First Congregational Church, Romanesque Revival church in downtown Long Beach, United States.

First Congregational Church is a red pressed-brick building in the Italian Romanesque style, designed by Los Angeles architect H.M. Patterson and completed in 1914. The brick is laid in patterns and trimmed with white terra cotta. Its auditorium rises 55 feet to the roof, and three rose windows sit above the gallery, with six picture windows below; the central one is called the "Light of the World."

The congregation was founded in 1888; its red brick church, designed by Los Angeles architect H.M. Patterson, was completed in 1914 at a cost of $210,000. Jotham Bixby Sr., called the "Father of Long Beach", gave $25,000, the largest contribution. Dedicated in December 1914 before more than 2,000 attendees, it was then the largest church in Southern California. Damage from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake closed it for several months of repairs.

In 1992 the congregation publicly declared that it welcomed gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons into membership, employment and leadership; by 2005, 42% of members came from that community. In 2007 senior pastor Jerald Stinson vowed to defy a city order blocking homeless people from sleeping on the church steps, calling it "a religious act."

The sanctuary seats 1,500 and its roof rises 55 feet above the floor. The 1924 three-story education building with its auditorium adjoins the main structure. The church stands in downtown Long Beach, and the 1933 earthquake repairs closed it for several months, so check current opening arrangements before a visit.

The main sanctuary was designed to seat approximately 1500 people, making it one of the largest religious gathering spaces in the city when it was built. This scale reflects how central the congregation was to Long Beach society in that era.