Baptist General Conference of Canada (BGCC) is a

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 ...

Christian denomination in

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 ...

. It is affiliated with the

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 headquarters is in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

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 ...

History

A church was formed in Quebec in 1892 and another in Winnipeg in 1894 by Swedish Baptists that emerged in

Radical Pietism Radical Pietism are those Christian churches who decided to break with denominational Lutheranism in order to emphasize certain teachings regarding holy living. Radical Pietists contrast with Church Pietists, who chose to remain within their Lut ...

late in the 19th century. From its beginning among Scandinavian immigrants, the BGCC has grown to a network of autonomous churches from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia. The Quebec church no longer exists. The Grant Memorial Baptist Church in Winnipeg is the oldest surviving Canadian BGC church. Though organized into regional conferences, these churches were also affiliated with the Baptist Union of Western Canada (BUWC) for the first half of the 20th century. The Central Canada Baptist Conference and the Baptist General Conference in Alberta withdrew from the BUWC in 1948 and 1949, respectively. The BGCC churches were affiliated with the

Baptist General Conference Converge, formerly the Baptist General Conference (BGC) and Converge Worldwide, is an evangelical Baptist Christian denomination in United States introduced by Swedish Baptists that emerged late in the 19th century. It is affiliated with the Bap ...

in the United States until 1981. Beginning in 1977, the three districts then in existence - Baptist General Conference in Alberta, British Columbia Baptist Conference and Central Canada Baptist Conference - started exploring the possibilities of working together to evangelize Canada and the world. At the second meeting of the representatives, a recommendation came to organize a General Conference. The BGCC was formed in 1981, but has roots in Swedish Baptist missionary work in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. The BGC churches in Canada are organized into four district conferences (BGC Alberta, BGC Central Canada, BGC Saskatchewan, and British Columbia Baptist Conference) and another region known as Eastern Expansion which includes churches in Quebec, Nova Scotia and southern Ontario. The Conference is led by a Board composed of members from BGC churches from the districts. The executive director oversees the Canadian office, gives missional alignment to the various national ministries and provides visionary leadership to move the Conference forward. In 2016, Kevin Schular was appointed to a five-year term as executive director. The Conference holds an annual meeting, held at various locations around Canada. Delegates are sent from their local church and conduct the business of the Conference. The BGCC operates a number of ministries, including the Canadian Baptist Seminary, Global Missions and Foundation, and is affiliated with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. According to a census published by the association in 2001, it claimed 7,137 members.Paul Bramadat, David Seljak, ''Christianity and Ethnicity in Canada'', University of Toronto Press, Canada, 2008, p. 411.

References

External links

Baptist General Conference of Canada
- official Web Site {{DEFAULTSORT:Baptist General Conference Of Canada Baptist Christianity in Canada Christian organizations established in 1981 Baptist denominations established in the 20th century Baptist denominations in North America Evangelical denominations in North America Radical Pietism

History

See also

References

External links