We Exist to Reach, Teach, Nurture, and Equip People to Exalt Jesus Christ as Lord

First Baptist Church has the honour of connecting people to God, Jesus Christ, and to one another in a loving and caring setting. It is our mission to empower our community to become disciples of God by learning the gospel and practicing his word.

The word “church” originates from the word “gathering” or “to gather”. This is why we so strongly cling to the belief that the church is not a building nor a structure, but rather, the church is actually the believers themselves. We aim to foster and maintain a comfortable environment for our congregation to gather, build relationships, demonstrate love and share our knowledge with each other.

Our Mission: Our Mission

What We Believe

Our church has two primary statements of faith; the Basic Beliefs of our congregation, and the Baptist Distinctives from our denominational affiliation; the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC).

Basic Beliefs

FBC, in accordance with the Statement of Faith of CBWC, hereby explicitly asserts the doctrines which we regard as crucial to the understanding and proclamation of the Gospel and to practical Christian living:

1.1 The sovereignty, love and grace of the triune God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in creation, providence, revelation, redemption and final judgment. (Genesis 1:26-27, Acts 17:26, Philippians 2:13, Romans 16:25- 27, Ephesians 1:7-9, Colossians 1:13-14, Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 20:11-15)

1.2 The divine inspiration of Holy Scripture and its entire trustworthiness and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21)

1.3 The value of each human being as created by God. The universal sinfulness of humankind since the fall, which alienates all from God and subjects all to condemnation. (Ephesians 2:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23)

1.4 The full deity and humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, whose substitutionary sacrifice is the sole ground of redemption from the guilt, penalty and power of sin. (John 1:1-14, John 3:14-16, Romans 5:1, Romans 5:8-11, Hebrews 2:14)

1.5 The justification of the sinner by the grace of God through faith alone in Christ crucified and risen from the dead. (Romans 4:25, Ephesians 2:8-9)

1.6 The illuminating, regenerating, indwelling, sanctifying and empowering work of God the Holy Spirit in the believer. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:11b, Ephesians 3:14-19)

1.7 The church as set forth in the New Testament and understood historically by the Baptist community. (Hebrews 10:25, Acts 14:23, Ephesians 4:11-12, Acts 2:42)

1.8 The expectation of the personal, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ, our participation in the resurrection, and the hope of eternal life. (Acts 1:9-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Hebrews 9:28, Revelation 21:1-7)

Baptist Distinctives

FBC incorporates the following Baptist distinctives as set out by the CBWC:

2.1 Priesthood of All Believers - Loved by God, and made in His image, each of us has the opportunity to meet directly and personally with God. As we are all equal before Him, we have the right and responsibility to participate in Christ's body, the church, and to minister to each other as a 'priesthood of all believers'.

2.2 Ordinances - We believe there are two ordinances, sometimes called
sacraments: baptism and communion.

2.2.1 Baptism - We each come to faith in God through a free, personal
decision; therefore, we practice the baptism of believers. For this
reason, we do not practice infant baptism, reserving baptism for
adults and young people mature enough to make a full conscious
and committed decision. Following Biblical example and modeling
the life, death and resurrection of Christ, we baptize by full
immersion.

2.2.2 Communion - On a regular basis (typically monthly) we remember
the saving death and resurrection of Jesus by participating in the
sacrament of communion, sharing in Christ's body and blood
through bread and the cup.

2.3 Congregational Governance - We follow a congregational form of government in which believers come together as a priesthood of believers under the Lordship of Christ, the authority of the Bible and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to determine God's will for us. Local autonomous churches make their own decisions but participate in the larger body of Christ by associating with the CBWC and its shared ministries.

2.4 Separation of Church and State - The church and the civil government have distinct, separate roles that should not infringe on each other. Where they have shared interests and values, they recognize and reinforce each other.

2.5 Ordination of Women – Since both men and women receive the Holy Spirit and are heirs with Christ, and we are all one in Christ Jesus, and both belong to the body of Christ and each person’s gifts are essential to the proper functioning of the body, as a part of our denomination, we acknowledge the ordination of women.

2.6 Marriage - We affirm that the Biblical pattern of marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman.

2.7 Sexual Behavior - Any sexual behavior outside of monogamous heterosexual marriage is not affirmed Biblically or historically.

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