Who is the Alberta MB Conference (ABMB)?

As a group of Mennonite Brethren churches in Alberta, we are members of a larger family of MB churches in Canada, distributed into provincial conferences and ministry partners (i.e. camps, colleges, seminary and mission agency). We work collaboratively wherever we can for greater impact in supporting the local church in their mission disciples of Jesus Christ.

2022 ABMB Bylaws AGM approved

 

We envision a disciple-making community of healthy missional leaders and reproducing churches, living on mission locally, nationally, and globally.

To cultivate a community and culture of healthy disciple-making churches and ministries, faithfully joining Jesus in His mission. 

We exist to inspire, equip, and resource ABMB leaders and churches for disciple-making ministry and mission.

  1. We operate in dependence of God, who is revealed to us most clearly in Jesus. God’s spirit, who is the Spirit of Jesus, gifts, energizes and leads His people. We therefore live in prayerful and obedient attentiveness to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  2. We live by the guidance of Scripture. Because of the Scripture’s unique authority, we seek to understand it and live it out faithfully. The MB Confession of Faith describes our current convictions. Jesus, God’s Word to humanity, is the lens through which we read the Bible. We count on the Holy Spirit to guide our shared interpretations. 
  3. We expect transformational discipleship. Because Jesus is Lord and calls all people to be His disciples, we strive to follow Jesus with all we are and have – will, mind, emotions, actions, possessions, and relationships. Because the Holy Spirit transforms Jesus’ followers, we encourage each other to grow in Christlikeness, and invite others to become Christ’s followers.
  4. We participate in God’s mission. God has called and sent His people, just as God sent Jesus. Therefore, as we go to all peoples near and far, we go with word and deed – proclaiming the gospel of reconciliation and doing the work of peace. 
  5. We are church-centered. Local churches, as expressions of Christ’s body, are to announce and demonstrate God’s Kingdom, and are central to God’s work in the world. Therefore, all national and provincial initiatives must benefit local churches.
  6. We serve and lead together. Jesus calls His followers to learn, discern, obey, and serve together. We therefore value hearing each other, serving together, deferring to one another, and reconciling our relationships. These processes take place in and across local, provincial, and national context. We invite women and men of our churches to lead collaboratively at all three levels, and count on them to nurture interdependent relationships with each other and with those they serve. Recognizing the diversity within our larger denominational family, we call all to our central identity, mission, ethic, and theological convictions as described in the MB Confession of Faith and other MB documents and resolutions. 
  7. We steward resources on God’s behalf. Ever since the creation of the universe, God has given good gifts to humanity, and has authorized humans to tend these gifts as God’s viceregents. As stewards in Christ’s church, we therefore serve the MB churches and ministries in Canada responsibly and competently, exercising care and integrity as we oversee the funds and all other assets entrusted to the church for its ministries. We expect all who oversee the church’s resources to demonstrate accountability and transparency.
Therefore: In Keeping with these 7 values, we – the leaders of the MB Church of Canada will:

1. devote significant portions of our meetings (and personal life) to prayer, both spoken and silent. 
2. weigh all our decisions in light of scripture, theology, and the MB Confession of Faith. We also commit to knowing the Confession in detail.
3. evaluate all of life, including our ministry work (processes, conversations, behaviours) in light of the MB understandings of how to behave as Christ’s disciples. We will also ensure that all our decisions contribute to faithful discipleship among MB Churches in Canada. We will apply these commitments to all aspects of our leadership work – including our governance (i.e. generative, strategic, and fiduciary tasks), administration and management, and operation. 
4. consider how our decisions contribute to God’s mission of mercy and proclamation, through MB churches in Canada and abroad.
5. ensure that all our decisions serve the ministries of local MB congregations and provincial conferences. 
6. conduct widespread, multi-level consultations in decision making. We will recruit men and women for all leadership opportunities. We will adhere to the guidelines and spirit of the collaborative model. We will value and be seen to value MB identity, mission, ethics, and theological convictions (as described in the MB Confession of Faith and other MB documents and resolutions). 
7. oversee the people, finances, and assets of our conferences and churches with godly wisdom and Christian integrity which goes beyond what laws and good policies require. We will treat employees and volunteers with grace and dignity. We will report on all the ways we use the resources entrusted to us, with accuracy, transparency, clarity, and honest. Our ministries will seek to model God’s generosity, while serving within their means, as God provides.

God has revealed Himself supremely in Jesus Christ, who has all authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18). The Bible, inspired by God’s Holy Spirit, proclaims Christ and is ‘the infallible Word of God and the authoritative guide for faith and practice.’

In response to God’s revelation, Mennonite Brethren have declared our shared convictions in our Confession of Faith -defining who we are as MB’s in Canada. Convictions are not simply beliefs, but our core commitments that must be lived out for us to claim they are out convictions. These conviction set forth a vision for what it means to live as faithful disciples of Jesus and are a witness to the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ. 

  1. God: We believe in the one true God, the source of all life, who reigns over all things as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and lovingly cares for all creation. God the Father planned the redemption of humanity and sent Jesus Christ the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God, bringing good news to the poor and triumphing over sin through His obedient life, death, and resurrection. God the Holy Spirit empowers believers with new life, indwells them, and unites them in one body.
  2. Revelation of God: We believe God has made Himself known to all people. beginning with creation and culminating in Jesus Christ, God has revealed Himself in the Old and New Testaments. All Scripture is inspired by God and is the authoritative guide for faith and practice. We interpret Scripture in the church community as guided by the Holy Spirit.
  3. Creation and Humanity: We believe God created the heavens and the earth, and they were good. Humans, God’s crowing act, were created in the image of God. Sin has alienated humanity from the Creator and creation, but God offers redemption and reconciliation through Jesus Christ. 
  4. Sin and Evil: We believe sin is individual and corporate opposition to God’s good purposes and leads to physical and spiritual death.
  5. Salvation: We believe God saves all people who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Through his obedient life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, Christ delivers people from the tyranny of sin and death and redeems them for eternal life in the age to come. All creation eagerly awaits its liberation from bondage into the freedom of the glory of God’s children
  6. Nature of the Church: We believe the church is the convenant community called by God through Jesus Christ to live a life of discipleship and witness as empowered by the Holy Spirit. The local church gathers regularly for worship, fellowship, and accountability and to discern, develop, and exercise gifts for ministry.
  7. Mission of the Church: We believe the mission of the church is to make disciples of all nations by calling people to repent, be baptized, and love God and neighbour by sharing the good news and performing acts of love and compassion.
  8. Christian Baptism: We We believe in the one true God, the source of all life, who reigns over all things as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and lovingly cares for all creation. God the Father planned the redemption of humanity and sent Jesus Christ the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God, bringing good news to the poor and triumphing over sin through His obedient life, death, and resurrection. God the Holy Spirit empowers believers with new life, indwells them, and unites them in one body.
  9. Lord’s Supper: We believe that in obedience to Christ, the church observes the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of his atoning death and to celebrate forgiveness, new life, and the fellowship and unity of all believers.
  10. Discipleship: We believe Jesus calls people who have experienced the new birth to follow him in a costly life of service to God. The power of the Holy Spirit transforms believers from the unrighteous pattern of the present age into a life of joyful obedience with God’s people.
  11. Marriage, Singleness, and Family: We believe that singleness and marriage are honoured by God and should be blessed by the church. God instituted marriage as a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman for the purpose of companionship, encouragement, sexual intimacy, and procreation. Children are gifts from God and should be nurtured by parents in the ways of God.
  12. Society and State: We believe that God instituted the state to promote justice and to maintain law and order. Christians’ primary allegiance is to Christ’s kingdom. Believers are called to witness against injustice, exercise social responsibility, and obey all laws that do not conflict with the Word of God.
  13. Love and Nonresistance: We believe that God in Christ reconciles people to himself and to one another, making peace through the cross. We seek to be agents of reconciliation, practice love of enemies, and express Christ’s love by alleviating suffering, reducing strife, and promoting justice. Because violence and warfare are contrary to the gospel of Christ, we believe we are called to give alternative service in times of war.
  14. The Sanctity of Human Life: We believe that God is Creator and giver of life and highly values each person. Procedures designed to take human life are wrong. We oppose all attitudes that devalue human life, especially the defenceless lives of the unborn, disabled, poor, aging, and dying.
  15. Stewardship: We believe the universe and everything in it belong to God the Creator and that we have been entrusted by God to manage its resources. All God’s gifts, including money, time, abilities, and influence, are to be received with thanksgiving, used responsibly, and shared generously.
  16. The Lord’s Day, Work, and Rest: We believe God’s act of creation provides the model for work and rest. In work, we use our abilities to glorify God and serve others. In rest, we express thanks for God’s provision and trust in God’s sustaining grace. In worship, we gather to commemorate the resurrection through worship, instruction, fellowship, and service.
  17. Christianity and Other Faiths: We believe God’s atoning work in Jesus is the only means of reconciling people with God. God has not left any without a witness to the Creator’s goodness and power. Christians treat people of other faiths with respect but urgently proclaim Christ as the only way of salvation.
  18. Christ’s Final Triumph: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return triumphantly at the end of this age to destroy all evil powers, condemn all who have rejected Christ to eternal punishment, and unite believers with Christ to reign forever with God in glory.
For more information about The MB Confession of Faith or to order copies, contact: Kindred Productions.

A concise overview of our Confession of Faith introducing MB beliefs and distinctives. The version also contains Scripture references on which the text is based. The MB Confession of Faith – detailed edition

We support the work of the local church in 4 priority areas.

Spiritual Health and Theology: This strategic priority encourages unity around a clear theological centre and to encourage pastors and churches to a robust spiritual depth. Although success in this strategic area will require contribution form all of us, our Faith and Life teams, in coordination with national Faith and Life team, lead this priority area. 

Leadership Development: The objectives of the Leadership Development strategic priority are to enhance and support the growth and development of MB pastors and leaders, through a combination formal education (seminary) and informal training (ie. seminars) and non-formal coaching and peer-to-peer mentoring. Success in this strategic area will require contribution from all of us, including our camp, MB Seminary, Faith and Life Teams, and Multiply. The Provincial Director will lead this priority area.

Mission: 

Organizational Health: