Recent News

Regarding the Expulsion of Three Churches from Fellowship Prairies (en français aussi)

Sticky

You may have read the short reflection by a dismissed pastor Tim Stephens, Was it Belief or Behaviour. This is a longer response by another dismissed pastor Derek DeVries, that includes much documentary evidence to challenge the narrative: 1) that the matter was unrelated to complementarianism, and 2) that the churches were divisive. It is important to be Bereans in these matters.

Regarding the 2026 Expulsion of Three Churches from Fellowship Prairies (version 2)

2026.06.26 VERSION DES 3 ÉGLISES (version un)

What is complementarianism?

Words have meaning and must be defined. Clarity is kindness. Many use the term complementarian but what does it mean, especially as related to the pastoral office? Originally coined in 1988, it was a one word link to the recently published Danvers Statement (1987), which our '97 position statement affirms. Broadly it means that men and women are equal in value and complementary in role. Specific to governance and teaching "some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men" (Danvers 3.6).  While there is variation amongst complementarians, this website, in keeping with the original meaning and biblical basis of the word, has consistently maintained that the office of pastors/elders/overseers is restricted to biblically qualified men as is preaching/teaching to mixed-congregations.

Articles and Resources

January FEB Gender Update Letter

, ,

As a fellowship of local churches, we are writing to you as a steering team from the ‘97 motion from FNC 2025 because eight faithful sister churches in Fellowship Pacific (FEBP) are facing immediate removal from the Fellowship for advancing our Fellowship’s convictional complementarianism. This is a matter of urgent concern for our shared Fellowship family. The timeline below is important. It represents our grassroots understanding of what has taken place since FNC 2025. We also want to share some practical ways you might positively engage the Complementarian Congruence Team (CCT). This letter has been shared with FEB National Council (FEBNC).
…
While the vote did not achieve the required 67% to make the statement binding, the vote demonstrated :

  • That the majority of churches clearly support the theology and practice of the statement;
  • That a margin of nearly 3-2 (57%:43%) indicated they want existing theological commitments to be immediately applied vs. engaging in a longer process;
  • That we can postulate safely that roughly 68% of delegates outside of FEBPac voted for the Gender motion in 2025; a number that rises to an estimated 71% of delegates east of Manitoba (demonstrating an evident east-west divide). Informed by the 2025 FEBPac Impact vote, it is safe to conclude there is a supermajority in favour of convictional complementarianism;
  • A longing for confessional unity on this important secondary matter; and
  • An indictment of the FEBNC decision to permit regions to not be in congruence with our Bylaws and ‘97 statement over the past two decades.

Access the full letter: January FEB Gender Update Letter

FEB National Announces Complementarian Congruence Team

, ,

“The Complementarian Congruence Team (CCT) will be chaired by Rev. Dr. Jonathan Stairs. The team’s objectives are to:

  • Present a modified version of the Article 9, The Local Church, to the delegates at FNC 2027 for approval, and
  • Provide a path toward complete congruence between Fellowship National’s Affirmation of Faith and its binding documents by FNC 2027

Let me introduce you to the CCT. It is made up of the current AoF Team that served us well for three years and recently presented the FNC 2025 delegates with a revised AoF to approve. Alongside our AoF team, our Regions have added seven new members, making up a full team that represents National, our three seminaries, and our five Regions:

The Fellowship’s Complementarian Congruence Team (CCT)

  • Andy Ardern, member of Wayfarers Church, Spryfield, NS
  • Lillian Boyd, Operations Director, Springvale Church, Stouffville, ON
  • Paul Carter, Lead pastor, Cornerstone, Orillia, ON
  • Darryl Dash, Lead pastor, Liberty Grace Church, Toronto, ON
  • Elizabeth Faulkner, Team Lead–Connect Team, Pacific Region, and member of
    SouthRidge Fellowship, Langley, BC
  • Ben Hall, Lead pastor, Saanich Baptist, BC, and Pacific Regional Council Chair
  • Alex Hogendoorn, Lead pastor, Courtenay Fellowship Baptist, Courtenay, BC
  • Barry Howson, Dean and professor, Heritage Theological Seminary,
    Cambridge, ON
  • Jeremy Johnson, Senior pastor, Village Church, Surrey, BC
  • Gabriel Lauter, President of SEMBEQ, Montreal, QC
  • John Mahaffey, member of West Highland Baptist, Hamilton, ON
  • Jen Martin, Biblical counsellor to women, Calvary Baptist, Oshawa, ON
  • Jonathan McLeod, Lead pastor, Forest Hills Baptist, Dartmouth, NS
  • Barton Priebe, President, Northwest Seminary, Langley, BC
  • Tom Smith, Elder, Bethany Baptist, Red Deer, AB
  • Jonathan Stairs, Lead pastor, Temple Baptist, Cambridge, ON, and Chair of
    National Council
  • Luc Tétreault, AEBEQ Board member, and member of Bon Berger Church,
    Orléans, QC
  • David Thompson, Elder, First Baptist, Lloydminster, AB
  • François Turcotte, AEBEQ Regional Director, and member of l’Église
    Hochelaga, QC
  • RJ Umandap, Lead pastor, Crestwicke Baptist, Guelph, ON”

Access the full email: https://keepfebcomplementarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Complementarian-Congruence-Team.pdf

FEB Pac Special Meeting to Remove Eight Complementarian Churches

,

“The Regional Board of Fellowship Pacific, acting in accordance with Bylaw 9 of our Society’s Bylaws, at their board meeting on December 3, 2025, passed the following motion: to call a special convention on Feb 7, 2026, calling for the removal of the following 8 churches from membership in Fellowship Pacific:

  • Bethany Baptist Church – Barriere
  • First Baptist Church – Kamloops
  • New West Community Church
  • Providence Baptist Church – Kelowna
  • Renfrew Baptist Church – Vancouver
  • Salt Spring Baptist Church
  • Southside Baptist Church – Port Coquitlam
  • Squamish Baptist Church

It is with sorrow that we write to inform you that a Special Convention will be convened fifty- three days from the date of this letter to consider the motion and will take place on February 7, 2026, at SouthRidge Fellowship in Langley at 1pm. Details regarding delegate registration will be available on Fellowship Pacific’s website beginning December 18. The package for the meeting will be sent out in early January 2026.”

…

“Following the Board’s follow up process, these churches engaged in actions that strained fellowship far beyond theological disagreement. They were signatories to a national letter that contained significant misrepresentations of events and leadership within Fellowship Pacific and helped launch a website that contained videos and articles that disparaged regional leaders and cast doubt on the integrity of the Region’s discernment and governance.

In addition, several leaders from churches in FEB Central sent a letter to our Regional Board urging us not to suspend or remove the churches involved, despite these matters being internal to Fellowship Pacific and clearly directed by the will of our own constituency. These leaders have not approached the Regional Board to seek clarity or understand the reasons for our decisions and may unfortunately be operating from a narrative shaped by misrepresentation rather than fact. While we value our partnership across Canada, churches in our Region should be aware that some of these groups may continue to organize and apply pressure on Fellowship Pacific churches regarding this issue. Such efforts, however well intended, risk undermining local church autonomy, regional governance, and the clear decisions already made by the churches of Fellowship Pacific. Our commitment remains to follow the direction of our own constituency and the policies that guide our Region.”

Access the full letter: https://keepfebcomplementarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FEB-Pac-Special-Convention-to-Remove-Churches.pdf

Over Sixty Ontario Churches Urge FEB Pacific to Not Suspend Churches

,

“We are writing to you as fellow members of The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada.

It is our understanding that you have suspended one church in your region and placed at least ten others under the threat of suspension. Now that Fellowship National has begun a two-year process to address the issue of complementarianism, we are writing to you with an appeal: we believe it is in the best interest of our national cooperation for FEB Pacific to reinstate the suspended church and refrain from any further suspensions while the two-year national study on complementarianism is underway.

We believe these actions would demonstrate good faith moving forward and create a much better atmosphere to hold these discussions.

We understand we have no jurisdiction over your affairs, but appeal to you as brothers and sisters in the Lord who are part of our one larger family of churches.”

Access the full letter: https://keepfebcomplementarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Ontario-Churches-to-FEB-Pacific-Urging-No-Suspensions.pdf