Let us be your “Church for Those Without a Church”!Our worship services are live-streamed and in-person, and we have several online venues to meet you and have Christian fellowship with you.
Our corporate name is: First Baptist Church of Mill Valley, dba Miller Avenue Baptist Church.
We are dually aligned with American and Southern Baptists.
The church was founded by Pastor Bert Jones in 1947. Following Pastor Jones was John McDonald, then John Nielson, then John Streater. After Pastor Streater retired, the church was closed. In September of 1984 the American Baptists asked Kent Philpott, the current pastor, to make a new church start. The first service of Miller Avenue was the first Sunday of July 1985.
Pastor Kent Philpott is a graduate BA of Sacramento State, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, MDiv, and from San Francisco Theological Seminary, DMin. Wife Katie Philpott is a graduate of GGBTS with a MDiv. Son Vernon is both treasurer and Associate Pastor, leading Sunday evening worship and Tuesday evening Bible Study.
We are a small congregation, always have been, and always will be.
Our focus is on bold proclamation of the word of grace, the Gospel, and the disciplining of followers of Jesus. Pastor Philpott thinks of himself as an old time Gospel preacher and Bible teacher.
Our sermons are mostly verse by verse preaching from the Scripture.
We are not political at all. No one knows the pastor’s voting record.
We have a simple form of church government with no committees. We have four congregational meetings each year. There has been no formal membership for many years; whoever is present, including at the congregation meetings, is the church. However, due to expanded online interest, it is now time to acknowledge the status of “members.” If you wish to become a member, click HERE.
In terms of church government, we have a blend of episcopal, presbyterian, and congregational models that we call the “Collegium.”
We are fairly liturgical in our worship, including the reciting of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), the Apostles’ Creed, and the Collect of the Day (a prayer said by Christians around the world every Sunday), with one or two sermons and receiving “Jesus in the Bread and the Cup” each Sunday morning. We like the old hymns and have no concern to be contemporary, but we do have guitars, singing, and piano playing of two Jesus People type choruses at each morning service, as well as a choir piece, usually in the Black Gospel genre.
There is an evening service and a Tuesday night Bible Study. There are a few small groups of varying natures.
We have hosted a Divorce Recovery Workshop since January of 1986. Each workshop is eight weeks long and is presented four times each year. We currently host this recovery group online via Zoom. Find out more.
Our outreach focuses on our television programing: “The Bible Study,” “Why We Are Christians,” and “Why Jesus and Not the Others” that includes several series: with an imam, a rabbi, a shaman, and a wiccan. The programs are designed to present the Gospel. These programs are broadcast locally then distributed more globally through Lightcast.com. Find our free video-on-demand app under “MILLER AVENUE CHURCH” at the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Apple TV, Fire TV, Google TV, Roku, Cross.TV, and of course, right here at Watch-Our-TV-Shows. The Bible Study program is also available in audio wherever you receive podcasts.
We have a Reformed theology—not rigid or legalistic—but grace oriented.
The present pastor, Kent Philpott, and his wife Katie operate a publishing house, Earthen Vessel Media, LLC. By extension, it is a ministry of Miller Avenue Baptist Church. You may see something of this by going to Amazon and typing in the pastor’s name.
