The Canadian Evangelical Christian Church

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The Canadian Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) is an interdenominational, culturally diverse fellowship of Spirit-filled clergy, churches and ministries in Africa, Trinidad, St. Lucia, Canada^[1] and the United States. It has clergy in every province in Canada and has 25 churches located in Ontario. The President of The Canadian ECC is Dr. David Patrick Lavigne, who has been president since 1995.

The Canadian ECC obtains a federal Letters Patent and corporate licenses across Canada, Our status as a recognized denomination allows our ministers to perform all ordinances, including marriages in almost every province.

In Canada the Canadian ECC National Office is in 410-125 Lincoln Road, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.^[2]^[3]

1 History
2 Who We Are
3 Organization and structure
4 Doctrine
5 Training
6 Leadership
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

The Evangelical Christian Church in U.S.A. was founded June 28th 1804^[4] under the name "The Evangelical Christian Churches", which was rooted in the formal organization "Christian Disciples".

The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) is historically connected to the Restoration Movement championed by American preachers and theologians of the late 18th and early 19th century, most notably Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone, and shares into a rich heritage of history globally.

The Evangelical Christian Church can be found globally in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Israel, Ivory Coast, India, Hong Kong, Colombia, Ghana, China, Cameroon, Benin, Uganda, Ukraine, Togo, Sweden, Tanzania, Pakistan, Zambia, Kenya, Puerto Rico, Norway, Haiti, New Zealand, Finland, Denmark, Ethiopia, South Africa, Liberia, Nigeria, Jamaica, and Myanmar.

[edit] Who We Are

The name, The Canadian Evangelical Christian Church - Christian Disciples is found in the light of Paul's message in Ephesians 4:11,12: "And he gave some apostles; and some, prophets. and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." The Canadian ECC has a strong commitment to enable Christians from varied backgrounds who are called of God to be active ministry and service to the body of Christ to the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. It started with believers being called different names from the very first "disciples" in Jerusalem, and "Christians" at Antioch which gave birth to the vision of The Canaidan ECC to restore the church to the New Testament pattern.

[edit] Organization and structure

The Canadian Evangelical Christian Church is headed by the General Superintendent who has general and active management of the affairs of the Church. Provincial District Superintendents report to the General Superintendent and oversee the various activities that take place in their districts or regions. The board of directors (General Council) administers the affairs of all clergy and churches of The Canadian ECC.

The Canadian Evangelical Christian Church is not committed to ecclesiastical standards or man-made doctrines. The Canadian ECC does not advocate extremism or fanaticism of any kind. On the other hand, if judged by the Word of God as authoritative, the doctrinal position of The Canadian ECC is fundamentally sound and many are attracted to it by its evangelical and orthodox character. The Canadian ECC has ten Articles of Faith to which each minister must subscribe. The Canadian ECC believes these to be the first and foremost doctrines of the Bible.

[edit] Doctrine

The CECC's Ten Articles of Faith are considered to be their definitive doctrinal statement:^[5]

The Bible as the written Word of God
The Virgin birth of Jesus
The Deity of Jesus the Christ
The Person and work of theHoly Spirit
The Trinity
Salvation through the Atonement
The guidance of our life through prayer
The death and resurrection of Christ
The return of the Saviour
The millennial Reign of Christ

These Articles of Faith do not advocate any other doctrine unless it "lines up and is consistent with the whole counsel of God's Word and does not engender fear or confusion". The Canadian ECC ministers and clergy may hold other personal opinions or other Christian doctrinal beliefs, for example pertaining to dress code, hair length or observations of days, and informal or formal worship.

The Canadian Evangelical Christian Church allows its clergy the liberty to preach the gospel without the restraints of ecclesiastical standards which hinder many other groups.^[4]

The Canadian Evangelical Christian Church allows its churches the freedom to become independent and autonomous while accountable to The Canadian ECC.

[edit] Training

In 1997, The Canadian Evangelical Christian Church started their post-secondary, ministerial educational centre which was named the School of Christian Ministry, and changed to Freedom Bible College. In 2007, the school was renamed to Waterloo Bible College for the purpose of identifying itself with the community and its culture. The school of higher learning operates in areas of Christian counseling, house churches, and church planting. The college also operates as a five-fold ministry training facility. The campus is in Waterloo, Ontario, the technology-triangle capital of Canada.