Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists

Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists - the Canadian ministries arm of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

History

Dissatisfaction among some Regular Baptists in British Columbia would eventually lead to the establishment of the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists (CCSB). Some churches participated in the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, but this affiliation proved unsatisfactory. Contact with the Southern Baptists, especially through the Northwest Baptist Bible College, increased the interest of Canadian churches in the Southern Baptist educational and evangelistic programs. In the fall of 1952, Northwest began using the Teacher Training Course of the SBC. Early in 1953, a pastor's conference recommended the Sunday School program of the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board. Regular Baptists in British Columbia were divided over the "Southern Baptist issue". In October, 1953, the Emmanuel Baptist Church of Vancouver, British Columbia joined the Baptist General Convention of Oregon-Washington, an affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention, while also maintaining membership in the Regular Baptist Convention of British Columbia. The Oregon-Washington Convention determined it would assist affiliated churches, but would not initiate any new work in Canada. At the B. C. Regular Baptist Convention in 1955, several resolutions were directed against the Emmanuel Church (now called Kingcrest Southern Baptist Church) and the Southern Baptists. This caused Kingcrest and four other churches to withdraw from the B. C. Convention and affiliate with only the Southern Baptists in the northwest. Though these Canadian churches were members of the Oregon-Washington Convention, they were unable to affiliate directly with the SBC, because of questions relating to the wording of the SBC Constitution. The first SBC association in Canada, the Capilano Association of Vancouver, was organized in 1955. The Canadian Southern Baptist Pastor's Conference was formed in February, 1959. The Midwest Baptist Association of Alberta and Saskatchewan was formed in 1957. In 1960 churches in British Columbia established the Plateau Association. The forerunner of the CCSB, the Canadian Southern Baptist Conference, was formed in 1963 and superseded the Pastor's Conference. In 1985 the Canadian Southern Baptist Conference adopted a new constitution and became the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists.

Ministries

The CCSB headquarters and the Canadian Southern Baptist Theological Seminary are located in Cochrane, Alberta. Its official publication, Baptist Horizon is published 8 times per year and is also available online at the CCSB web site. The Convention engages in specific men's, women's, youth and university ministries. CCSB maintains a Foundation for receiving financial contributions, labors in Canadian church planting, and partners in global missions with the International Mission Board of the SBC. The National Leadership Board, elected by Convention messengers, is the highest operating board within the organization.

Current status

Local churches are autonomous, but must vote to apply for membership in the CCSB. Applications must be approved in annual session by voting messengers of the Convention body. The official statement of faith of this Convention is the Baptist Faith and Message. The official name, according to the current constitution, is Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists Denomination.

Southern Baptists in Canada have expanded from one church in British Columbia in 1953 to 234 churches and congregation seeds in 10 provinces and 2 territories as of September 2006. The geographic breakdown of CCSB congregations is as follows: British Columbia (70), Alberta (45), Quebec (41), Ontario (40), Saskatchewan (21), New Brunswick (5), Prince Edward Island (5), Nova Scotia (2), Manitoba (2), Newfoundland (1), Yukon (1), Northwest Terrorities (1).

There were 11,578 members in the CCSB churches in 2005. The largest concentration of churches remains in western Canada. Their goal statement is "1,000 healthy, reproducing, cooperating churches by 2020."

External links

• Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists - official Web Site
• Salmo Baptist Church, Salmo, BC

Sources

• Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
• Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, Vol. III, Davis C. Woolley, editor

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