Our Name:

Covenant Baptist Church was the name chosen when the church was founded in Toronto in February, 1974, to express the reason for our existence.  Covenant was one of the first Reformed Baptist churches founded in Canada in the modern era.

Covenant - The Bible pictures the relationship between God and His people as a marriage in which God promises His bride, the Church: "I will be their God, and they will be My people." (Hebrews 8:10). "Covenant" therefore expresses in both the Old and New Testaments God's loving choice to draw people into a permanent and living face-to-face relationship with Himself.

Baptist - Baptist refers to the fact that members "were all baptized [immersed] by one Spirit into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13), that is, that they were all converted by the action of the Holy Spirit and experienced the unity of the body of believers.

Church - Our existence as a Church began in 1974, when we were invited by a couple in their eighties to hold worship services in their home on Glencairn Avenue, Toronto, just as Christ and His disciples first met in homes (Luke 10:38). Our first pulpit was their TV set which we covered with a blanket (you may read a deeper meaning into this action!). The friends at Covenant soon learnt by "Church" the Bible doesn't mean the building where believers meet. The Church is the people themselves. Paul says to the Corinthian believers: "you yourselves are God's temple" and "God's Spirit lives in you" (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Our Beliefs and Practices:          

We principally hold  to the Second London Confession of Faith, 1689, modeled on the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith.

Salvation: We believe that people enter into a vital relationship with God the Father only through trusting in the perfect, finished work of Jesus Christ the Son on the Cross, by the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.

Worship: All of our worship of God the Father is through Jesus Christ His Son by the spiritual eye-opening and new life-giving power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Circumstances of Worship: As our confession teaches us there is liberty in the circumstances of worship (chapter 1 sec. 6) but not in the elements of worship (chapter 22 sec.5) - i.e. preaching the word of God, prayer, singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  One such circumstance is the version of the Bible that we use.  We have used the New International Version of the Bible in our Services for a number of years.  Previously we used the King James Version, but, because many of our members have other first languages, we decided on a version that would be easiest to understand.   Likewise in our singing, our main hymnbook is Christian Hymns, but we supplement our worship with hymns from the Baptist Hymnal and other sources both classic and contemporary.

The Reformation and the Doctrines of Grace:

The Reformation: As Christians we owe a great debt to the sixteenth century Reformation and to the great Reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and others. In 1517, when the great German Reformer Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church, he had no idea that he had lit the match to an explosive debate that would rage in the Church for 4 years, until in 1521 it brought Luther to a life or death trial at the Diet of Worms in Germany, before the German Emperor, who was also the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. The Church demanded that Luther recant (i.e. state that his teaching of the Bible, including his doctrine of justification, was all false). All night long Luther struggled. Before him in the morning lay the very real threat of a terribly cruel death, tied to a stake, in the middle of a fire. That morning Luther stood before those who had accused him of heresy and said:

Unless you prove to me by Scripture and plain reason that my doctrines are false I cannot and will not recant. My conscience is captive to the Word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. There is nothing else I can do. God help me. Amen.

Luther's insistence that all of our belief must be proved directly from Scripture, and could not be based on the tradition of the Roman Church, is central to our views as 21st century Christians who desire to be faithful to Scripture.

The Doctrines of Grace:  Luther's re-discovery that man is saved by the Sovereign grace of God alone through faith in the justifying work of Christ on the Cross is at the heart of our commitment to the doctrines of grace. These biblical doctrines show us that man left to himself is totally unable to come to God, for he is spiritually dead "in transgressions and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). Amazingly, long before sinners were able to do anything for their own salvation, God "chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 1:4-5). As Jeremiah 31:3 puts it, God's grace effectually melted the chosen ones' resistance so that they were lovingly drawn to Him: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." Christ's death on the Cross was for a specific, a chosen people (Matthew 1:21). That is, it infallibly makes atonement for the elect, for all those who really would die to sin: "one died for all, and therefore all died" (2 Corinthians 5:14b). Because God is graciously at work in every part of salvation, the perseverance of all true believers until Heaven is reached, is certain: "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work [of saving-faith, re-birth and union with Christ] in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
Is it any wonder that we at Covenant continue to sing the great hymns of the Reformation and the Evangelical Awakening, hymns that declare our unending surprise that God saves sinners like us?

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

Our Pastors

Pastor Christopher M. Powell B.A. B.Ed. M.A. M.Div. was born in North York (now Toronto) Ontario.  He was youngest of three children in a Christian home with a pastor/father (see below).  Pastor Chris was graciously saved at an early age and grew up in the church.  In 1997 he was elected a deacon - a position he would fill until he was called by the church to be their pastor.  After a brief stint in the business world in technology and education, by God's grace Chris was called to the ministry.  In the spring of 2008, Pastor Chris graduated from Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and was ordained to the Gospel ministry in a cooperative multi-church effort.  As of July 2008, he assumed the duties of the full time pastorate.   Pastor Chris is married to Val and has two small children, Hannah Joy and Noah Christopher.   If  you have any questions about Covenant you can contact Pastor Chris directly: pastor@covenantbaptistchurch.com

Pastor Emeritus Leigh B. Powell BA, MDiv, MCLIP, was born in Barnehurst, Kent, England (near London).  After training as a librarian, he was converted under the ministry of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in London, England and served at Westminster Chapel during the Doctor's ministry.  In 1971, he graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia with a Master of Divinity.  In 1973, he was ordained as a Baptist Minister.  Since 1974 he has been a professor of systematic theology.  He first served at Toronto Baptist Seminary and then served as Tutor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at The Pastors' College in Toronto.  Pastor Powell is married to Miriam and they have three grown children.   In July 2008, Pastor Powell retired after 34 years at Covenant Baptist Church where he was the founding pastor.  Pastor Powell while retired still preaches and remains an active elder at Covenant Baptist Church.