First Baptist Church Meridian — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Nathan VanHorn

Founded 1888

Denomination Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

Service Times Sunday Worship 10:30 AM

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.fbcmeridian.org

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Not extracted; SBC BF&M 2000 presumed.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Not extracted.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not surfaced; Women's ministry present but no men's-specific category listed.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Not extracted.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Ministries include dedicated 'Women' category; Senior Pastor not surfaced on homepage.

Male Associate Pastor in Music David Bishop; all-male pastoral staff standard in SBC

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Multi-pastor staff implied; specific Senior Pastor not confirmed by fetch.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Not surfaced on fetched homepage beyond mission tagline.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

'Offering the HOPE of Jesus to Meridian.'

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

No DEI/CRT/CBF/affirming markers detected.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

SBC — Mississippi Baptist Convention per directory.

Strong

Assessment

First Baptist Meridian MS is led by Pastor Nathan VanHorn with worship at 10:30 AM on Sundays. Located at 601 24th Ave. NOTE: There appears to be another 'Meridian First Baptist Church' (mfbc.org) — verify which is the historically SBC-affiliated congregation. Active web and livestream presence.

#sbc#meridian-ms#lauderdale-county

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

SBC-confirmed; est. 1888. Current Senior Pastor name not clearly extracted from available sources — verify.

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 fbcmeridian.org
[2] Live source fbcmeridian.org/discover-fbc/our-leadership-staff/
[3] Live source meridianstar.com/2017/03/10/worship-site-profile-first-ba…

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.