Dear Brothers & Sisters,
“Are You Baptist?” I get this question all the time from folks in the community who want to know more about Christ Community Fellowship. Perhaps you too have questions about the church's history and beliefs.
The short answer is Yes and No.
Yes, in terms of our history, the congregation was part of the Fellowship Baptist Denomination until 2019. The church was planted by a Fellowship Baptist Minister/Church Planter named Dave Dehaan. In the early 1990’s he and his wife moved into the community and started a Bible Study in their home, which blossomed by God’s grace into a small group that has met regularly ever since, and continues to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
No, in the sense that we are not currently affiliated with any denomination. Instead, we are a locally autonomous church that partners with Village Missions Canada (https://villagemissions.ca/). The move away from the Fellowship Baptist Denomination was largely due to the difficulty of finding a pastor willing to serve in Cardston full time. However, one of the major blessings of this change is that we are becoming known as followers of Christ rather than members of a particular denomination. This desire to be known by our relationship to Christ was further reflected in the name change that took place in 2021.
What about our theology? Has that changed? No, in this regard, we have very much remained the same in our convictions.
We continue to hold to Baptist distinctives such as...
1) Baptism by immersion upon confession of faith
2) Congregational Elder-led Church Government
3) We affirm a Historic Baptist Confession [Though we have allowed some exceptions to the confession and are working on bringing forward a revision to better represent what we believe].
So “Are we Baptist?” It depends. Broadly speaking we fall under that banner in terms of our beliefs and practice (as do many other non-denominational churches), but we no longer have any affiliation with a Baptist denomination.
What really matters?
This whole question is secondary to what or rather WHO really matters. When I am asked about our church, my answer is not “We’re Baptist”. My answer is “we are a gathering of Bible-believing worshippers of the Triune God, saved by Jesus Christ.” The central and defining characteristic of Christ Community Fellowship is the gospel of Jesus Christ as handed down to us in the Word of God, which is contained in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Baptist distinctives are secondary to Christ’s person and work. He is central and defining to who we are. Christ is the reason we gather together as in Body, in Him we are bound together.
Next time you’re asked “What church do you go to?” What will you answer?
Grace & Peace in Jesus,
Matt
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