First Baptist Church San Antonio — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Pastor Chris Johnson

Founded 1861 (approximately — described as 165 years old)

Denomination Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

Service Times Sunday Bible Study 9:30 AM, Sunday Worship 11:00 AM (broadcast live on KSAT-12)

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website fbcsa.org

Pastor Credentials Senior Pastor (credentials not publicly listed)

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Affirms Jesus as 'the Son of God and co-equal with the Father,' both human and divine, who 'arose from the dead after three days' and will return 'personally and visibly to earth.' Orthodox Christology.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Strong position: 'The Bible in its entirety is God's Word to us' and 'the sufficient authority and supreme and final source of truth for Christian beliefs.' Functionally affirms inerrancy and sufficiency.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Dedicated men's ministry with 'Fearlessly Following Jesus' programming. Green for intentional male discipleship.

Strong

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Clear grace-alone position: 'Salvation is God's free gift out of His grace to us' and comes 'only by personally trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness.' Sound soteriology.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Senior Pastor Chris Johnson (male). However, the church has women in ministerial titles: Megan Langan serves as 'Minister for Single Adults; Pastoral Care & Women's Ministry' and Tera Kouba as 'Minister of International/Asian Ministries.' Women hold 'Minister' titles — this goes beyond support roles. Yellow: not egalitarian in senior pastoral role but allows women ministerial titles.

Male Senior Pastor (Chris Johnson). Women hold 'Minister' titles: Megan Langan (Minister for Single Adults, Pastoral Care & Women's Ministry), Tera Kouba (Minister of International/Asian Ministries). 2 of 12 ministerial staff are women. Women hold 'Minister' not 'Pastor' titles. Senior pastoral authority is male.

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Senior pastor model with Chris Johnson. Staff of approximately 44 across ministerial, administrative, business, and facilities departments. 12 ministerial staff. References a 'lead team.' No visible elder board structure on website.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Unique approach: the same Scripture passage is studied across Sunday classes, worship services, and small groups ('Circles of Six'). This suggests a Scripture-centered, potentially expository approach. Television broadcast on KSAT-12 suggests substantive content.

Strong

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Mission statement: 'to follow our Lord Jesus Christ, and to lead all others to a joyful life with him.' Extensive ministry portfolio: men's, women's, kids, youth, Spanish, Asian/international, recreation. Great Commission-oriented.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

No explicit DEI/CRT language detected. Church emphasizes Bible study integration across all ministries (same passage studied in Sunday School, worship, and small groups called 'Circles of Six'). Historic downtown church. Needs in-person evaluation.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

References to Cooperative Program giving and traditional SBC missionary offerings (Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong) confirm active SBC cooperation.

Strong

Assessment

First Baptist San Antonio is a historic downtown SBC church (est. ~1861) led by Senior Pastor Chris Johnson. Doctrinally strong: affirms Jesus as co-equal with the Father, Scripture as God's Word and 'supreme and final source of truth,' and salvation as God's free gift through personal faith in Christ. Notable strength: dedicated men's ministry ('Fearlessly Following Jesus') and a unique Bible study integration model where the same passage is studied across all ministries. The church broadcasts on KSAT-12 television, suggesting substantive preaching. One concern: women hold 'Minister' titles (Megan Langan, Tera Kouba), which goes beyond traditional complementarian support roles while stopping short of 'Pastor' titles. The senior pastoral role remains male. Extensive ministry portfolio including Spanish and Asian/international outreach. Worth deeper evaluation — one of the stronger SBC churches in the directory with solid doctrine and intentional discipleship.

#sbc#san-antonio#historic

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)

Pastor Chris Johnson

Source: statementonsocialjustice.com — hover for details

Nashville Statement

Pastor Chris Johnson

Source: cbmw.org — hover for details

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

SBC confirmed through classic Cooperative Program participation.

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 fbcsa.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.