First Baptist Church Des Moines — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Unknown

Founded 1851

Denomination ABCUSA

Service Times Sunday 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry No

Website www.fbcdsm.org/

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Not stated on available source pages — verify in person.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Not stated on available sources — verify in person.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not visible on page viewed.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Not stated on available sources — verify.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

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

ABCUSA permits women pastors; specific stance not visible on Get-to-Know-Us page. Verify.

ABCUSA denomination allows women clergy; local practice not verified

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Single pastor referenced on website without names or elders listed.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Mission: 'Lighting the Way to Life by Centering People on Christ' — style not clarified.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Mission statement generic; missions programs not detailed on page viewed.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Not stated.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

Explicitly affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA (mainline). Directory's 'SBC' tag is incorrect.

Disqualifier

Assessment

Not yet assessed. Default yellow pending on-site visit and detailed review.

#sbc#des-moines#needs-review#denomination-corrected-2026-04-30

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Re-tag: remove 'sbc'; add 'abcusa', 'mainline'. Directory has this systematically wrong — ABCUSA is distinct from and historically more liberal than SBC. | URL research: First Baptist Church of Greater Des Moines at 8250 NW 62nd Ave Johnston IA verbatim; ABCUSA not SBC | [2026-04-30 denomination correction: Southern Baptist (SBC) -> Baptist (Other); reason: ABCUSA mainline, not SBC]

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 fbcdsm.org
[2] Live source fbcdsm.org/get-to-know-us
[3] Live source faithstreet.com/church/first-baptist-church-of-greater-de…

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.