River Oak Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Eric Hammen (Executive Pastor); Caleb Waldrop (Teaching & Discipleship Pastor); Blake LaRussa (Teaching & Family Pastor) — three Co-Lead Pastors called 2024

Founded 1999

Denomination Baptist (SBC)

Service Times Sundays 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, 11:15 AM (online stream 9:30 AM); (757) 382-9500

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website riveroakchurch.org

Pastor Credentials Unknown formal credentials — church website does not publish seminary or ordination details for the three lead pastors

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Beliefs page explicitly affirms triune God with 'distinct personal attributes'; Christ as 'fully God, fully man' and 'the eternal Son of God'; exclusivity stated: 'There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.' Full Nicene orthodoxy via BF&M 2000.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

BF&M 2000 inerrancy adopted verbatim: 'All Scripture is totally true and trustworthy...truth, without any mixture of error.' Authority over creeds and opinions affirmed.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Dedicated Men's Ministry page in primary navigation. Programs include Men's Groups (via Church Center) and 'ManCake' men's breakfast. Stated emphasis on 'the biblical leadership role of men in the home and in the Body of Christ' with Proverbs 27:17 iron-sharpens-iron framing.

Strong

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

BF&M 2000 sola fide: 'Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour'; baptism explicitly symbolic, not salvific (Section VII). Regeneration / justification / sanctification / glorification model articulated.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

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

BF&M 2000 complementarian framework: 'the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture'; marriage 'uniting of one man and one woman'; husband headship / wife submission modeled on Christ-church. Explicit opposition to 'all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography.' All three lead pastors and all four lay Church Council members are male.

BF&M 2000 male-only pastoral office; three male co-lead pastors; all four lay Church Council members male; complementarian marriage in doctrinal statement

Strong

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Self-described as 'Council-Led, Congregational.' Church Council functions as elders/overseers/pastors and includes three male lead pastors + four elected male lay members (Chad White, Dave Velloney, Jeff Benson, Rusty Bailey). Plural-elder model with congregational accountability on budgets, officer elections, constitutional amendments, and pastoral staff calls. Strong polity.

Strong

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Sermon archive evidences expository book-by-book preaching — current series include 'Unfinished Work: Titus' and 'The Last Week' (Mark). All three lead pastors rotate as primary preachers.

Strong

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Four-pillar strategy: Worship, Connect, Serve, Go (missions & outreach). Executive Director of Missions and Outreach is a senior staff role. Great Commission framing throughout.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

No DEI/CRT framing found on Our Beliefs, leadership, or homepage. Traditional sexual ethics maintained throughout. Vision statement is Christocentric: 'Living every day captivated and changed by Jesus.'

Strong

Accountability Structure

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

Southern Baptist Convention via explicit BF&M 2000 adoption. Planted out of South Norfolk Baptist Church (purchased the 11.5-acre Great Bridge Blvd property in 1998 and sent the church plant). SBC accountability + Baptist heritage.

Strong

Assessment

River Oak Church is a strong SBC option for Hampton Roads-area men. The church plants out of South Norfolk Baptist Church (1998 land purchase, 1999 first service at Oscar F. Smith High School, 2000 formal constitution, 2007 facility opening on Great Bridge Blvd), and adopts the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 verbatim. The doctrinal statement hits every conservative-evangelical mark: triune God, full deity and exclusivity of Christ, inerrant Scripture as 'totally true and trustworthy...without any mixture of error,' salvation by grace through faith alone, believer's baptism by immersion, complementarian marriage and pastoral office ('the office of pastor is limited to men'), and explicit opposition to homosexuality and sexual immorality. Governance is 'Council-Led, Congregational' — a hybrid plural-elder + congregational-vote model where the three Co-Lead Pastors (Hammen, Waldrop, LaRussa, all called 2024) plus four elected male lay councilors function as elders/overseers/pastors and the congregation votes on budgets, officer elections, constitutional amendments, and pastoral calls. Preaching is expository (current series through Titus and Mark). Dedicated Men's Ministry with Men's Groups and the ManCake breakfast confirms intentional men's discipleship. No DEI/CRT or affirming language found on the public pages. Green across all ten dimensions.

#sbc#southern-baptist#bfm-2000#council-led#congregational#plural-elder#expository#complementarian#chesapeake#hampton-roads#co-lead-pastors#green-outreach-batch#south-norfolk-plant

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Live-fetched riveroakchurch.org on 2026-05-12 — confirmed Eric Hammen + Caleb Waldrop + Blake LaRussa as three Co-Lead Pastors (called 2024) and SBC affiliation via explicit BF&M 2000 adoption on Our Beliefs page. Address corrected from Chesterfield to Chesapeake, VA (255 Great Bridge Blvd, 23320). Founded 1999 from Our History page (planted out of South Norfolk Baptist Church). Council-Led + Congregational governance confirmed verbatim on Our Leadership page. Men's ministry (ManCake + Men's Groups) and children's ministry both confirmed in primary nav. Expository preaching evidenced by current Titus and Mark series on sermon archive.

No URL sources recorded for this church. Rating based on denominational defaults and/or directory-level metadata.

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.