Wouldn’t It Be Nice? An Examination of Inter-Church Relationships among the Oxford-Brant Association of CBOQ Churches

Abstract

The Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (or CBOQ), contain clusters of local congregations called “Associations” which were originally created over four centuries ago to serve as unifying, resourcing centres of shared ministry for member churches located geographically near to one another. These Associations have been criticized over time for being reduced to administrative bodies that provide little in the way of practical ministry support to the local church. CBOQ discussions about finding a more organic means to associate together (without requiring an official “Association”), prompted this research into fresh expressions of inter-church partnership. This research portfolio will include surveyed pastors and congregants across the sixteen CBOQ churches in the Oxford-Brant Association to determine the specific role that belonging to an Association played in the pursuit of their respective ministry plans. Once that data was collected and analyzed, a focus group was formed to examine the survey results and to provide insights on the idea of inter-church associating itself. The intent was to galvanize interest in fresh or renewed expressions of inter-church relationship among CBOQ churches.