Bel Air Church (formerly Bel Air Presbyterian Church) — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Rev. Dr. Drew Sams (Senior Pastor)

Founded 1956

Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) — PCUSA

Service Times Sunday worship — verify times on church site

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.belair.org/

Pastor Credentials PCUSA ordination

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Westminster confessional baseline; PCUSA constitutional standards orthodox but interpretively loose.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

PCUSA has long-since departed from biblical authority on sexual ethics — Authoritative Interpretation 2014, full marriage redefinition.

WARNING!

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not verified in this pass.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Reformed Westminster baseline orthodox.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

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

PCUSA ordains women as elders + pastors at every level; Bel Air has multi-gender pastoral staff.

PCUSA permits women at all levels of ordination; egalitarian.

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Session of teaching + ruling elders under PCUSA Presbytery; egalitarian.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Reportedly substantive but not narrow expository.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Active in LA; mission framing rather than narrow Great Commission language.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

PCUSA aligned with progressive mainline trajectory; Bel Air positions as evangelical-leaning within PCUSA.

WARNING!

Accountability Structure

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

PCUSA — affirming mainline; Bel Air did not depart to ECO during 2012-2015 wave when over 100,000 PCUSA members departed for ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.

WARNING!

Assessment

Bel Air Church (formerly Bel Air Presbyterian Church) is the historic Presbyterian congregation on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles, founded 1956. Ronald and Nancy Reagan joined as official members after leaving the White House in 1989 and worshiped there until their deaths. Donn D. Moomaw, the long-time former senior pastor, gave the invocation at President Reagan's first inauguration in 1981 and presided at his funeral. Bel Air did not depart to ECO during the 2012-2015 PCUSA exodus when over 100,000 conservative PCUSA members left for ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians — Bel Air stayed PCUSA, which institutionally has departed from biblical authority on sexual ethics and ordains women as elders and pastors at every level. Current senior pastor is Rev. Dr. Drew Sams. Per MOOP rubric this is RED at the denominational level; included for situational awareness about Ronald Reagan's home church.

#pcusa#presbyterian#mainline#affirming-denomination#reagan-home-church#historic#los-angeles#california#mulholland

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Live-fetched https://www.belair.org/ + Wikipedia + PCUSA congregation directory + ECO Presbyterian about page on 2026-05-16 — confirmed PCUSA affiliation (not ECO) + 16221 Mulholland Dr + founded 1956 + Reagans joined 1989 + Donn D. Moomaw gave 1981 inaugural invocation + Rev. Dr. Drew Sams current senior pastor. [2026-05-19] MOOP rubric: PCUSA — affirming since 2014. Already rated red.

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 belair.org
[2] Live source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel_Air_Church
[3] Live source pcusa.org/congregation/bel-air-church-los-angeles-ca
[4] Live source reaganlibrary.gov/prayers-1981-inauguration

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.