Cave Spring United Methodist — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Rev. Joshua Sean King

Founded Unknown

Denomination UMC

Service Times See cavespringumc.org

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.cavespringumc.org

Pastor Credentials Verify

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

UMC Articles of Religion are Trinitarian orthodox; local churches vary.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

UMC 'quadrilateral' uses Scripture, tradition, reason, experience — not sola scriptura.

WARNING!

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

No men's ministry observed.

WARNING!

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

UMC Wesleyan soteriology includes prevenient grace; post-2022 UMC trajectory is increasingly pluralist.

WARNING!

Gender / Biblical Design

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

UMC ordains women and post-2022 UMC has adopted LGBTQ+-affirming polity; site features 'WELCOME ALL. LOVE ALL. SERVE ALL.' motto and 'Statement of Welcome and Inclusivity.'

Rev. Joshua Sean King (male); UMC ordains women; site features 'Statement of Welcome and Inclusivity'

Disqualifier

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Rev. Joshua Sean King named; UMC appointments are top-down episcopal rather than plurality-elder.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Not described; mainline UMC generally topical/lectionary rather than expository.

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Site emphasizes hospitality/service rather than Great Commission proclamation.

WARNING!

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

'Statement of Welcome and Inclusivity' and 'Welcome all. Love all. Serve all.' are standard affirming-mainline markers.

WARNING!

Accountability Structure

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

UMC post-2022 split: the denomination retained LGBTQ+-affirming stance while conservatives departed for Global Methodist Church. No indication Cave Spring left for GMC — remains in UMC.

Disqualifier

Assessment

Needs in-person evaluation. Cave Spring United Methodist in Roanoke, VA. [BLACK — DISQUALIFIED] LGBTQ-affirming. Pastor King stated willingness to perform same-sex marriages. Church describes itself as 'radically loving and affirming.' UMC lifted ban on gay clergy in May 2024. Motto: 'Welcome all, Love all, Serve all.'

#roanoke#umc#lgbtq-affirming#disqualified

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Mainline UMC with welcome/inclusivity markers — black rating confirmed. [2026-05-19] MOOP rubric: UMC — affirming since 2024. Already rated black.

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] Archived snapshot web.archive.org/web/20260119031503/https://www.cavespring…
↳ Snapshot of cavespringumc.org (live link)

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.