First Baptist Church of Denver — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Rev. Dr. Brian Henderson (Senior Minister, since Nov 2012)

Founded See website

Denomination SBC

Service Times Sunday morning (see website)

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.firstdenver.org

Pastor Credentials See website

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Orthodox Trinitarian language presumed but church's broader theological trajectory is liberal Progressive Baptist.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

AWAB churches generally reject traditional sexual ethics of Scripture; hermeneutic openly progressive.

WARNING!

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not centered; not emphasized in affirming context.

WARNING!

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Progressive Baptist framework; traditional sola fide gospel not centered.

WARNING!

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Fully LGBTQ+ affirming; senior minister Henderson is openly gay and national AWAB coordinator — explicitly affirms same-sex marriage/relationships. BLACK tier per rubric.

Senior minister Rev. Dr. Brian Henderson is openly gay and national coordinator of AWAB; church is fully LGBTQ+-affirming

Disqualifier

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Progressive/affirming senior minister; accountability structure does not hold to biblical sexual ethics.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

'Inclusive and dynamic worship'; progressive social-justice preaching model.

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Social-justice central (MLK hosting legacy); gospel-replacement framing typical of AWAB congregations.

WARNING!

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

'Pink hair or pink Easter bonnet' welcome framing; explicitly LGBTQ+-affirming; progressive political legacy.

Disqualifier

Accountability Structure

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

ABCUSA (American Baptist Churches USA); AWAB member — BLACK tier per rubric (liberal mainline actively disciplining away from orthodoxy on sexuality).

Disqualifier

Assessment

National directory entry — web-verified pastor, website, and Facebook. Visit website for full theological details.

#sbc#denver#englewood#colorado#needs-review

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Record had 'SBC' as denomination and green-adjacent yellow scores — REVERSED. This is a progressive LGBTQ-affirming ABCUSA congregation, BLACK tier per rubric pattern for liberal mainline.

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 rethinkbaptist.org
[2] Live source awab.org/staff/
[3] Live source baptistnews.com/article/25-years-ago-this-week-five-bapti…
[4] Live source westword.com/news/reverend-brian-henderson-is-keeping-the…

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.