My church isn’t listed in the directory. How do I add it?
If you know of any KJV Independent Baptist church that is not listed, we would be glad for you to add it so that we can send visitors its way. We want to connect people with good churches, so the more churches we list, the easier it is. You can add a church here. If you do not have an account with Fundamental.org, it will first walk you through that process. Don’t worry, it is easy, simple, and (best of all) free. The account will allow you to add churches and to make updates to your listings as needed. It will also give you access to other features we are adding very soon.
I see a listing that is not accurate. What do I do?
First, thank you for noticing! Over 99% (literally) of the listings here have been added by users over the last 20 years or so, and some have never been back to update their listings. We make updates as we become aware of them, plus we have begun an initiative whereby every listing in the directory will be examined by a human editor at least once a year. It is labor intensive, but worth it to be sure we are serving the most accurate information possible. That being said, we would love to hear about any inaccuracies you discover, since we might not be looking at those particular listings until months down the road. If it is not your church, then click the “Report” link on the listing’s page and fill in the appropriate information. That will forward the changes directly to our editor, who usually handles them within 24-48 hours. If it is your church, you can still use the “Report” link, but you also have the option of clicking the “Claim this Listing” link at the top of the listing. This will allow you to register as a Fundamental.org user and be able to edit the listing directly whenever you want.
Does my church qualify to be listed?
To be listed, a church needs to use the King James version of the Bible, be independent (no denominational affiliation), be fundamental, and be doctrinally Baptist. Beyond those pieces of information, we leave it to users to decide if they want to visit a particular church.
I see a church that doesn’t have “Baptist” in its name!
Yes, it’s true. We do list a handful of churches who, while they are firmly Baptist in doctrine, do not have the word “Baptist” in their name. It’s part of the grace of being an independent church. If somebody does not want to attend a church which does not have “Baptist” in its name, we understand that 100% and, in fact, we believe that a church who is Baptist in doctrine won’t have a problem with associating with the Baptist name. However, there are numerous situations and complex church histories which affect the current names of churches, and we want to provide visitors with the option of looking at doctrinally-sound churches, regardless their name, since we have found many cases where the local “Bible Church” is more Baptist, more fundamental, and more committed to soul winning than the nominally “Baptist” churches in the area. Rather than discard good churches based on their names, thus pushing them away from the good path they are on, we want to present them as options to those who want to entertain the options — so long as these churches are King James, fundamental, independent, and Baptist.
A church believes something I don’t like. Can you delete them from the listings?
It depends. If they are King James, fundamental, independent, and Baptist, we probably will not delete them. There is an incredible breadth of belief and practice within fundamental Baptist churches today. There are issues of open communion, closed communion, close communion, topical vs. expositional preaching, mission boards vs. no mission boards, repentance stands, white-shirt-only vs. colored-shirts, acceptable length of dresses and skirts, length of hair standards, type of reference Bible (or no references at all), stained glass windows vs. minimalism — so many things that individuals and churches feel very strongly about. We have made no attempt to meddle in these things. Now, if a church has somebody in skinny jeans on stage dancing around and leading the congregation in contemporary-style “praise and worship” songs, then they are probably not fundamental and do not qualify for these listings. But there is a surprisingly large, rich spectrum of strongly held beliefs and preferences within fundamentalism today, and we are not going to filter out churches based on our own preferences (or yours). Remember, our churches are independent, so there are no top-down control to submit to (beyond God Himself) nor standard molds to conform to.
I tried contacting a church but never heard back.
This is unfortunate, but not uncommon. Numerous independent Baptist churches have pastors who work 1-2 jobs outside the church to keep things going. Other, full-time salaried pastors are incredibly busy. It may take some time for them to respond, or your inquiry may fall between the cracks. Try again. If all else fails, contact us and we may be able to help. We have extra contact information in our database for some churches, plus contacts in many regions that may help.
I am a missionary looking for meetings. Why do so many churches not respond to my contact attempts?
If you are a missionary trying to get meetings, please understand that many pastors hear from 5-6 missionaries (or more) every week, some of whom are quite “pushy” in their contact and their desire to obtain a meeting. Remember that the Pastor’s job is to see to the flock God has charged him with, not to process meeting requests and take phone calls from you. You are not entitled to the pastor’s time. He may grant you time, but it often comes at the expense of his family or his personal life. Yes, being “pushy” is very pragmatic and gets the results that a results-oriented world looks for, but being “gracious” is very Christian and gets results from God. Try putting results in God’s hands and leaving them there, rather than trying to force it in your own strength and talent and personality. The results may not meet the approval of some men, but they will meet God’s approval. Choose you this day whom ye will serve. I guarantee that once you begin working on the mission field, you will find God to be a lot more gracious a taskmaster than men. (Are you a missionary just starting out? Consider What Now, God? A Missionaries Guide to Deputation.)
What is the purpose of this web site, anyway?
The purpose of Fundamental.org is to connect people with good, fundamental resources. The purpose of the church directory portion of the site is to connect people with good churches. Those people might be folks in your local area who decide they want to start going to church, or they might be people who just moved into the are and want a church, or they might be people who are traveling and looking for some place to attend while away from home. We are also aware that many missionaries and evangelists use these listings to contact churches in order to arrange meetings and/or be considered for support — that’s fine, too, and it is a privilege to help advance God’s work in this manner. And, yes, some other sites use this work as a shortcut to build their own, similar project. That’s fine, too, so long as their purpose is the same: pointing people to good, fundamental, independent, KJV, Baptist churches.
Is it really worth it?
Yes! All of the work, time, expense, and sacrifice over the years has definitely been worth it. We regularly hear from churches and individuals who have been blessed. Many churches have had families join (one had 3 families join!) as a result of this church directory. Many individuals have used it to find a good church, and many who travel have used it regularly to find places to attend while away from home. And, then there are the missionaries we have helped put on the field, and evangelists we have helped advance, all because of the money and time and work invested here. Glory to God! He is good.