Canaan M.B. Church | "Where Love Makes the Difference"

The Baptist Articles of Faith

Baptists cherish and defend religious liberty, and deny the right of any secular or religious authority to impose a confession of faith upon a church or body of churches. We honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God.

Mission Statement

To relevantly introduce the Truth of Christ in an urban setting and live out the Biblical mandate of making Disciples of Christ

Core Principles

Evangelism

Making sure that the community of Englewood is evangelized with the gospel of JESUS CHRIST. (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8)

Discipleship

Making sure that every person who is transformed by the gospel message is teamed up with a mature believer (with a life worth modeling) in order to equip them using the word of GOD to train them in righteousness. (2 Timothy 2:2, 3:16-17)

Sound Doctrinal Beliefs

Making sure that we teach what is in accordance with sound doctrine. (Titus 2:1)

Missions

To fulfill the call of missions, we are committed to being indigenous urban missionaries who carry the love of Christ to our community as well as other urban communities locally, nationally and globally. (Matthew 25:34-45)

Relevant Ministry

Making sure that the ministries provided are relevant for today's urban culture, if after close inspection any ministry is not fulfilling the needs of the community of believers and/or the surrounding community it will be removed and revamped to be more effective. (Matthew 3:10)

Youth Leadership Development

Making sure that young people are equipped to lead the church of tomorrow by giving them major responsibility (coupled with accountability) in the church of today. (Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:1-4)

Impartation of Wisdom

Making sure that our mature members (seniors) are an engaged and active part of ministry in order to gain knowledge of our past and wisdom for our future. (Proverbs 20:29)

Community Development

We will holistically restore communities with Christians fully engaged in the process of transformation. (John 1:14)

Social Justice

We will stand as advocates for justice in our community, understanding that our GOD is a GOD of Justice and is a defender of the poor and marginalized. (Psalms 82:3)

Vision Statement

It is our vision, that this scripture will be used to describe our community, West Englewood, which has been deteriorated to a shadow of its GOD given potential.

Zechariah 8:4-6 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem (West Englewood), each with cane in hand because of his age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there." This is what the LORD Almighty says: "It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to Me?" declares the LORD Almighty. NIV

Core Principles

1. Community Ownership
We value our community and the assets that the people in our community bring. (Nehemiah 2:17-20)

2. Sustainability
We are thinking in terms of the long-term, there is never a simplistic answer to the problems in poor communities nor is there a quick fix. (Jeremiah 29:4-7)

3. Mutual Transformation
We are open to being challenged in who we are and how we do things. (Philippians 2:1-4)

4. Holistic Thinking
We embrace community, school, the work place, social activities and church activities as well as the whole person as areas to be impacted. (Matthew 9:35-38)