Northwest Baptist Church sits on 9th Avenue NW in Bradenton, Florida, in a quiet residential corridor a short drive from the Gulf. Since 1997, this independent congregation has gathered around a single conviction: the Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant, and sufficient Word of God, and preaching should let it speak for itself. Members describe themselves as people from many walks of life who have been brought together by the gospel. Northwest Baptist identifies as a Reformed Baptist church and orders its life and worship around the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith.
A Reformed Baptist Identity in Bradenton
The church's own description begins with doctrine. Northwest Baptist Church is an independent Reformed Baptist church that ascribes to the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith. Its preaching centers on the supremacy of Jesus Christ above all things, the centrality and power of the gospel to save sinners, the doctrines of grace, and the sovereignty and glory of God. In the congregation's own words, the confession shapes what they preach, teach, and sing, and it undergirds every program and ministry of the church.
This confessional grounding is not abstract. The What We Believe and Teach section of the church's materials links directly to the full text of the 1689 Confession, organized into all thirty-two chapters, from the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Trinity through the Last Judgment. Visitors and members alike are pointed back to those chapters as the most thorough summary of what Northwest Baptist teaches.
Preaching Verse by Verse Through Whole Books
The pulpit ministry is the center of the church's life. Northwest Baptist is committed to expository preaching, working through whole books of the Bible one verse at a time. The congregation quotes pastor David Helm's definition of expository preaching: "empowered preaching that rightfully submits the shape and emphasis of the sermon to the shape and emphasis of a biblical text." Sermons aim to honor the context, grammar, and theology of each passage, and to lift up Christ from every text.
The Malachi sermon series, preached through nine consecutive weeks and concluded on Christmas morning, illustrates this commitment. From the opening sermon on Malachi 1 to the closing message on Malachi 4:2-6, the pastor moved steadily through the book, taking on themes such as God's sovereign love, the failure of apathetic worship, the discipline of wayward priests, marriages that preach a false gospel, the patience of God and its limits, the immutable character of the Lord, the call to repentance, the book of remembrance, and the rising of the Sun of Righteousness. The full transcripts of those sermons are archived on the site, with a downloadable study guide written for a Reformed Baptist audience.
The same expository approach shapes ongoing teaching. Scripture journals for books like Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are made available free at the Welcome Center so that members can follow along, take notes, and prepare for the week's text.
The Regulative Principle and a Doctrinally Rich Service
Worship at Northwest Baptist is regulated by the Word of God. The phrase is used deliberately. The church believes that what happens in a gathered service should only be what God has commanded and ordained for his people. So the service preaches the Word, reads the Word corporately, prays the Word, sings the Word, and shows the Word through the ordinances. The ordinary means of grace - the Word, the ordinances, and prayer - are valued as the way God grows his people.
Music takes the same approach. The songs chosen for the service matter because the truth they carry matters. The goal is to sing material that is rich in doctrine and God-centered, drawing from both old and modern hymnody. Style is considered less important than substance. A choir sings as part of the gathered service, alongside congregational singing.
A typical Sunday morning unfolds in a steady rhythm: welcome and announcements, scripture reading, congregational singing, a second scripture reading, prayer, choir, congregational singing, the sermon, and a closing hymn. The service is unhurried and liturgical in feel, but the emphasis is always on the exposition of Scripture.
Family-Integrated Worship and the Cry Room
Children are welcomed into the gathered service as full members of the church family. Northwest Baptist teaches that children should worship alongside their parents, learning by observation and participation. The Old Testament pattern of assemblies that included children, and New Testament letters that address children directly, are cited as the model. The aim is to train children from an early age to know, love, and fear the Lord, with corporate worship as a central part of that formation.
For parents of very young children, the nursery space has been reconfigured as an unstaffed cry room. It is intended to be used when needed, not as a regular alternative to the service, and children must be supervised at all times. A live video feed of the worship service plays in the room so that parents can still follow along while caring for a restless child.
Children's Sunday School and Awana
Children's Sunday School meets on Sunday mornings as a complement to family-integrated worship. The hour is designed to be Christ-centered and joyful, with age-appropriate teaching, Scripture memory, discussion, and prayer. The stated goal is not entertainment but discipleship - helping children grow in the knowledge of who God is, what he has done in Christ, and what it means to trust and follow him. The church frames its work as a partnership with parents, laying a biblical foundation that supports both the church and the home.
Awana, the international children's discipleship program, runs at Northwest Baptist under the leadership of Awana Commander Alan Dawson. The Kid's Zone, located in the room between the Nursery and the Library, gives children a space to socialize through play before and after the service. Rules for the room are posted in the space and available to view online.
Small Groups, Men's Ministry, and Women's Fellowship
The congregation's life extends well beyond Sunday morning. Small groups are led by the elders and offer a setting for deeper Bible study and meaningful discussion. Each elder brings his own wisdom and perspective, and questions are welcomed. Groups meet at various times during the week, and registration is handled through the church's online Church Center.
The Men's Ministry meets every other Saturday morning for fellowship, prayer, and Bible study. The aim is brotherhood, mentorship, and spiritual growth, with men encouraging one another to live out their faith in every part of life. Bible-based studies, small-group discussion, and community service projects are part of the rhythm.
The Women's Monthly Fellowship gathers on the first Monday of each month at a different local restaurant. The purpose is community: a relaxed evening to slow down, laugh, build friendships, learn how to pray for one another, and strengthen the bonds that unite the women of the church in Christ. Reservations are coordinated through the Church Center app.
Livestream for Those Who Cannot Attend
For those at a distance, sick, or otherwise unable to gather in person, the Sunday morning service is livestreamed at 10:30 AM on the church's live page. The livestream is designed as an alternative for those who physically cannot be with the congregation, not as a replacement for being present. Viewers are invited to register their name and the number of people watching with them, so the pastors and members can keep track of who is joining from elsewhere.
Past services are archived on Sermon Audio and on the church's own YouTube channel, making it possible to revisit a sermon or catch up on a series at any time.
Five Good Minutes and the Library of Books
A distinctive feature of the church's teaching is the Five Good Minutes video series, hosted by Lead Elder Dan Sardinas. Each short video answers a single theological or biblical question in around five minutes, drawing on questions submitted by viewers. Topics range across Christian doctrine and everyday faith: whether Adam had a belly button, how Old Testament saints were saved, what it means to be a slave of Christ, whether the Bible teaches a flat earth, whether women may serve as pastors, how to know God's will, what to make of predestination, whether tattoos are sinful, how to pray, and many others. The series is published regularly and the full archive is available on the church's site.
Northwest Baptist also maintains a library of print resources. The Books For Sanctification page catalogs more than a dozen titles, most written or co-written by Pastor Sardinas, that are available either at the church's Welcome Center or through Amazon. The list includes devotionals on Isaiah 53, the Solas of the Reformation, the sovereignty of God, the glory of God, the person and work of the Holy Spirit, the Christmas season, the Beatitudes, and more. A downloadable study guide on the book of Malachi accompanies the sermon series. A separate digital library and a Church Center tutorial round out the online resources.
An Eldership That Leads the Church
Northwest Baptist is governed by a plurality of elders. Dan Sardinas serves as Lead Elder, joined by Jeff Hebert and Randall Miller. Together they teach, preach, and shepherd the congregation, and they lead the small groups. A team of deacons - Dave Perry, David Cavanah, Joe Ours, Peter Padilla, Terry Baggett, Mike Graham, Randy Newby, and Rick Justus - supports the work of the church. Jimmie Vann serves as Music Minister, and Alan Dawson directs Awana. The pastor has been serving at the church for around ten years, and the elders teach the adult Sunday School classes.
This elder-led polity shapes the church's teaching ministry. Because the elders do the bulk of the public teaching, the doctrinal commitments of the confession flow consistently through the pulpit, the classroom, and the small groups.
Mission and Core Values
Northwest Baptist's mission is to glorify God by making disciples through gospel-centered worship, relationships, and mission. Six core values give shape to that mission. Gospel is described as the church's oxygen - the good news that God is redeeming his people through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Relationships are taken seriously because a church is made up of born-again believers who have covenanted together for the glory of God; disciples are to be making disciples who make disciples. Story recognizes that every member has a vital role, and members share openly about the change God is working in their lives. Truth holds that the Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice and will be expounded from the pulpit, the classroom, and the home. Worship is understood as a lifestyle of celebrating and fearing a holy God, not merely a service. Mission is the sense that the church exists for others, preaching the gospel to every man, woman, and child in Bradenton and beyond.
The congregation understands itself as a family that loves one another and serves its Savior together. From a building on the northwest side of Bradenton, this independent Reformed Baptist church continues its work of preaching the Word, teaching the next generation, and reaching out to its neighbors with the gospel that has shaped its own life.