Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada
Encyclopedia
Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada (SGF) - a fellowship for Baptist
churches in Canada
holding to either the Baptist Confession of 1646 or 1689
.
Leigh Powell, Bill Payne, and Roger Fellows started this loose association of churches in the 1970s as a Reformed Baptist
witness in Ontario, Canada. SGF claims to be baptistic, evangelistic, and holds to the doctrine of sovereign grace. Churches hold the authority of Scripture in all matters of faith and practice, the autonomy of the local church, a regenerate church membership, believers' baptism
by immersion, liberty of conscience, and separation of church & state. Churches believe that God has chosen certain individuals for salvation, but also believe that God uses means to save His elect.
The purpose of the SGF is to promote cooperation between member churches, especially in the areas of world missions, church planting, evangelization, & education, and to assist churches in maintaining sound doctrine. Any church requesting membership that agrees with the doctrinal stance and constitution of the SGF may be received by a 2/3 majority vote of the delegates of the Sovereign Grace Fellowship. The governance of the Fellowship is committed to a Board of Directors, General Coordinator, and Treasurer, chosen by the delegates in general assembly. The General Assembly is held annually, and each member church is allowed 3 delegates, who must be either elders or deacons of the church they represent. The Sovereign Grace Fellowship had 10 member churches in 2003, located in New Brunswick
and Ontario
.
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
holding to either the Baptist Confession of 1646 or 1689
1689 Baptist Confession of Faith
The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith was written by Particular Baptists, who held to a Calvinistic Soteriology in England to give a formal expression of their Christian faith from a Baptist perspective...
.
Leigh Powell, Bill Payne, and Roger Fellows started this loose association of churches in the 1970s as a Reformed Baptist
Reformed Baptist
Reformed Baptists are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology. They can trace their history through the early modern Particular Baptists of England. The first Reformed Baptist church was formed in the 1630s...
witness in Ontario, Canada. SGF claims to be baptistic, evangelistic, and holds to the doctrine of sovereign grace. Churches hold the authority of Scripture in all matters of faith and practice, the autonomy of the local church, a regenerate church membership, believers' baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
by immersion, liberty of conscience, and separation of church & state. Churches believe that God has chosen certain individuals for salvation, but also believe that God uses means to save His elect.
The purpose of the SGF is to promote cooperation between member churches, especially in the areas of world missions, church planting, evangelization, & education, and to assist churches in maintaining sound doctrine. Any church requesting membership that agrees with the doctrinal stance and constitution of the SGF may be received by a 2/3 majority vote of the delegates of the Sovereign Grace Fellowship. The governance of the Fellowship is committed to a Board of Directors, General Coordinator, and Treasurer, chosen by the delegates in general assembly. The General Assembly is held annually, and each member church is allowed 3 delegates, who must be either elders or deacons of the church they represent. The Sovereign Grace Fellowship had 10 member churches in 2003, located in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.