First Presbyterian Church sits in the heart of downtown Aurora at 325 E. Downer Place. This multigenerational, family-oriented Evangelical Presbyterian Church is known for pairing a long Presbyterian history with a focus on Jesus, biblical formation, and service in Aurora. Its vision is for hundreds of Aurora families to know Jesus Christ, grow in faith, care in love, and share hope of eternal life. That vision shapes a Sunday rhythm of classes for all ages at 9:00 AM and worship at 10:00 AM, along with ministries that continue throughout the week.
More Than 150 Years at Fourth and Downer
First Pres was founded on June 13, 1858, when a small group of believers met in Aurora and organized as a Presbyterian Church at Fourth and Downer. A building on the present site was occupied in 1874 and remained in use until 1916, and the present sanctuary was built in 1901.
A three-story addition was made in 1916 for classrooms and a gymnasium. An education unit followed in 1966, and the sanctuary was remodeled and air-conditioned in 1967. The PTL House, purchased in 1974, is now a transitional living home for graduates of the Master's Touch Program of Wayside Cross Ministries. The John R. Harkness Recreation Fellowship Family Center was built in 1978. In 1997, the main building's south entrance was remodeled and an elevator installed.
Sunday Morning at Downer Place
Sunday classes begin at 9:00 AM. Adult classes meet until 9:40, while children and youth remain until 9:45. Arrival registration for children begins at 8:45 on the second level near the elevator, and adults have a brief window for coffee and treats before class begins. Classes across the lower and second levels make Bible study part of the Sunday rhythm before worship.
Sunday worship begins at 10:00 AM and lasts about 75 minutes. The congregation includes families, adults, and people of many ages and backgrounds, and visitors can expect a friendly welcome. People dress as they wish, with some wearing Sunday best and others wearing T-shirts and jeans. Greeters offer a warm first encounter, while ushers assist with seating and the offering. The service is also carried on a livestream.
Organ, Hymns and Contemporary Worship
First Pres worship centers on Jesus Christ and emphasizes his life, death, resurrection, victory over evil, and sacrificial love. The service uses the Bible, music, prayer, readings, communion, and baptisms. The congregation responds to the Gospel through praise, adoration, love, word, and song.
Music is coordinated by Nate Klinger, whose ministry experience spans ancient hymns and modern worship and whose classical piano training informs his work. The worship ensemble is led by pastors, a worship leader, a chief musician playing piano or organ, vocalists, instrumentalists, and an occasional choir. A seasonal choir serves Advent, Holy Week, and Pentecost, while a chamber vocal ensemble provides additional music during the year. Camera, sound, and multimedia teams support both the sanctuary service and the livestream.
Preaching is expository, with Pastors taking time to examine a particular Bible passage and apply it faithfully and relevantly to life. The emphasis is on Jesus and what he has done for humanity.
Children Are Members of the Congregation Now
Children and Family Ministries, overseen by Britta Wallbaum, support families as they seek to know God, become transformed by his Word, and live missionally together. First Pres treats children as whole people who are open to the work of the Holy Spirit and capable of a rich life with God. Children are invited to remain in the worship service because they are considered an integral part of the church.
New City Kids serves children from age 2 through fifth grade from 9:00 to 9:45 AM. The nursery for birth through age 2 follows a simple repeated curriculum emphasizing God's love and belonging. Pre-K uses the God Loves Me Storybooks, songs, stories, free play, and a snack. Gatherings for kindergarten through fifth grade begin with welcome, song, and prayer before classes separate by age. Children and Worship uses Montessori-style storytelling to help younger children interact with the Gospel, while WonderLab uses direct Bible stories, reading, wondering, and reflection for grades 2 through 5. Nursery care for children through age four is also available during worship.
Seven Faith Milestones from Birth to Fifth Grade
First Pres holds that much of a child's faith development is caught through relationship, worship, belonging, and opportunities to practice faith. Its Milestone Plan organizes childhood ministry around seven rites of passage, each joining preparation, church celebration, and family celebration.
- Baptism: The church baptizes children with at least one believing parent to recognize them as members of the visible church. Older children may also be baptized with a profession of faith.
- Wee Worship: Nursery care serves children from birth through age four. Children ages 4 through 6 are invited to a fifth-Sunday worship workshop during the sermon.
- Welcomed to Worship: As children develop reading skills and longer attention spans, families help them increasingly participate in the full worship service.
- Explore the Bible: Parents are encouraged to give children their own Bibles and help them use their growing curiosity and skills to read Scripture at home.
- Serve the Church: Beginning at age 7, children become apprentices to adults and gradually take part in worship and service.
- Receive Communion: Children in third and fourth grade join an adult for a class of conversations and experiences that prepare them for communion.
- Live the Mystery: Preteens are encouraged to approach faith through study, wonder, and spiritual practice as they prepare for seasons of questioning and doubt.
Family worship is central because formation happens at home through ordinary work, play, rest, and relationships. Faith5 Guides, the New City Catechism, Songs for Saplings, and children's story Bibles support that rhythm beyond Sunday.
Youth, Family Exercise and Formation at Home
Middle and high school students have a weekly Youth Group from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Harkness Center, 60 S. Fourth St. The time is devoted to relationships with peers and adults, Bible study, games, and fellowship. Regular opportunities for fun and service include walking downtown for ice cream, bowling, attending a Kane County Cougars game, or visiting Raging Waves Waterpark.
Family Exercise meets at the Harkness Center gym on Mondays and Tuesdays from 6:00 to 9:00 PM throughout the school year, with Saturday options offered bimonthly. First Pres also emphasizes formation at home through the week. Parents receive resources and encouragement for family worship, Bible reading, catechesis, and helping children make faith part of ordinary life.
A Church Where Every Ability Can Belong
First Pres believes people of all abilities are created in God's image and are essential to the body of Christ. Its disability ministry seeks relationships that welcome and support individuals and families in the congregation and surrounding community, allowing them to belong, minister to one another, and serve as co-laborers for the Kingdom.
The Friendship Bible Class meets from 9:00 to 9:40 AM on Sunday mornings in the lower-level Friendship Room. It offers Bible teaching and activities for adults and teens ages 16 and older with various disabilities. Friendship Bible Club meets once a month from 2:30 to 5:00 PM for worship, a Bible lesson, crafts or games, fellowship, and a shared meal.
A monthly gathering for special-needs families includes children, teens, young adults, siblings, and parents of every age and ability. It meets on the third Sunday from 2:00 to 3:30 PM, with First Pres and Redeemer Community Church taking turns hosting. Children and teens with disabilities can receive a buddy for New City Kids, worship, or youth group. A sensory room on the second floor provides a place for a child who needs a break, while disability and family ministry teams work together to support participation.
Groups That Connect, Study and Pray
Groups are an essential part of spiritual growth at First Pres. They connect people with the church, increase knowledge and love of Jesus Christ through Bible study, and create opportunities to pray together. Adult education classes focus intentionally on learning Scripture. Community groups gather regularly in Christian homes for fellowship, God's Word, and prayer.
Men's groups build relationships and challenge men to grow in Jesus Christ, while women's groups serve the same purpose among women. Women of the Word is a multigenerational Bible study that combines daily homework, small-group discussion, teaching, and childcare. The marriage class studies subjects including love languages, compatibility, legacy, agreement, decision-making, goals, and priorities through Scripture, discussion, and shared stories.
Serving on Sunday Morning and Beyond the Church Walls
First Pres understands every person as having God-given gifts and talents to use for the church and others. Serving opportunities are woven through worship, formation, hospitality, technology, youth work, and prayer.
- Music: The worship choir and band welcome vocalists, instrumentalists, and students who sing or play instruments.
- Welcome and hospitality: Greeters meet people at the entrance, while ushers assist with seating, the offering, and a welcoming worship environment.
- Technical service: Camera, slide, sound, and livestream teams support worship. Training is provided, and high school students can participate.
- Children's formation: A teaching team serves in two- and three-person groups with training and curriculum provided, while nursery volunteers welcome babies and toddlers.
- Urban Youth Ministry: First Pres volunteers with Wayside Cross by helping neighborhood children with homework and games through its weekday after-school program. Commitments are flexible.
- Prayer: The prayer team supports ministry through personal prayer, prayer walks, prayer services, and prayer at Planned Parenthood.
Giving is also part of discipleship. First Pres offers text giving, one-time and recurring gifts through Realm, electronic fund transfers, bank bill pay, offering boxes at the sanctuary entrances, and mail. These ways to give support the church's work.
Elder-Led Leadership and Visible Membership
First Pres is an elder-led church. Major decisions are made by a Session of Teaching and Ruling Elders, a team of men and women elected by the congregation. The Session oversees the church's spiritual, administrative, leadership, and staff ministry. Its elders are Mike Baker, Casey Hartman, James Kinnard, Kathy Russell, Mary Faye Vasen, John Wallbaum, Butch Watgen, and John Young.
Pastor J. Scott Hesler serves the congregation, Nate Klinger leads music, Karen Roberts works closely with elders and deacons in congregational care, Britta Wallbaum oversees children and family ministries, and James Kinnard oversees church operations in his role on the Session.
Membership is described as a public, visible commitment to a local church. Members place themselves under the spiritual leadership of the Session and make promises to follow Christ, participate in the congregation's service, support its ministry, and pursue unity, purity, and peace. Membership also brings privileges such as voting in church matters, serving on committees, and becoming an elder or deacon.
The Gospel, Bible and Reformed Presbyterian Faith
First Pres holds that the 66 books of Scripture are the infallible revelation of God, uniquely God's Word, fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the final authority whenever they speak. The church believes in one God who created and sustains everything and exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He died for sin, rose bodily from the grave, reigns with God, continually intercedes for his people, and will return personally, visibly, and bodily.
Salvation depends completely on God's free gift of grace. Jesus took humanity's punishment, and those who trust Jesus alone are declared righteous through his work. The Holy Spirit convicts people of sin, gives new life, teaches the truth, empowers followers of Jesus, and guarantees salvation. The church understands itself as a visible but imperfect expression of the people united in Christ through saving faith and the Spirit's sanctifying work.
As Presbyterians committed to Reformed theology, First Pres holds to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the historic Christian creeds. It also teaches that Scripture should be interpreted according to each passage's context, genre, and intent, taken literally where it is intended literally and figuratively where it is intended figuratively. The church seeks unity in essentials, liberty in non-essentials, and charity in all things. Its commitment to Scripture is joined to the Great Commission, self-giving love, service, and the goal of forming Christ-following ambassadors and missionaries in Aurora and beyond.
First Pres Aurora's present-day life is tied to a clear center: Jesus Christ, formed by Scripture, celebrated in worship, shared across generations, and carried into the city through relationships and service.