Sandals Church - San Bernardino — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Matt Brown (Founding/Lead Pastor)

Founded 1997

Denomination SBC (affiliated)

Service Times Sunday morning (see website)

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website sandalschurch.com

Pastor Credentials See website

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Trinity confirmed: 'God exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.' Jesus 'fully God and fully man.'

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Inerrancy-adjacent: 'The Bible was written by men under inspiration from God. It is completely true in all that it affirms.'

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

'Men' ministry listed in site navigation.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Salvation 'as a free gift that is obtained through faith in the work of Jesus on the cross' — sola fide affirmed.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Complementarian/egalitarian stance not published on page; 'Men' ministry listed.

Verify

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Matt Brown founding and lead pastor (with wife Tammy, planted 1997 in Riverside, CA). Hierarchical structure: lead pastor → executive pastors → directors → campus pastors. No women named with 'Pastor' title in surfaced list (titles include Executive Creative Director, Sr. Ministries Director, Mission Director, NextGen Director — non-pastoral). Elder plurality not detailed publicly.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Topical/expository mix typical of SBC seeker-sensitive model; verse-by-verse not claimed.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

'Authentic' gospel focus; Great Commission framing generic.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Beliefs page explicitly addresses heterosexual marriage — traditional marriage stance confirmed. No DEI/CRT markers.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

SBC affiliation not mentioned on leadership or beliefs pages reviewed. Per Wikipedia/secondary sources church is SBC-affiliated; primary-source confirmation absent. Keep yellow.

Caution

Assessment

National directory entry — web-verified pastor, website, and Facebook. Visit website for full theological details.

#megachurch#san-bernardino#california#multisite

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Pastor Signatures & Affiliations [Orthodox-aligned signatures]

Public statement signatures and organizational affiliations of this church's named pastors. "People is policy" — these are evidence-weighted signals about doctrinal trajectory, not the sole determinant of any rating.

Dallas Statement (Social Justice & Gospel)

Matt Brown

Source: statementonsocialjustice.com — hover for details

Nashville Statement

Matt Brown

Source: cbmw.org — hover for details

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 sandalschurch.com/about
[2] Live source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandals_Church

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.