Please find attached the affiliation of Baptists in your area. How is a resource like this helpful?
First, it gives us a sense of a larger family of Christians in this tradition in Canadian Society. Baptists represent the fourth largest Protestant group in the country. The number of 729,470 is only the figure of people who self-describe … there are many in our churches (the Mennonites share this) that “belong” to our fellowship but do not attach the label “Baptist”. The number spills over into other categories… more of that next week.
The second reason for sharing these figures is in thankfulness to God for his faithfulness in seeing growth in our midst.
Some sociologists say that a fraction of 1% of a population can change a society (think of those in the room after the death of Jesus). These % of the population that range from 1.7% to 2.8% are significant “footprints” in our societies. They are the opportunity of footprints of God.
Lastly, the Median Age column (the mid-point where half the population is over a certain age and half is under) is high. In British Columbia the median age spread between Muslims and Baptists is almost 8 years, in Canada the difference is almost 11 years. This figure alone challenges us in our ministry to youth, Sunday schools, outreach programs, 18-30 year olds and residential and urban camping.
If you wish the religious breakdown in any of the areas listed, please email Shelby Gregg at sgregg@buwc.ca and she’ll forward it to you. Thanks both to Jason Tarn and Shelby for this work and these stats.
God is good. He is present and active in the lives of Canadians and Canadian Baptist Christians. These numbers present a picture of growth, celebration and gratitude. These figures also represent a challenge for the life of the Christian church in Canada.
Thanks be to God!
Warmly,
In Christ
Jeremy Bell.
Ps. If you want help in getting demographics for your community, send the request to Shelby. We’ll pay for the stats and walk you through their significance to your area. Religious affiliation information is collected every 5 years.
Baptist Affiliation Abstract
Source: Statistics Canada 2001