Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) or ''Ministères Baptistes Canadiens'' is a federation of four regional

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 c ...

denominations 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 to ...

. The federation is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarter is in

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popu ...

History

The first Baptist church in what is now Canada was founded by an American pastor in Sackville, New Brunswick in 1763. More churches were founded throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Lower Canada, and Upper Canada by American pastors and itinerant preachers.

Mission Boards

The first Baptist born in Canada sent out as a missionary was Samuel S. Day, who was born in Upper Canada, and sent to India by the American Baptist Missionary Union (ABMU) in 1835. In 1866, A.V. Timpany was also appoint by the ABMU to go to India, and that prompted the creation of a Canadian auxiliary to the ABMU in 1866. In 1869, the Canadian auxiliary was reorganised as the Regular Baptist Foreign Missionary Society of Canada, and in 1889, the name was changed to The Board of Foreign Missions of the regular Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. Meanwhile, Baptist Churches in the Maritime colonies had been supporting the work of

Adoniram Judson Adoniram Judson (August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was an American Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Judson was ...

in Burma since 1814. In 1845, the Churches sent out Rev. R.E. Burpee and his wife Laleah to Burma, also under the auspices of the ABMU. The Maritime Baptist Convention formed a Foreign Mission Board in 1865. In 1874, the Canadian Baptist Foreign Missionary Society was founded in Ontario. The ''Canadian Baptist Foreign Mission Board'' (CBFMB) was founded in 1912. The Canadian Baptist Foreign Mission Board was renamed to ''Canadian Baptist Overseas Missions Board'' (CBOMB) on May 1, 1970. The Canadian Baptist Overseas Missions Board was renamed again to ''Canadian Baptist International Ministries'' (CBIM) in 1990.

National Federation

Efforts to form a national Baptist body date back to 1900. In 1900, delegates from across

met 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 formed the ''National Baptist Convention of Canada''. Inexplicably, it never met again. As such, no national coordinating body of Baptists existed in Canada until the Baptist Federation of Canada was organized at

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of ...

in 1944. The Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, the Baptist Union of Western Canada, and the United Baptist Convention of the Maritimes (now Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada) initiated the Federation and were joined by l'Union d'Églises Baptistes Françaises au Canada in 1970. It was renamed ''Canadian Baptist Federation'' (CBF) in 1982.

Merger

In 1995, the "Canadian Baptist Federation" merged with the "Canadian Baptist International Ministries" to form the Canadian Baptist Ministries.

Statistics

According to a denomination census released in 2020, it claimed 982 churches and 81,792 members.

Humanitarian aid

CBM support humanitarian projects in Canada and worldwide. It engages in international mission on behalf of Canadian Baptist churches and brokers national cooperation among the four regional denominations and Women's groups.

Structure

It has 4 regional unions of churches :

Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ) is the oldest union of Baptist churches in central Canada. The organization's headquarters is based in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. CBOQ is a partner of Canadian Baptist Ministries. Histor ...

Canadian Baptists of Western Canada The Canadian Baptists of Western Canada, formerly the Baptist Union of Western Canada, is a moderate Baptist denomination with churches in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Headquarters is i ...

, the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada and Union d'Églises baptistes francophones du Canada.

Education

The organization has several theological institutes affiliated and a partner university, Crandall University.

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 ea ...

. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance.Baptist World Alliance
Members
baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved December 5, 2020

References

;Notes

Sources

*''Baptists Around the World'', by Albert W. Wardin, Jr. *''Program & Report Book'', Canadian Baptist Ministries *''From Sea to Sea: The Canadian Baptist Federation 1944- 1994'', by Shirley Bentall *''The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness'', by H. Leon McBeth ;Further reading *

External links

Canadian Baptist Ministries
- official Web Site
The Canadian Baptist Archives
{{Christianity in Canada Baptist Ministries Christian organizations established in 1995 Baptist organizations established in the 20th century Baptist denominations in North America