Pray for our delegates at FNC 2024
Our Fellowship National Conference (FNC 2024) is happening this week (November 11-13) in Niagara Falls, ON at the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel.
I hope you’ll remember to pray for the hundreds of delegates who will gather:
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On Tuesday, November 12 from 2:00-5:00pm to discuss and give feedback to our draft Affirmation of Faith prepared by our AoF Team. Church boards have already given their feedback via a survey sent to our churches in September. Others participated in our two virtual Town Hall meetings (September 19 and 26) giving helpful feedback and suggestions. The vetting process continues on November 12 so please pray. No vote will take place on November 12th – it is just a discussion, with the vote to take place at FNC 2025 in Toronto.
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On Wednesday, November 13 at 11:00am our delegates gather for our FNC Business Meeting where next year’s budget and National Council members will be voted on. Another very important business item will be the opportunity to vote on the Motion that National Council sent to our churches in September 2024.
The Motion: “To adopt the revised ‘Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada Policy Statement on Marriage and Human Sexuality’ as presented.”
Our National and Regional leaders concluded that our Marriage and Human Sexuality policy statement (approved 2018) needed to be modified to more clearly define The Fellowship’s Biblical understanding of gender. The proposed modifications to the Policy were several additions, to ensure a more fulsome description of human sexuality.
The primary motivation for these proposed additions is to ensure continued adequate protection for our churches and clergy on this issue.
Our churches received these proposed additions and the Motion in early September 2024.
Thank you for praying. These are significant issues for which we will need to know the mind of Christ as we pray, deliberate, and decide. I’ll report on the outcomes soon after FNC 2024.
This decision may require follow-up action by your local church. If you adopted Fellowship National’s Policy Statement on Marriage and Human Sexuality in your bylaws or constitution (which all churches were encouraged to do), you will need to consider adopting this second revision if it passes at FNC 2024. Further information and suggestions will be sent to all Fellowship churches following FNC 2024 on possible next steps to consider. Until then….