WE ARE a ministry partnership of more than 428 Canadian Baptist churches and 21 Associations in the Atlantic Provinces. Our role is to resource our pastors, churches, and people, and to facilitate shared mission on behalf of our churches.
OUR PURPOSE is being and making disciples of Jesus Christ who are integrated into the life and ministry of healthy growing churches, committed to fulfilling the Great Commission and the doing of God’s will on earth.
OUR VISION: We are joining God in our neighbourhoods.
We recognize that God is already at work around us in our neighbourhoods and communities. It’s up to us to open our eyes and partner with God
This vision invites and challenges churches to get to know their neighbours and find new ways to share the Good News.
We know we can’t hesitate in this cultural moment to act decisively and conscientiously to be followers of Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, working to see transformation in the lives of people in our neighbourhoods.
We hope you will discover where God is at work around you and join Him in changing the fabric of our Atlantic Canadian landscape. Let’s join Him in our neighbourhoods.
Our Beliefs
Baptists share many beliefs in common with other Christians including belief in one God, the human and divine nature of Jesus Christ, and the significance of his crucifixion and resurrection for salvation. With other Christian churches, they know that hope for the individual, the nation, and the world is found in Jesus Christ and in a personal relationship with Him. Baptists emerged historically out of a desire to follow New Testament teaching as they understood it.
Related Documents
Our Governance
We can do far more together than we could ever do on our own. Here you will find information about how we accomplish our shared mission and become “Stronger Together”.
Governing Documents
Governance
Finance
Our History
- 1905-06 – Our history begins when three streams of Atlantic Baptists came together to form the United Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces. The three streams were the Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces, The Free Christian Baptist Conference of New Brunswick, and the Free Baptist Conference of Nova Scotia.
The driving motivation for these bodies to unite was the desire to be Stronger. Together. Baptists knew that if they banded together they could be more effective in higher education, overseas mission and in many other ways. They also knew that their unified witness to their communities would be strong.
Over the years, through their Convention, this group of believers has been aggressive in establishing ministry organizations and structures to help the churches and people of Atlantic Canada. For instance:
- 1949 – We established United Bible Baptist Training School (AKA Atlantic Baptist College, Atlantic Baptist University and now known as Crandall University) to provide undergraduate education in the context of a Christian worldview. Crandall is now one of Canada’s largest Christian universities.
- 1961 – We established the Baptist Foundation to provide loans to local churches that want to expand their facility to have a stronger impact on their community.
- 1963 – We became the United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces
- 1968 – We reconstituted the department of theology at Acadia University as Acadia Divinity College. ADC has since grown to become the largest evangelical seminary east of Ontario.
- 1970 – We established Atlantic Baptist Senior Citizen’s Homes Inc. to provide quality apartment and nursing home accommodations for the seniors of Atlantic Canada. This ministry now runs more than a dozen facilities, more than any other Protestant organization in Atlantic Canada.
- 2001 – We became the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches. We also established a youth and family ministries department to build upon our years of successful work in youth ministry region-wide. This department is now Canada’s largest denominationally-based ministry to youth and families.
- 2010 – The CABC became incorporated and adopted a new general operating bylaw.
- 2012 – The Intercultural Ministries Department was established. More and more churches are seeking ways to minister to new Canadians and already established multicultural communities in Atlantic Canada.
- 2016 – The CABC was renamed to become the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada (CBAC).
To read more, you can look at a bibliography of writings about our history.