Maranatha Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Jamey D. Grooms (Senior Pastor)

Founded Unknown

Denomination Independent Baptist

Service Times See website

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.mbcmin.org/

Pastor Credentials Trinity Baptist Bible College (Asheville NC), BA Theology; 30+ years preaching, 28 in pastorate

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

IFB tradition — orthodox Trinitarian per fundamentalist SOF.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

'Bible-believing, Bible-preaching, Bible-centered' self-description with Jude 1:22 theme verse confirmed; KJV-only stance not explicit on homepage but consistent with KJVChurches.com listing — green held.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not detailed on public pages.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

IFB — grace through faith; believer's immersion baptism.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

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

IFB tradition — patriarchal; male pastors/deacons.

Patriarchal — male pastors/deacons, traditional family structure

Strong

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Pastor Jamey D. Grooms since Dec 2015; Trinity Baptist Bible College (Asheville NC) graduate; 30+ years preaching, 28 in pastorate (NC, Nova Scotia, now MD); succeeds long-tenure Pastor Dickerson (47 years).

Strong

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

IFB expository-evangelistic tradition per Trinity Baptist Bible College (Asheville) pedigree.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Missions Revival featuring BIMI (Baptist International Missions Inc.) representatives confirmed — IFB missions network engagement; camp meeting Sept 7-12 — yellow lifted toward green-leaning, kept yellow pending men's ministry detail.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Conservative IFB; separatist from mainstream culture typical.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

Independent Baptist (KJV-preferred, fundamentalist) — no denominational accountability; single-local-autonomy.

Caution

Assessment

Classic KJV independent fundamental Baptist church in northeast Maryland with a multi-decade pastoral legacy (Dickerson 47 years, now Grooms). Represents the durable IFB presence in the Mid-Atlantic. Reasonable traditional Baptist option for Elkton and the Delaware-Pennsylvania border area.

#independent-baptist#ifb#elkton-md#mid-atlantic#verified-2026

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 kjvchurches.com/churches/united-states/maryland/elkton/ma…
[2] Live source cecildaily.com/features/religion/maranatha-baptist-welcom…

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.