Immanuel Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Katie McKown

Founded Verify

Denomination SBC (disfellowshipped 2024)

Service Times Sunday Worship — verify times on website

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website ibcpaducah.org

Pastor Credentials M.Div.; Senior Pastor since February 2023

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Mainline Baptist orthodox confession; not the focus of the disfellowship

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Church publicly rejected SBC's reading of 1 Tim 2:12 / BF&M 2000 Article VI by calling a female senior pastor; appealed to congregational autonomy and priesthood of all believers as overrides

WARNING!

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

No documented men-led discipleship structure under male elders

WARNING!

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Generally Baptist evangelical but moderate/CBF-leaning

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Female senior pastor (Katie McKown, called Feb 2023) functioning in the office of pastor — direct conflict with BF&M 2000 Article VI

Senior Pastor: Rev. Katie McKown (called February 2023, female). SBC EC cited her role as the specific reason for disfellowship.

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Senior pastor role filled by a woman; church chose to maintain her over SBC fellowship

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Female senior pastor preaching every Sunday — disqualifying under SBC complementarian standard

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Mission orientation continues but cooperative budget redirected from SBC channels

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Identifies with CBF moderate-progressive trajectory and frames SBC action as patriarchal overreach

WARNING!

Accountability Structure

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

Formally disfellowshipped by SBC Executive Committee Feb 20, 2024 (one of four churches that day); previously dual-aligned SBC/CBF for years

WARNING!

Assessment

Immanuel Baptist Paducah called Rev. Katie McKown as senior pastor in February 2023 and was formally removed from friendly cooperation with the SBC by the Executive Committee on February 20, 2024 — the EC citing 'a faith and practice that does not closely identify with the Convention's adopted statement of faith, as demonstrated by the church having a female lead pastor functioning in the office of pastor.' The congregation publicly stood behind McKown citing local-church autonomy and the priesthood of all believers. The church was historically dual-aligned with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which now serves as its primary Baptist body.

#sbc#drift#female-pastor#credentials-committee-referral#disfellowshipped-2024#ky#paducah#needs-review

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Disfellowshipped by SBC Executive Committee Feb 20, 2024 alongside Grove Road Baptist (Greenville SC), West Hendersonville Baptist (NC), and New Hope Baptist (Gastonia NC). Pattern reference: Fern Creek Baptist (Louisville KY) — same Article VI grounds, prior cohort.

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 ibcpaducah.org
[2] Live source ibcpaducah.org/katiemckown
[3] Live source baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/executive-committe…
[4] Live source wkms.org/society/2024-02-21/paducah-church-expelled-from-…
[5] Live source kentuckytoday.com/baptist_life/executive-committee-deems-…

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.