The Canadian Baptists of Western Canada, formerly the Baptist Union of Western Canada, is a moderate

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

denomination with churches in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and the Northwest Territories. Headquarters is in Calgary,

. The union is one of four components of Canadian Baptist Ministries.

History

Baptists in western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

began in Manitoba in the 1860s, organizing formally in 1884 with the establishment of the Baptist Convention of Manitoba and the Northwest. In 1897, British Columbian Baptists organized their own Convention. These Conventions, and others, united to form the Baptist Convention of Western Canada in 1907, representing 201 churches and 11,000 congregants. The name was changed to the Baptist Union of Western Canada (BUWC) in 1909, by which it was known until 2007. In 1944, the BUWC joined with the United Baptist Convention of the Maritimes and the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec to form the Baptist Federation of Canada (BFC) as a national coordinating body. It was joined by l'Union d'Eglises Baptistes Francaises au Canada in 1970. These four bodies remained federated until 1995 when the federation, by now renamed Canadian Baptist Federation (CBF), merged with Canadian Baptist Ministries, which now functions as the shared outreach arm of all four associations. They have ordained female pastors since 1959. In 2007, the BUWC changed its name to the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada to better reflect its national identity and western focus. Key figures in CBWC history include:

Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist min ...

, a Baptist minister in Weyburn Saskatchewan and healthcare reforming politician,

William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first leader ...

(Bible Bill), an Albertan radio personality and Albertan Premier. Prime Minister

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electi ...

was also a Canadian Baptist.

Statistics

According to a denomination census released in 2020, it claimed 180 churches.

Beliefs

The denomination has a

confession of faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The e ...

. The Union is a member of Canadian Baptist Ministries and

Evangelical Fellowship of Canada The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC; french: Alliance évangélique du Canada) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Its affiliates comprise 43 evangelical Christian denominations, 66 Christian org ...

. The group's theological positions are

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

Organization

The Canadian Baptists of Western Canada is organized into three regions: British Columbia and the Yukon, the Mountain Standard Region (Alberta, the NWT, and MST portions of BC), and the Heartland Region (Saskatchewan and Manitoba). The work of the denomination is overseen by the executive minister, three regional ministers, and various ministry and administrative staff. A board of directors is elected from member churches at a bi-annual assembly and is responsible for the overall governance of the CBWC. The CBWC's head offices are in Calgary, Alberta.

Associated ministries

Carey Theological College Carey Theological College is Baptist theological institute based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is affiliated with the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada. History The Carey Theological College was founded in 1959 as Carey Hall by the Canadia ...

in Vancouver provides much of the denomination's graduate level theological training for pastors and lay leaders.Harry Renfree. Heritage and Horizon: The Baptist Story in Canada. pp.338-339. The William Carey Institute in Vancouver provides undergraduate training. The CBWC owns or is affiliated with six children's camps across Western Canada: Keats Camps in BC, Gull Lake Centre, Mill Creek Baptist Camp and Camp Wapiti in Alberta, and The Quest at Christopher Lake and Katepwa Baptist Kamp in Saskatchewan. Food banks and ministries to vulnerable or impoverished people operate under the auspices of Canadian Baptist churches known as the Mustard Seed in Calgary, Edmonton and Victoria. Many other CBWC churches run community outreach ministries in their communities.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Baptists Of Western Canada Baptist Christianity in Canada Christian organizations established in 1907 Baptist denominations established in the 20th century Christian organizations based in Canada Organizations based in Calgary 1907 establishments in Alberta Baptist denominations in North America