Spokane First: A Century of Pentecostal Roots on Indiana Avenue
On the north side of Spokane, Washington, a red-bricked church on West Indiana Avenue has been a steady presence for more than a hundred years. Spokane First is an Assemblies of God congregation that traces its roots to 1914, when three men - Frank Gray, Thomas L. Nunn, and William Rhoads - gathered a small group of Pentecostal believers in the city. The Assemblies of God formally incorporated the group in 1918, and the church now known as Spokane First has been quietly shaping the spiritual landscape of Spokane ever since. Today the church describes itself as a Jesus-first community helping people live Jesus-first lives, and its identity is built around four simple phrases: where Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Close, Jesus is Followed, and Jesus is Seen.
What Sunday Morning Looks Like
The main worship service meets Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at 828 W Indiana Avenue. Visitors who arrive a few minutes early are met at the main entrance on the Lincoln side of the building by a host team and greeters, with coffee available at the Connection Center in the main lobby for anyone who is newer. The service follows a relaxed rhythm: a host welcomes those in the room and online, the band plays a few songs, kids are dismissed to their programs, a pastor teaches from the Bible, and the congregation responds with prayer and sometimes communion before the band closes with one or two more songs.
Dress is informal; most people wear jeans, including the pastors, and anyone is welcome to come as they are. Kids from three years old and up begin in the service with their parents before being dismissed to their age-appropriate rooms, and all children can be checked in either in the main lobby or just outside the kids space. Families of children with special needs will find a dedicated resource team and room available every Sunday at the 10:30 service.
The 9: Sunday-Morning Discipleship
An hour before the main service, at 9 a.m. every Sunday, the church opens what it calls The 9. The name comes from the early Christian faith, which holds that information and formation cannot be separated. The 9 is designed to help followers of Jesus understand the theology, ministry, and history at the heart of the Christian story. It is open to anyone who wants to go deeper, and the same hour is also when children's discipleship classes and student discipleship meet, so the whole family can be learning in parallel.
Making Disciples: Knowledge, Disciplines, Community, Presence
Spokane First's stated mission is to make disciples, and the church describes its disciple-making framework in four words. Knowledge means getting right ideas about God, ourselves, and others. Disciplines means being doers of the Word, not just hearers. Community is about forging close, covenantal relationships. Presence is learning to live with Jesus throughout the day. The church teaches that this is where rescue and renewal happen - where marriages are restored, conflicts resolved, and justice flows through the power of the Holy Spirit.
A Brief History and the First Collective
The story of Spokane First is one of merger and multiplication. In 1919, just five years after the church was formed, Spokane First merged with another Pentecostal group on the South Hill of Spokane to reach more people for Jesus. In 2015, a Marshallese congregation already meeting in Spokane joined the family, and in 2019 the church merged with what was Ridgeview Christian Center to become one church in multiple locations. Over the last decade the church has grown from one location to multiple gatherings under one board, one staff, and one budget.
That growth led to the development of the First Collective, described by the church as a collection of churches collaborating as one for the good of the city. Drawing on New Testament patterns of connectionalism, the Collective allows local congregations to maintain meaningful autonomy while voluntarily partnering together. Churches within the Collective share governance through local Deacon Boards that submit to a shared board of Elders and Overseers, share resources through one budget (with each church contributing 5 percent of its previous year's budget to central services), and periodically join together for events, services, and shared ministry initiatives. The four guiding values of the Collective are simple: Scripture will lead the way and set the limits; the Collective exists for its churches; mission and multiplication are nonnegotiable; and the goal is harmony, not uniformity.
Kids Ministry: Pre-K Through 5th Grade
The Kids Ministry at Spokane First is built around a single goal: that every child would have a real encounter with Jesus. The space is designed to be safe, loving, and age-appropriate, with the prayer that each child would walk away with a foundation of God's truth that lasts a lifetime.
For the youngest children, the Pre-K and Kindergarten room is a hands-on, interactive morning where babies and toddlers begin learning about the love of Jesus. For 1st through 5th graders, every service in FIRST.kids is centered on Jesus and the Bible, creating an exciting atmosphere where kids experience the truth of Jesus' love and the faithfulness of God's Word. During The 9 at 9 a.m., the Kids Team teaches critical Bible accounts and lessons, and parents can trust that trained, passionate volunteers are caring for their children.
Student Ministries: Middle School Through High School
Students in 6th through 12th grade have their own rhythms at Spokane First. Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. are for the main youth gathering, a typical night of games, student-led worship, a sermon, and small-group time led by a leader handpicked for each specific age group. Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. are reserved for discipleship, where the focus is developing students in core Christian beliefs and challenging them with biblical study.
The ministry is led by Youth Pastor Blake Andrews and his wife Raquel, who oversee a network of small groups called Crews. Crews are split between age groups and genders and pair students with trained youth leaders. These groups meet both inside and outside the church with the aim of building healthy community and deeply rooted personal faith. The church's heart for students is captured in a simple phrase: every student, no matter how long they stay, is built up to live a Jesus-first life and to help other students do the same.
The Well: A Space for Young Adults
Young adults gather once a month for The Well, meeting on the last Sunday of every month from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Led by Pastor Jelane McBride in partnership with the YA Collective, The Well exists to create space for young adults to do life together, seek the Lord, and deepen their relationships. The atmosphere is intentionally open - there is a seat at the table for everyone - and the goal is for each young adult to be seen, known, and to discover that there is a purpose and plan for their life. The Well sees itself as part of a wider movement of young adults across the city who are seeking to be salt and light in the world.
Spokane First Marshallese
In 2015, Spokane First welcomed an existing Marshallese congregation into the church family, creating a cultural and linguistic ministry that is now an integral part of who the church is. The Marshallese ministry meets at the same Indiana Avenue address and gathers three times a week. Sunday worship is at 3 p.m., with Monday prayer at 6 p.m. and a Thursday midweek gathering at 6 p.m. These services are held in the Marshallese language and are a home for Spokane's Marshallese Christian community.
What Spokane First Believes
Spokane First holds to a clear set of essential beliefs rooted in the Assemblies of God tradition, while leaving room for liberty on non-essentials. The Bible, composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the sole basis of belief and is held to be infallible and inerrant in the original manuscripts. God exists eternally in three co-equal persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each fully God. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, born of a virgin, who lived perfectly, died as a substitute for sinners, rose bodily, ascended into heaven, and will return personally and visibly.
The Holy Spirit indwells every believer at salvation, providing assurance, strength, and wisdom, and uniquely empowering each Christian with spiritual gifts for the building up of the church. Salvation is wholly a work of God's free grace, personally received through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, and results in becoming a new creation continually being transformed into the image of Christ. The church itself is a community of all who trust in Jesus, expressed through local congregations that worship God, experience community, grow spiritually, are equipped for service, and reach the world through mission. Eternity is real: each person will either exist consciously in hell, separated from God by sin, or in the new heaven and new earth, in union with God through forgiveness and salvation.
Leadership
The pastoral team is led by Lead Pastor Josh Hall and his wife Amber. Don Stevens serves as Care and Connection Pastor, Jelane McBride as Young Adults and Executive Pastor, Jay Beal as Creative Arts Pastor, Blake Andrews as Youth Pastor, and Kaarina Gilmartin as Children's Pastor.
Next Steps and Getting Connected
For those who have attended a time or two and want to go deeper, Spokane First has a clear pathway. First Step is a casual 15- to 20-minute conversation with church leaders that happens on the first Sunday of every month right after the 10:30 service, held in the chapel behind the main auditorium; kids are watched and fed so parents can relax. Connect First is the church's membership class, held periodically throughout the year, where attendees learn about the values of Spokane First, the vision for the future, and where they fit in the family.
Water baptism is practiced as a disciple's public declaration of faith, and parents may also schedule a baby dedication as a family commitment to raise a child to follow Jesus. A prayer team prays over requests throughout the week. Small groups meet around the city, and the church has a dedicated app and online giving through Church Center. Sermons are available on YouTube, and giving can be made online, by mail to P.O. Box 9069, Spokane, WA 99209, or in person at Sunday gatherings.