First Baptist Church Palatka — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Ron Smith (Pastor)

Founded Unknown

Denomination Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

Service Times Sunday Life Groups 9:00 AM; Worship 10:30 AM; Wednesday Dinner 5:00 PM, Bible Studies 6:00 PM

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.firstpalatka.com

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

SBC BF&M 2000 baseline assumed; website content thin on doctrinal specifics.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

BF&M 2000 baseline; not stated on home page reviewed.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not stated on available sources — verify.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

BF&M 2000 baseline; not stated on home page reviewed.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Pastor Ron Smith (male); BF&M 2000 limits pastor office to men. Not independently stated on pages reviewed.

Verify

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Typical SBC pastor-led polity.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Not stated on available sources.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Active midweek program and Night To Shine participation; generic mission framing.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

No DEI/CRT or affirming language detected.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

Southern Baptist Convention — confessional via BF&M 2000.

Strong

Assessment

SBC church in Palatka, FL at 501 Oak St in downtown Palatka (differs from listing at 115 N 5th St). Pastor Ron Smith. Active midweek program with dinner and Bible studies. Night To Shine participant.

#sbc#palatka#florida

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Pastor Signatures & Affiliations [Orthodox-aligned signatures]

Public statement signatures and organizational affiliations of this church's named pastors. "People is policy" — these are evidence-weighted signals about doctrinal trajectory, not the sole determinant of any rating.

Dallas Statement (Social Justice & Gospel)

Ron Smith

Source: statementonsocialjustice.com — hover for details

Sources & Evidence

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 firstpalatka.com

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.