Lancaster Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Paul Chappell (Senior Pastor since 1986)

Founded Established congregation

Denomination Independent Baptist (IFB)

Service Times Sunday mornings (check website for times)

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.lancasterbaptist.org

Pastor Credentials Verified via church website

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Trinitarian, Christ-centered, affirms deity of Christ.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

KJV-only position: 'the King James Version is the preserved Word of God for the English-speaking people and is the only acceptable translation.' KJV-onlyism is a yellow-at-best concern (truncates confessional inerrancy in modern-text scholarship).

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Men's ministry confirmed (Men and Boys Campout, connection group).

Strong

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Easy-believism tendency common in IFB circles; verify depth of repentance teaching.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Explicit complementarian: 'men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons)... only men are eligible for licensure and ordination.' Green.

Explicit male-only pastors and deacons per statement of faith

Strong

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Paul Chappell since 1986; single-pastor model with pastoral staff — no elder plurality visible; 40-year senior pastor tenure without disclosed elder accountability.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Described as 'clear, Bible teaching and preaching' with 'heart-warming, conservative music'; IFB style generally mixed topical/textual.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Active bus ministry, soul-winning program. Men's connection group + Men and Boys Campout.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Conservative, counter-cultural. No DEI/CRT language. Tagline: 'experience community. Understand truth. Find purpose.'

Strong

Accountability Structure

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

Live site confirms Paul Chappell as Senior Pastor; references a 'Co-Pastor Process' and footer ties to West Coast Baptist College + Striving Together Publications (IFB ecosystem). Significant men's programming (Men and Boys Campout, men's connection groups). No DEI/CRT/affirming content. KJV-only stance not on homepage but is well-documented elsewhere on site. Hold yellow per rubric: IFB single-pastor model + KJV-onlyism + no external confessional accountability. No wayback snapshot returned by API.

WARNING!

Assessment

Needs on-the-ground review. Added to directory for coverage.

#bible-college#bus-ministry#california#ifb#independent-baptist#kjv-only#lancaster#soul-winning#wcbc

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

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 lancasterbaptist.org/about

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.