Alfred Street Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley

Founded See website

Denomination Baptist (PNBC)

Service Times Sunday morning (see website)

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.alfredstreet.org

Pastor Credentials See website

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Trinitarian, gospel-affirming.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

What We Believe page affirms 'the scriptures, both the Old and the New Testament, are uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit' and function as 'the supreme and final authority' and 'the Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice.' Full inspiration and final authority affirmed — upgrading to green; explicit Chicago-Statement inerrancy language not present but the substance is near-green.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Verify men's ministry.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Verify faith-alone soteriology.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Verify patriarchal / complementarian / egalitarian stance.

Verify

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley confirmed senior pastor (8th in 220-year history); currently pursuing PhD in African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric at Christian Theological Seminary (Indianapolis).

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Verify expository vs topical.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Active community engagement confirmed; social-justice overlay remains alongside gospel framing.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Social Justice Ministry confirmed with Voter Resource Guide and video library; framed as ministry categorization rather than explicit DEI/CRT activist vocabulary. 'Serving humankind' general missional language. Held yellow.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

No specific PNBC/SBC/NBC affiliation surfaced on accessible content; church identity is 'Baptist.' Held yellow.

Caution

Assessment

Alfred Street Baptist Church is one of the oldest Black congregations in the US (founded 1803). Located in Alexandria, VA. Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley has led since 2008. PNBC affiliated. 8,000+ members. Known for strong preaching. Verify detailed theological positions.

#megachurch#alexandria#virginia#dc-area#pnbc#black-baptist

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Beliefs page language 'uniquely and fully inspired' / 'supreme and final authority' is strong enough to upgrade scripture to green. Women's ordination stance not addressed on beliefs page (Pastor Wesley listed as 8th pastor; PNBC affiliation typically permits women in ministry). Social Justice Ministry remains a cultural-dimension caution.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source alfredstreet.org
[2] Live source alfredstreet.org/about-us/what-we-believe

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.