Our Purpose *

“The Bridgetown Baptist Church is a gathered community of Christians called to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ. As followers of Jesus Christ we seek to attain this end both co-operatively and individually by:

• Proclaiming the Gospel locally and promoting its proclamation throughout the world.
• Providing opportunities for all ages to study the Word of God, recognizing the authority of the Bible as our only standard of faith and practice. This study is designed to challenge the uncommitted to accept Christ as Saviour and Lord and to encourage all members to develop a lifestyle that will reflect obedience to Christ as Head of the Church and Lord of all life.
• Providing opportunities for public worship, Christian fellowship, and Christian service.
• Supporting programs of the Convention of the Atlantic Baptist Churches, missionary endeavours, and other outreach efforts as agreed upon from time to time.
• Co-operating with other Christians in conducting joint projects, locally or on a wider basis, which further advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”

* Excerpted from Article 1 of the Bridgetown Baptist Church Constitution & Bylaws. Originally adopted May 1996. Full ByLaws here

As a member of the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches, our Church also subscribes to a set of Baptist Distinctives and the 1905-06 Basis of Union that led to the original founding of the United Baptist Convention of the Maritime (later Atlantic) Provinces. These documents are provided courtesy of our denominational web site.

Our Church Covenant (adopted 1987)

HAVING BEEN LED, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to profess our faith in Jesus Christ, and having been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we do now solemnly and joyfully affirm our covenant with God and with each other.

WE PLEDGE to serve Christ in the fellowship of this congregation. We shall endeavour to love one another, to remember one another in prayer, to share each other’s joys, and to sustain each other in times of distress. We aspire to be a fellowship of the concerned, where the lost may find Jesus Christ, sinners may find welcome. We shall strive to be responsible church members, through faithful attendance, study and giving.

WE SHALL SEEK to be obedient to Christ in our daily living. Within our homes, in our labour and while at leisure we shall strive for attitudes and actions which will reflect God’s Spirit working through us. We also engage to maintain family and private devotions, to teach our children the Christian truths, and to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances. Believing that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, we shall endeavour to avoid experiences and habits which defile the body and hinder our witness.

BOUND TOGETHER in a fellowship of faith with all who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we shall pray and labour for a spirit of unity among all Christians.

BELIEVING that our call to be a church is a call to witness in the world, we dedicate ourselves anew as servants of the Lord of all life. Whenever people are in bondage to ignorance, poverty, fear, or prejudice, we shall strive for justice, freedom, dignity, and peace. Whenever people are separated by barriers of hostility and distrust, we shall be ministers of God’s reconciling love. As we pledge our support to the work of our missionaries throughout the world, we commit ourselves to the mission to which God calls us all.

WE AGREE that when we remove from this place, we will speedily unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

ACKNOWLEDGING our human frailties and ever seeking forgiveness, we profess our need of the Holy Spirit, and commit our lives to Jesus Christ, and through Him to the care, the judgement, the deliverance, and the mercy of Almighty God. AMEN.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP **

ARTICLE 2 Membership

Section A.

Anyone who professes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, has accepted the Purpose of this Church and the Church Covenant (Appendix A), and is otherwise qualified to be a member may upon recommendation by the Deacons Board and by a majority vote of the Church be admitted to membership.

Section B.

Persons qualified to be members of this Church are those:

1. Baptized into this Church by immersion.
2. Baptized in another Baptist Church, or a Church which practices Believers’ Baptism by immersion, and transferred by Church Letter
3. Individuals without Church letters, who have given the Deacons Board or Pastor satisfactory evidence of Christian Experience and former Baptism by immersion, may be received on the basis of Experience.
4. Baptized and confirmed members of other Christian Churches who desire to transfer membership to this Church.

Section C

All candidates offering themselves for membership either by Baptism, letter, or experience shall:

1. Attend membership orientation classes presented by the Pastor or Deacon(s) on the beliefs, purpose, and structure of this Church fellowship.

Section D

Privileges of members include:

1. Taking part in the deliberations of all Church Business Meetings, voting on all questions, and being eligible for election to any office.
2. A member is entitled to a letter of transfer to another Church.
3. Only members of this Church who have been Baptized by immersion can be voting delegates at the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada Annual Assembly, as stipulated by the C.B.A.C.

** From Article 2 of the Bridgetown Baptist Church Constitution & Bylaws. (Originally adopted May 1996). Full ByLaws here