First Baptist Church Philadelphia — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Rev. James Williams

Founded Unknown

Denomination SBC

Service Times Sunday School 9:45 AM, Worship 11:00 AM

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.firstbaptistphiladelphia.org

Pastor Credentials SBC pastor

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

BFM2000 orthodox

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Inerrancy affirmed

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not mentioned on homepage

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Grace through faith

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Complementarian (CBMW halfway position; MOOP holds patriarchal headship as the biblical standard)

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Rev. James Williams confirmed as pastor in homepage content. Green on named leadership.

Strong

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Not described; emphasis on 'spiritual growth and serving marginalized communities'

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Church describes serving 'the poor, the sick, the lonely, the marginalized, the oppressed, and the destitute' with 325-year history and 'abolitionist Baptist' founding reference. Language is historically rooted mercy ministry, not CRT/DEI framing. No affirming language observed.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

'Marginalized' framing is historical-abolitionist (325-year heritage) not progressive CRT. Green holds.

Strong

Accountability Structure

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

SBC affiliation not explicitly confirmed on homepage — verify.

Strong

Assessment

SBC church in Philadelphia, MS. Cooperative program participant.

#philadelphia#mississippi#national#sbc

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)

Rev. James Williams

Source: statementonsocialjustice.com — hover for details

Nashville Statement

Rev. James Williams

Source: cbmw.org — hover for details

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Social-ministry framing ('marginalized communities') worth watching; denomination not stated — verify SBC vs CBF

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 firstbaptistphiladelphia.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.