Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2010) |
| Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Polity | Congregational |
| Associations | 21 |
| Region | Atlantic Canada |
| Origin | 1846 |
| Congregations | 538 |
| Members | 62,000 |
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Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches (CABC) - an association of Baptist Churches in the eastern provinces of Canada.
History
The Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces was founded in 1846. The Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches was formed in 1905-1906 as the United Baptist Convention of the Maritimes by a union of Free, or Free Will Baptists and Calvinistic or Regular Baptists. The Regular Baptist and Free Will Baptist congregations wrote a statement of faith and polity called the "Basis of Union" with which both groups could agree. With the addition of Newfoundland to Canada in 1949, the name was changed to the United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces. Many of these churches still carry United Baptist in their official name. The Convention joined with two other conventions in 1944 to form the Canadian Baptist Federation (now known as Canadian Baptist Ministries).
Organization
The largest regional union in Canada, in 2003 the CABC consists of over 62,000 members in 538 churches and 21 associations across the Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island). The CABC is subdivided into seven regions for local cooperation. According to Article I of the Constitution of the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches, it is "composed of those bodies which have agreed to work together upon the basis of the historic Baptist position that the Bible is the all-sufficient ground of faith and practice".
The offices of the CABC are located in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Library and Archives
Crandall University houses the Baptist Heritage Center whose 300 artifacts preserve the material history of Atlantic Baptists, the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches, and its predecessor organizations. The collection and archives includes objects used in worship services, furniture, musical instruments, church building architecture pictures and printed material.[1]
Sources
- Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
Constitution, Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches
- The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness, by H. Leon McBeth