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

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

association of churches in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

and the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. Headquarters is in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta. The union is one of four components of

Canadian Baptist Ministries Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) or is a Baptist Christian denomination in Canada. It is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarter is in Mississauga, Ontario. History The first Baptist church in what is now Canada was founded by a ...

History

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

in western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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

, 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 the seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Bap ...

, 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 radio sermons about the Bible, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first le ...

(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 of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

was also a Canadian Baptist.

Statistics

According to a census published by the association in 2024, it claimed 180 churches.

Beliefs

The association 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) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds: ...

. The Union is a member of

and

Evangelical Fellowship of Canada The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC; ) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Its affiliates comprise 48 evangelical Christian denominations, 66 Christian organizations, 33 educational institutions, ...

. The group's theological positions are

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

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 Cana ...

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 Lake Camp 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 denominations 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