We are the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples). As a mainstream, the nondenominational evangelical movement in North America traces its historical roots to the formal organization of the Christian Church in 1804 in Bourbon County, Kentucky, U.S.A., under the branch of the Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples). The denomination in the United States was influenced by the leadership of Barton Warren Stone (1772-1844), a former Presbyterian minister. This group reformed their beliefs regarding Christian unity in the church during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century.

The Christian Disciples in Canada, whose faith was also influenced by Scottish Baptist theology, was founded in 1810 near Stratford, PEI, where a small Georgian/Colonial-style church was built in 1813 by John R. Stewart, an immigrant from Perthshire, Scotland. The church was designed by members of the congregation, who were then Christian Disciples whose faith was influenced by Baptist theology. Alexander Crawford, who was then also working in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Crawford would remain with the Cross Roads congregation for almost two years before moving to Tryon, PEI. As early as 1813, Steward was holding worship services in his home. The young congregation decided to establish their first meeting house - a crude log cabin, only thirty feet long by twenty feet wide. At this time, all of the adherents were of Scots ancestry.

From 1907 to 1947, the church was operated as a Baptist charge in conjunction with Baptist churches in Alexandra and Hazelbrook, when it again appeared to become an Evangelical Christian Church.https://www.lbcbc.ca/ourhistory/.

This movement had roots in an 18th-century reform that drew revival energy from the Evangelical Welsh Revival in England and the Great Awakening in America. It began within Scottish Presbyterianism and spread to an English-Baptist movement in Scotland. This led to the formation of a small fellowship of "Churches of Christ" in Scotland and England by the mid-19th century, a growing movement in North America, then spreading around the world. Achieving a period of general unity during the 19th century, the movement stumbled into some separation in the 20th century. This introduction focuses on these restoration experiences as they developed in the Old World and then spread throughout Canada.

 

The theological beliefs of the Christian Disciples advocated simple congregational life: They taught the supreme authority of the Scriptures, the restitution of primitive Christianity, the church as the New Israel, the "mystical body of Christ" made up of visible members of the church, autonomous congregations, the rejection of a national "established" Church, congregational leadership by a plurality of elders, weekly observance of the Lord's supper on the first day of the week, love feasts, mutual exhortation, a weekly collection for the poor, the justification being an act of God through the faith of the believer, baptism as a sign and seal of the New Covenant, and following the pattern established in the books of Acts regarding worship, church structure, and Kingdom living.

 

On June 28, 1804, the Christian Disciples in the United States adopted the "Evangelical Christian Church" to identify their group with Barton Stone based on its use in Acts 11:26, which became the remnants of the Springfield Presbytery. Most independent churches aligned with the "Disciples movement," which identified with Campbell's group, decided to use the "Christian Disciples" of the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada in 1810.

 

The Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples) is conservative in Christian doctrine, and its member churches and ministries are self-governing in the tradition of congregational ecclesiastical government. Ministers are held accountable only to the holy scriptures and Jesus Christ and are guaranteed freedom of thought and conscience to practice their faith without human restrictions. The Evangelical Christian Church in Canada permits only those practices and beliefs in the guidelines of New Testament living and worship taught by the early church from its members.

 

Today, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples) continues the historical tradition of sound, moral, biblical Christianity and humanitarian work on "Solo Scriptura"—by scripture alone. Each Evangelical Christian church and affiliated ministry has a sound doctrine founded only on grace through faith.

 

Our Core Values are based on:

 

Freedom of religion in Canada,

Accountability as clergy,  

Fairness in our treatment of all people,

Respect for one's differences of opinion.