First Presbyterian Church Ridgewood — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Rev. Bruce Ballantine (Pastor/Head of Staff, installed February 2020)

Founded Unknown

Denomination Presbyterian (PCUSA)

Service Times See website

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry No

Website www.firstpresridgewood.org

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

PCUSA Book of Confessions Trinitarian baseline; local christology not explicitly named.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

PCUSA permits non-inerrantist hermeneutics.

WARNING!

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

No men's ministry listed on staff/home pages reviewed.

WARNING!

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Not explicitly stated on pages reviewed.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Senior pastor Rev. Bruce Ballantine is male; however PCUSA denomination ordains women (and LGBTQ+) clergy and the denomination itself is egalitarian. Current staff roster shows no women pastors but denominational posture is egalitarian.

PCUSA denominational affirming posture

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Session polity; Pastor/Head of Staff model with supporting staff (music, children, nursery) — no women in pastoral roles on current staff page.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

'Traditional Presbyterian liturgy' with pipe organ, chancel choir, stained glass — traditional style, preaching method not described.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Not detailed on pages reviewed.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

No overt affirming statement on home page, but PCUSA denomination is nationally affirming.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

PCUSA — liberal mainline denomination; disqualifier regardless of local congregation tone.

WARNING!

Assessment

First Presbyterian Ridgewood is a PCUSA congregation led by Rev. Bruce Ballantine. PCUSA is affirming of LGBTQ clergy/marriage and egalitarian leadership — disqualifies on denominational grounds for complementarian convictions.

#presbyterian#pcusa#mainline#ridgewood#northern-nj

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Local staff has male pastor and traditional liturgy — tone is more conservative than many PCUSA churches, but denominational affiliation remains the disqualifier. [2026-05-19] MOOP rubric: PCUSA — affirming since 2014. Already rated red.

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 firstpresridgewood.org
[2] Live source firstpresridgewood.org/staff

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.