Association of Regular Baptist Churches
The
Association of Regular Baptist Churches is one of the smaller Canadian Baptist bodies. Formed in
1957, the association is
fundamentalist and
separatist in its doctrine. ARBC supports the Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College, and publishes
The Gospel Witness. Currently (2003) the ARBC has 10 churches (mostly in Ontario) with approximately 1500 members. In addition to these ten churches that are considered "recognized" members of the association, about 10 more are considered "supporting" churches. One of its leading churches is Jarvis Street Baptist Church of
Toronto, Ontario, whose well-known pastor of 45 years, T. T. Shields (1873-1955), led fundamentalist forces in the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec during the
fundamentalist/
modernist controversies in the first half of the
20th century. Forerunners of the ARBC include the
Union of Regular Baptist Churches, which was formed in
1928 in
Hamilton, Ontario by 77 churches withdrawing from Ontario/Quebec Convention over the election of a liberal professor at
McMaster University. Another descendant of the Union of Regular Baptists is the
Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada.
According to the ARBC, they are "a group of free, self-governing churches holding steadfastly to the great doctrines of Grace always held by Baptists, and acknowledging the sole authority of the Word of God and the headship of Christ."
Sources
- Baptists Around the World, by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
- Four Centuries of Baptist Witness, by H. Leon McBeth
External link