Evangelical Protestants in Canada:
Comparing ‘New’ Immigrant and
Non-immigrant Congregations
Michael Wilkinson, PhD
Trinity Western University
Sam Reimer, PhD
Crandall University
Introduction
• Institutional forms of Christian religiosity continue to
decline in Canada, with one exception: the evangelical or
conservative Protestants.
• Recent immigrants contribute significantly to this growing
congregational base with the majority of new evangelical
congregations servicing minority groups.
• In this paper, we analyze the implications of a growing
minority and immigrant presence in evangelical
congregations.
• Comparisons are made between new immigrant and nonimmigrant congregations.
Data
• Data are from the Canadian Evangelical Churches project
conducted by the authors and includes 50 face-to-face
interviews, interviews with denominational leaders, and
survey interview data from nearly 500 evangelical pastors
across Canada.
• The pastors are from 5 of the largest evangelical
denominations and represent a range of theological
viewpoints (e.g. Wesleyan, Reformed, Anabaptist, and
Pentecostal).
• They include: Baptist Conventions, Christian and
Missionary Alliance, Christian Reformed Church,
Mennonite Brethren, and Pentecostal Assemblies of
Canada.
Argument
• Evangelical Protestantism is a uniquely congregational
style of Canadian religion, and its institutional form
remains relatively strong.
• New forms of Christianity from Africa, Asia, and Latin
America are arriving in Canada leading to the deEuropeanization of evangelicalism.
• Multicultural theory highlights the importance of
recognizing a range of variables including ethnicity, class,
gender, and sexuality. Surprisingly, very little attention is
given to religion in the literature.
• We offer a demographic analysis of evangelical
congregations noting a high degree of diversity
Evangelical Beliefs & Attendance
Evangelical Congregations & Attendance
Demographic Diversity
Ethnic/Racial Diversity
Evangelism, Mission, and Societal
Engagement
• General Observations
• 1. There is a general trend among evangelical Protestants
•
•
•
•
away from traditional methods of evangelism.
2. Evangelicals are emphasizing a “missional” approach, a
theological movement that assumes Canada is a post-Christian
society and that congregations need to rethink how they will
engage Canadians.
3. Pastors are de-emphasizing traditional program based
congregations and focusing on community based service.
4. The one exception is new immigrant pastors and
congregations where traditional views of evangelism and
mission are assumed to be appropriate.
5. New immigrant pastors talk about Canada as a mission field
and speak of “reverse mission.”
Conclusion
• In conclusion, while Christianity institutionally continues to
•
•
•
•
decline in Canada, the one exception is evangelical
Protestantism.
The growth of evangelicals is largely, but not solely,
related to global migration.
Multiculturalism in Canada is another factor that accounts
for two observations: the ongoing de-Europeanization of
Christianity and second, the increase in ethnically diverse
congregations among evangelical Protestants.
Evangelicals are re-considering ways to engage society.
New immigrants see the decline in Christian
denominations as an opportunity for mission.