Petersburg Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Rev. Robert Byrd Dawson

Founded 1756 (oldest continuously-operating Black church in Virginia)

Denomination SBC

Service Times Check locally

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry No

Website firstbaptistchurchofpetersburg.com/

Pastor Credentials Verify

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Historic Baptist Trinitarian orthodoxy.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

BGAV permits moderate hermeneutics; inerrancy not uniformly required.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not stated on available sources — verify.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Historic Baptist sola fide heritage; BGAV tolerates broader readings.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

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

BGAV permits women in pastoral office; local practice not verified — verify.

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Rev. Robert Byrd Dawson leads; polity unverified.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Not stated on available sources — verify.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Historic Black church with strong community/civil-rights heritage (MLK preached here 1962 SCLC meeting).

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Historically tied to civil rights organizing; modern BGAV ecclesiology includes social-justice framing typical of progressive Black Baptist tradition.

WARNING!

Accountability Structure

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

BGAV (Baptist General Association of Virginia) — moderate-progressive Baptist state convention per directory listing; NOT SBC.

WARNING!

Assessment

Petersburg Baptist Church in Petersburg, VA. Needs evaluation.

#petersburg#richmond#sbc#needs-review

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Prior category match: SBC-tagged actually BGAV — moderate-progressive. Directory needs name and denomination correction. | URL research: address 235 W Washington matches First Baptist Church of Petersburg VA; record name 'Petersburg Baptist' is shorthand

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] Archived snapshot web.archive.org/web/20260305223638/https://firstbaptistch…
↳ Snapshot of firstbaptistchurchofpetersburg.com (live link)
[2] Live source bgav.org/church-directory/first-baptist-church-of-petersburg
[3] Archived snapshot web.archive.org/web/20260311084843/https://en.wikipedia.o…
↳ Snapshot of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_(Petersburg,_V… (live link)
[4] Archived snapshot web.archive.org/web/20251013075042/https://blackpast.org/…
↳ Snapshot of blackpast.org/african-american-history/first-baptist-chur… (live link)

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.