First Baptist Church Montgomery — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Mark Bethea

Founded 1829

Denomination Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

Service Times Sunday services (check website)

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website fbcmontgomery.org

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

SBC church — affirms orthodox Christology (Nicene, Chalcedonian).

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

SBC — Baptist Faith & Message 2000 affirms inerrancy and authority of Scripture.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Men's ministry confirmed on website.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

SBC — salvation by grace through faith. BF&M 2000 framework.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Complementarian — SBC standard (CBMW halfway position; MOOP holds patriarchal headship as the biblical standard). Male senior pastor confirmed; verify whether headship convictions are robust or drifting toward functional egalitarianism.

Male senior pastor confirmed. Complementarian per SBC BF&M 2000 (CBMW halfway position; MOOP holds patriarchal headship as the biblical standard); verify whether headship convictions are robust or drifting toward functional egalitarianism.

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Male senior pastor. Elder/deacon structure assumed per SBC polity.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Verify — check sermon archives for expository vs topical.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

SBC churches give through Cooperative Program; Great Commission emphasis standard.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Verify — check for DEI/CRT language or social justice emphasis.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

SBC confirmed via historic Wolf/IMB trustee service; current pastor Mark Bethea called via Alabama Baptist channels.

Strong

Assessment

First Baptist Montgomery is a historic SBC church (est. 1829) in Alabama's capital city. SBC affiliation confirmed.

#sbc#alabama#montgomery#historic#capital-city#verified-2026#needs-review#montgomery-al#montgomery-county#historic-church

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

[2026-05-19] Phase 5b auto-merge: absorbed 1 dupe record (first-baptist-montgomery-al). Group key: "first baptist church montgomery @ 305 s perry st, montgomery, al 36104".

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 thealabamabaptist.org/fbc-montgomery-names-mark-bethea-as…
[2] Live source montgomeryfbc.org

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.