What We Believe.

Beckwith Baptist Church is affiliated with the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec.

Our Mission

The people of Beckwith Baptist Church believe God has given us a mission:

"We exist to inspire and equip our community to share the love of Jesus

through Biblical teaching and loving relationships."

We spent a long time carefully choosing these words to reflect what we believe God is calling us to do:

“We” – What we do is meant to be done in community.
“Inspire” – We want to spur people towards love and good deeds.
“Equip” – We want to ensure people are given the tools they need to live out God’s plans for them.
“Our Community” – We want not only to help those who come into our building, but the people around us.
“Share the love of Jesus” – Our passion is to love each other and those around us as Jesus loves us.
“Through” – We will have a strategic plan for ministry.
“Biblical Teaching” – Everything we do to inspire and equip people will come from the scriptures.
“Loving Relationships” – Our ministries will emphasize building people up, reconciling broken relationships, and encouraging deep and meaningful friendships in the Lord.

Our 7 Core Values

Our Core Values Statement is a way of expanding on the Mission Statement by plainly stating the most important things we believe God is calling us to do. They are the matrix through which we will evaluate current and future ministries, and how we will continue to seek God’s will for our Church.

Loving Relationships

We believe that God prioritizes relationships and wants us to be a church where our love for Jesus grows and overflows into loving relationships with others. We want all aspects of our church to be focused on going deeper with God and the believers around us, and then have that love overflow to the non-Christians in our community.
(John 13:35, Acts 2:42-47; Luke 10:27)
Key Question: Are we building deep, life-long, spiritual and practical relationships with God and others?

Biblical Authority

We believe the Bible is the final authority for our lives and the word by which our thoughts and actions will be judged by God, and therefore want to be a church where all of our activities are faithful to scripture. We want all aspects of our church to inspire and equip people to study and obey God’s word.

(1 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 Thess 2:13)
Key Question: Are the ministries in our church biblically based and inspiring and equipping people to love the inspired word of God?

Christ Focused

We believe that Jesus is God, He deserves our worship, and it is through no other name by which we are saved. It is only because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross that we can be reconciled to God, and therefore all that we do as Christians is meant to proclaim Him as Saviour, share His good news, make others disciples of Him, and bring glory to His Name.

(1 Pet 2:5, 9; 1 Cor 3:11)
Key Question: Are we keeping our focus on Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour?

Spirit Empowered

We believe that the Holy Spirit will build His church by giving each Christian supernatural gifts to use to worship God and build up the Body of Christ. We want to be a church where seeking God’s power through prayer is of first importance, cultivating spiritual gifts encouraged, and living out of His inspiration is natural and exciting.

(John 14:12-17, 26; 16:4-15; Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 12:1-11)
Key Question: Are we utterly dependent on the Holy Spirit for leadership, direction, provision, power and blessing?

Lifestyle Worship

We want to be a church where each individual is encouraged and equipped to live their whole life in worship and communion with God, and also come together with other believers to participate in authentic, inspirational, excellent, joyful and meaningful community worship experiences.

(Mark 12:30; John 4:24; Romans 12:1; Heb 13:15)
Key Question: Are we helping people live their whole lives as an act of worship?

Equipping for Action

We believe that Jesus has given every disciple a mission and that the church’s responsibility is to equip them to accomplish that mission. We want to be a church where we train and practically equip people to be effective and self-motivated disciples who carry out the Great Commission.

(Matt 28:19-20; Eph 4:11-16)
Key Question: Are we developing Christian disciples who have the knowledge and tools they need to obey the call of Jesus on their life?

Leadership Development

We believe that God has called us to emphasize the development of mature Christian leaders who will have the passion and skills to cultivate and develop new leaders. We want to be a church where expectations are high and each leader is expected not only to serve in their area of ministry, but to equip others to take their place.

(2 Tim 2:2; 1 Tim 3:1; Acts 6:3)
Key Question: Are we working to mentor, train and empower the next cadre of Christian leaders?

Our Statement of Faith

The Scriptures

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is God’s holy Word. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit, eternal, prophetic, unfailing, complete and a sufficient authoritative guide for holy and productive Christian living.
(2 Peter 1:21; Isaiah 40:8; Revelation 17:17; Psalm 119; Titus 1:9; 2 Timothy 3:15-17)

Creation

The Heavens and the Earth and all that is in them were created by God and are sustained by his power.
(Genesis 1,2; Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1: 16, 17)

The Trinity

There is only one God. God exists in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
(Matthew 28:18-20; Isaiah 11:1, 2; Matthew 3:16-17)

The Fall of Man, and the Consequent Need of New Birth

Adam and Eve were created in the image and likeness of God, but by disobedience sin entered into the world and humankind became subject to death, both physical and spiritual.
(Genesis 3; Romans 5:12)

The Virgin Birth

Jesus Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the mother of our Lord. He was born of her, yet without sin. In the person of Christ God became manifest in the flesh.
(Luke 1:31-35; Hebrews 7:26; 1 Timothy 3:16)

The Resurrection of Jesus and the Second Coming

In bodily form Christ rose from the dead, and will come again in bodily form.
(1 Corinthians 15:4; Acts 1:11)

Salvation

Salvation of lost and sinful humanity is possible only through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, received by faith apart from works and characterized by regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
(Hebrews 9:22; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 5:22-25; Titus 3:4-7)

Sanctification

Sanctification is the process by which we are made partakers of God’s holiness. It is a progressive work that is begun in regeneration and carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the continual use of spiritual disciplines – especially the study of the Word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness and prayer. The process will be completed upon the return of Jesus Christ.
(1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; Ephesians 1:13-14, 6:18; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Luke 9:23 Matthew 26:41; 1 John 3:2; Galatians 5:16)

The Church

The Church, the body of Christ, consists of all true believers.
(Colossians 1:18; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

Ordinances

The total immersion of the believer in water is the true Biblical form of baptism.
(Matthew 3:16; Acts: 8:36-39)

The communion of the Lord’s Supper is a privilege to all those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
(1 Corinthians 11:23-27; Matthew 26: 26-29)

Final Judgment

God will judge the living and the dead. Those who have been born again by the Spirit of God through faith in Christ will spend a joyful eternity in His presence while those who have not believed on the name of Jesus shall be condemned to everlasting destruction in the lake of fire and separation from God.
(2 Timothy 4:1; 1 John 5:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 1: 8-10; John 3:3, 16-18; Revelation 20:12-15)

Satan

Satan is a created fallen angel who is the author of sin, a murderer, the father of lies and deceiver of nations. Satan has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and shall be forever punished in Hell.
(Isaiah 14:12; John 8:44; Revelation 20:7-10; Matthew 25:41; Hebrews 2:14)

Divine Healing

Divine healing of the body takes place in accordance with the will of God.
(Psalm 103:3; James 5:13-16)

Our Membership Covenant

Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.

We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this Church in knowledge, piety and godly living; to promote its spirituality in sustaining its worship, ordinances, discipline and doctrine; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the Church, its work against sin and injustice in the world, the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel throughout all nations.

We agree to promote family worship and maintain private devotions; to educate our children in the teaching and practice of our faith; and to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances. We strive to walk circumspectly in the world, to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all idle talk, backbiting and unrighteous anger; to practice temperance in all things; and to be zealous in all our efforts to advance the Kingdom of our Saviour.

We agree to strive to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We covenant to watch over one another in brotherly love, to remember each other in prayer, to aid each other in sickness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech, to be slow to take offence, always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the commandments of our Saviour.