West Hills Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Pastor Stephen Kolagani (joined 2023)

Founded Unknown

Denomination Baptist

Service Times See website

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry No

Website whbcli.org

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

'Bible Believing Independent Christian Church'; Trinity orthodoxy assumed but no explicit creedal statement quoted.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Bible-believing evangelical posture; inerrancy typically affirmed.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Monthly men's breakfasts listed; AWANA children's program + Friday teen Bible studies; men's ministry concrete but limited.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Historic evangelical gospel of grace through faith alone.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Male pastoral speakers observed (Labieniec, Paoli); no women preaching observed, but no explicit complementarian statement on fetched pages.

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Stephen Kolagani NOT confirmed as senior pastor on fetched homepage; page lists Dan Labieniec and Paul Paoli as sermon speakers. Current pastoral leadership unclear.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Recent sermons cover Philippians, parables, eschatology, NT teachings — textual/expository pattern.

Strong

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

'Magnify GOD, with a heart for people and a desire to see them come to know the Savior' — evangelistic focus.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Traditional Independent Baptist framing; no DEI/CRT language observed.

Strong

Accountability Structure

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

Site self-describes as 'Bible Believing Independent Christian Church' — NOT affiliated with SBC or other denomination; no external accountability structure. Downgraded from green.

Caution

Assessment

West Hills Baptist Church on Long Island welcomed Stephen Kolagani as pastor in July 2023. An additional pastor trained at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary serves on staff since 2025. SBTS links indicate strong Reformed-evangelical doctrine.

#baptist#long-island#sbts-adjacent

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 whbcli.org

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.