Convention
Living Hope Baptist Church is affliated with the East Coast Baptist Association and the Canadian National Baptist Convention. We are also in partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention.
We joyfully covenant with our sister churches.
As our National Strengthen Team Leader Bob Shelton writes, "The emphasis among Baptists has been autonomy, and we respect the autonomy of the local church. But we feel like there's another, stronger value in the New Testament, and that is the value of interdependence."
Shelton continues: "So we're intentionally trying to create a new culture where churches are interdependent. Cooperation has been a hallmark of Baptists, and so I don't think we are doing anything radical.'
CNBC churches are autonomous and hold the Bible as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. Each congregation is made up of baptized believers who covenant together in obedience to Jesus Christ, the head of the church.
Although churches are autonomous, they voluntarily choose to cooperate together to achieve what would be impossible were they to attempt it alone. Congregations contribute to the Cooperative Program to provide a funding channel to take the good news around the world.
Every year, CNBC churches elect messengers who are seated at the annual convention and prayerfully deliberate on convention business and critical issues. Convention staff are available to help churches accomplish their God-given mission and to serve them in a variety of ministries.
The Baptist Contribution
Some of the things that Canadian National Baptists bring to the table of Christian expression in Canada stem from general "Baptist" distinctives, others from unique "Canadian National Baptist" values. We seek to maintain a precarious balance between individual freedom and cooperative responsibility.
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Roots
Baptists stem from Christians in England and Europe who sought freedom from a Church that was wedded to the State. This is why issues of individual freedom and church autonomy are so important to Baptists. Many of these "separatists" saw an opportunity for religious freedom in the New World of North America. The development of the ideas of Western democracy and Baptist church experience grew up together. |
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Personal Response to God
We are convinced that every person has the opportunity to know God directly through Jesus Christ. This is sometimes expressed by the terms ‘priesthood of all believers’ and ‘soul competency.’ We believe that what God has done for us in Jesus Christ is so profound and complete that every believer can know and follow God. They have been made competent in Christ and no other priestly mediation is necessary. |
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Freedom
This freedom enjoyed by individuals is extended also to our churches, associations and conventions. The autonomy of the local church allows the membership of each church opportunity to discern and follow the Lord without uninvited involvement from any other ecclesiastical body or representative. Each congregation is encouraged to live directly under the Headship of Christ. The voluntary working together in local associations and a national convention is an important part of our freedom and each of these bodies also enjoys the same democratic freedom and autonomy. |
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Authority
As the freedoms of Western democracies are guided by constitutions, Baptists are guided by the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. All of our freedoms are guaranteed and shaped by the authority of the Bible. Baptists have found it helpful to summarize biblical teachings through Confessions of Faith. Confessions, however, are never held on the same authoritative level as the inspired (God-breathed) Scriptures. The Baptist Faith and Message adopted in 1985 by the Canadian National Baptist Convention is the Confession used by most Canadian National Baptist churches. |
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Cooperation
The Scriptures make clear every believers and church’s freedom in Christ. Jesus also calls his followers to work together in love for the sake of the Gospel. Interdependence, then, is as important a value as independence. The unique contribution of Southern Baptists to working together for the spread of the Gospel is the Cooperative Program. Each congregation, no matter the size, can contribute to this mission fund that pools money together which is then used to support missionaries, staff and projects that could never be supported by a single congregation. This is really the primary purpose for us working together as a denomination. We also seek to be cooperative with other Christian groups in living out and declaring the love of God as revealed by the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. |
The Vision of the Canadian National Baptist Convention
"A church for every person across Canada and around the world."
We see the day when healthy churches directed by God’s word and the Holy Spirit cooperate to reach all people and reproduce congregations across Canada and around the world through Jesus Christ.
· 100,000 baptisms
· 10,000 on mission volunteers per year
· 1,000 churches
· 100 international missionaries by the year 2020
For more information on the Canadian National Baptist Convention, visit www.cnbc.ca.
To be Updated
