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PASTOR
CHRIS MYERS
has served as Senior Pastor at Unionville Baptist Church since 2005. He and his wife Sara have five children. He studied at The University of Western Ontario and Heritage Theological Seminary. Chris gives leadership and oversight to the ministries at Unionville Baptist Church, with his primary focus being the teaching and preaching of the Word of God.
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At Unionville Baptist Church we seek to:
- Celebrate, exalt and worship God as our Creator and Saviour;
- Teach and proclaim the Bible as God's authoritative Word, full of grace and truth;
- Apply Biblical truths to everyday life, infusing faith into practice;
- Be relevant and caring to our community;
At Unionville Baptist Church we provide:
- Opportunities for Inspiring Worship;
- Our Sunday worship services blend both contemporary and traditional inspiring music, focused prayer, and forthright teaching with practical application for daily living.
- Opportunities for Discipleship;
- A disciple is a follower of Jesus, one who prepares to be taught by Him in a practical manner. A variety of discipleship opportunities are available at UBC.
- Opportunities for Fellowship;
- The Bible describes the church as a family, and at Unionville Baptist Church we desire to have a warm, caring fellowship with one another. This is a vital part of who we are - a community of Christian faith.
- Opportunities for Every Age Group;
- Sunday Morning Nursery Service is available for infants from 3 months to 5 years of age year-round.
- Junior Church (ages 5-10) takes place during the Sunday Morning Worship Service. Children are dismissed to Junior Church just prior to the sermon.
- Sunday School - Sunday morning classes are available for adults from September through June.
- Awana is a weekly Bible-based program for children from 3 years of age up to high school. This program runs from September to May. For more information about Awana visit www.awanacanada.ca
- Vacation Bible School (VBS) is an annual week-long event with summer fun and Christian teaching for children in our community. Our many volunteers create a safe and happy environment for children to learn about Jesus with a different Bible theme each year, enriched with games, snacks, crafts and singing.
- Bible Study-this inductive Bible study meets every Tuesday from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm on Zoom.
A brief history of Unionville Baptist Church:
What is currently known as Unionville Baptist Church held its inaugural service on November 12, 1950 in Steve and Mary's Dance Hall on Steeles Avenue at Kennedy Road in Toronto.
On May 16, 1952, contruction began on a new church building while the congregation continued to worship, first in a chicken house, and then for several years in the basement of the new church under construction. On November 9, 1959, the new church, Milliken Baptist Church, was declared officially open.
In 1985 the congregation purchased our current building in Markham from Unionville Alliance Church and our name was officially changed to Unionville Baptist Church. Two daughter churches, Bayfair Baptist Church in Pickering, and Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in Scarborough, began from this congregation.
In October 2005 Unionville Baptist Church welcomed Christopher Myers as our third senior pastor to minister at this location.
In November 2020 Unionville Baptist Church will celebrate its 70th anniversary. The Lord has faithfully blessed us throughout these 70 years and we thank Him and praise Him for His goodness. Our God is an awesome God, worthy of all praise and glory!
Senior Pastor: Reverend Christopher Myers
Reverend Christopher Myers began his ministry at Unionville Baptist Church in October 2005 in the role of Senior Pastor. Prior to coming to UBC, he served as Associate Pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Oakville, Ontario, where the majority of his responsibilities surrounded youth ministry. He received his education from The University of Western Ontario and Heritage Theological Seminary.
Pastor Chris is an exegetical, expository preacher of the Word of God, developing his theology of preaching from Nehemiah 8. At Unionville Baptist deep truths from the Bible are expounded along with practical applications for everyday living. Challenges and encouragement are given to live out God’s will daily and to become instruments of God’s grace to this world. His life and ministry focus is derived from the words of the great scholar Johann Albrecht Bengel: "Apply yourself wholly to the text; apply the text wholly to yourself."
Pastor Chris is blessed with a wonderful wife (Sara) and five beautiful children.
Lay Pastor: Richard Tai
Pastor Richard Tai has attended Unionville Baptist Church as a member since childhood. His personal life is deeply intertwined with life at UBC, where he is formally involved with pastoral and worship ministries, but his life and work touch so much more in the life of the church.
Pastor Richard studied architectural engineering at Ryerson University, but his heart for God led him on a different life path. Pastor Richard studied for his Master of Divinty at Tyndale Seminary and became a Lay Pastor at Unionville Baptist Church.
Pastor Richard works full-time at the Toronto head office of the Canadian Bible Society, which exists to promote and encourage the translation, publication, distribution and use of the Scriptures throughout Canada and Bermuda.
The Bible
We believe the Bible to be the complete and sufficient Word of God; that the 66 books (Genesis through to Revelation) in the original manuscripts, comprising the Old and New Testaments, were verbally and fully inspired by the Spirit of God and were thus inerrant and infallible; that the Bible is the final authority and rule in all matters of Christian faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:15-16, 2 Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:18-19).
God
We believe in one God, Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things, visible and invisible, Who is holy, sovereign, infinite, and eternal, possessing all perfection, subsisting in three persons, each equally and fully divine, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1; Colossians 1:15 - 16; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:3-13; Revelation 4).
Jesus Christ
We believe in the absolute and essential deity of Jesus Christ. Who was eternally pre-existent as the Word but at a point in human history assumed sinless humanity by the agency of the Holy Spirit through the virgin birth; that He lived an obedient and sinless life, died a substitutionary atoning death, rose from the dead after three days, ascended in His perfect humanity to the right hand of God the Father, presently exercises a mediatorial ministry, and shall personally return to earth to judge the world and to restore God's creation (Luke 1:34-35; John 1:1-18; Acts 10:34-43; 20:28; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
Holy Spirit
We believe in the absolute and essential deity and personality of the Holy Spirit Whose primary ministry is to glorify Jesus Christ; that He convicts sinners of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement; that He applies and communicates all the benefits and graces of the atoning work of Christ (John 16:7-15; Acts 13:2; Romans 8:8-27; 1 Corinthians 12:1-13; Hebrews 10:29-31).
Satan
We believe that Satan exists as an evil spirit who is limited in his nature and powers; that he deceived humankind into sin; that he is the chief enemy of God and believers (Job 1-2; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Matthew 4:1-11; John 8:42-44; 1 Peter 5:8-9).
Man
We believe that man (male and female) was created in the image of god through a divine command; that he was created to glorify God; that Adam and eve, the first parents of the human race, sinned and became guilty before God, resulting in both total depravity and physical and spiritual death both for themselves and their posterity (Genesis 1:26-28; 3:1-19; Romans 5:12-21).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is by the sovereign, electing grace of God; that by the appointment of the Father and through the consent of the Son, Jesus Christ voluntarily suffered a vicarious, expiatory, and propitiatory death; that justification is by grace through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ as revealed in and proclaimed through the Gospel; that those whom God effectually calls will definitely respond and shall be divinely preserved and finally perfected in the image of Jesus Christ (John 10:25-30; Romans 3:21-26; 8:28-39; 11:5-7; 16:25-27; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 1:3-13; 2:8-10; Hebrews 10:5-14; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
Local Church
We believe that the local Church consists of baptized believers who regularly convene to worship God, to attend to the Scriptures and their teachings, to pray, to observe the Lord's Supper, to fellowship, to mutually edify one another, and to propagate the faith; that the local Church is an autonomous body, able and responsible to administer its own affairs, under the Lordship of Christ, the Head of the Church; that the officially recognized officers of the local Church are pastors (or elders or overseers) and deacons (Acts 2:41-47; 14:23; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:13; Titus 1:5-9).
Ordinances
We believe that the local Church is obligated to observe only two ordinances, namely, baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper; that the act of water baptism signifies identification with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, and symbolizes spiritual washing or regeneration, and confirms Church membership; that the elements of the bread and cup only represent or symbolize the Lord's body and shed blood, the partaking of which signifies spiritual communion with Christ and believers (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3-7; 1 Corinthians 10:14-22; 11:23-34).
Church and State
We believe in the autonomy of the Church whereby the state should neither interfere with, nor intrude upon, the affairs of the Church which is subject only to Jesus Christ and His Word (Matthew 22:15-22; John 18:33-37).
Spiritual Gifts
We believe that Jesus Christ has given spiritual gifts to His Church for the mutual edification of the body. Every member has at least one gift to be exercised for the good of the body. We believe that the extraordinary spiritual gifts which characterized the apostolic age are not now normally and universally evident (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 13:8,13; Ephesians 4:7-13; Hebrews 2:3-4).
Future Events
We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the bodily resurrection of Christians and non-Christians; in the eternal blessed state of the elect and the eternal damned state of the reprobate (John 5:25-29; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:20-58; Revelation 20:11-15).
Christian Liberty
We believe that in matters of conduct and behaviour which are not directly or clearly addressed by specific commandments in the Scriptures, that is, not specifically condemned or forbidden (e.g. the celebration of Christmas, the attending of the theatre, the drinking of wine, etc.), a Christian is free to decide what is right for himself or herself in accordance with a conscience informed by the Scriptures, yet one should not allow the exercise of one's liberty in Christ to cause a fellow Christian to sin against his or her own conscience, but rather one should exercise one's liberty in Christ by living in brotherly love and concern for one's fellow Christian, by endeavouring to advance the cause of Christ among unbelievers (being conscious of the peculiar aspects and lifestyle which characterize secular society), by promoting a testimony of personal holiness, and by striving to perform all acts to the glory of God the Father (Romans 14:1-23; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; 10:31-33).
Lord's Day
We believe that Sunday is historically and traditionally the special day for worship and rest in the age of grace (Mark 16:2; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).
Civil Government
We believe that civil government is by divine appointment for social order and civil protection; that government leaders are to be prayed for and conscientiously honoured and obeyed, except in cases in which their impositions or policies are contrary to the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures (Acts 5:29; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Peter 2:13-17).
Marriage and Divorce
We believe in the sanctity and permanence of marriage which is a covenant of union. Divorce, however, is permitted and justified in certain cases on the grounds of adultery or willful desertion. Yet reconciliation should always be the goal. Re-marriage is permissible when the divorce is justifiable (Matthew 5:31-32; 19:1-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16).
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