expansion, local missions, national missions, world missions, and City First Leadership College. The most recent year-in-review reporting tallies 2,743 reported salvations, 101,263 meals given away through drive-thru food distributions, 3.5 million pounds of food distributed, 11,000 meals served to the homeless, and 3,000 Christmas gifts given to children in need.
Giving is accepted online, by mail to the Spring Creek address, and in service at any campus. Year-end gifts must be received online by 11:59 PM on December 31, postmarked by December 31, or dropped off in person by 5:00 PM on December 31 to count toward the year's giving statement.
The Senior Pastors and the People Behind the Church
City First is led by Dr. Jeremy and Jen DeWeerdt. Each physical campus has its own location pastors - Jason and Bianca Callahan in Cape Coral, Ben and Kate Burton in Janesville - who carry the day-to-day ministry of their community. Behind them sits a senior leadership team, an executive team, a worship team, a Dream Team of volunteers, and the staff who run Kids, Youth, Champions Club, the Academy, the prison ministries, and City First Anywhere.
The church's name, City First, captures the heartbeat of the project: cities full of hope and people full of purpose. After nearly a hundred years, that vision still drives a cornfield congregation that has become a family in three states, two correctional facilities, and every time zone online.