First Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Rev. Paul Dakin (Pastor since Nov 2015)

Founded 1815

Denomination SBC

Service Times See fbclva.com

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website fbclva.com

Pastor Credentials Verify

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Not stated on available homepage — verify.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Not stated on available homepage — verify.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not mentioned on available sources.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Not stated on available homepage — verify.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Not stated on available sources; CBF-affiliated BGAV churches are typically egalitarian — verify.

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Rev. Paul Dakin (male, since Nov 2015); ~75 resident members, ~30 avg attendance.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Not described on available sources.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Historic downtown Lynchburg congregation (est. 1815, bicentennial celebrated).

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Not stated on available sources; CBF affiliation signals moderate-to-progressive cultural stance.

WARNING!

Accountability Structure

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

Dual-aligned: Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) + Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) + Lynchburg Baptist Association. CBF+BGAV is progressive-moderate.

Disqualifier

Assessment

Needs in-person evaluation. First Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA.

#lynchburg#sbc#needs-review

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

CBF affiliation is a rubric-defined black-tier denominational marker. Major mis-file in batch.

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/20250618051621/https://fbclva.com/
↳ Snapshot of fbclva.com (live link)
[2] Live source newsadvance.com/news/local/lynchburg-s-first-baptist-chur…

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.