I
am pleased to have you visit the Canaan Baptist Church web site where you can
learn a little about who we are and what we are about. Hopefully, your interest
will be intensified enough to visit us or seek more information Canaan Baptist
Church has been serving the Washington, D.C. religious community since 1947. It
is dedicated to the edification of glorifying our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. Canaan has made many contributions in the moral humane, and religious
growth of the community through the struggles of faithful members, both past
and present. Today's Canaan Baptist Church is a vibrant church family that has
gotten its second wind.
We are an inclusive church family, meaning that we
recognize the importance of EVERYONE that is in our employ. We have an active
youth ministry and an energetic senior population. We are a church
striving to be more committed to God by MAKING MOVES IN MINISTRY. We encourage
our members to develop better spiritual growth habits and we provide enabling
infrastructure for that to take place. We are a people that stresses ministry
and not maintenance, so that our members can discover their spiritual gifts and
utilize them in the church and in the community. Our worship style is in the
context of celebration and praise. Canaan is a hopeful, expectant
congregation. We mandate a ministry that is reverent yet relevant. We are
contemporary without compromising our faith or belief. We are called and
committed to meaningful ministry. We invite you to come
worship with because we are reaching for a real relationship. We
realize that in order to receive my favor, I have to do my part.
Message of Hope – March 2014
“I answered by saying, The
God of heaven will give us success. We His servants will start rebuilding…”
(Nehemiah 2:20 – The Disciple’s Study Bible)
Canaan Baptist Church is a church on the GROW! To determine how we can best serve God, each other and our community we are taking inventory. We’re not assessing the material things we possess, but rather we are taking a spiritual inventory – we are assessing our own gifts. Every believer has at least one gift that they can offer to the service of the Lord.
The Book of Nehemiah gives the account of the people of Israel, led by the prophet Nehemiah, setting out to rebuild the decimated walls of their city. Jerusalem had been destroyed by the enemies of Israel and the people were taken into captivity. In due course, God allowed His people to return to their ruined city and Nehemiah inquired of its welfare. When he learned of its present condition (having known of its former glorious state), “he wept…mourned, fasted and prayed” (1:4). God placed it in Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild the once thriving home of the Jewish people. The king whom he served, Artaxeres, gave him permission to return and rebuild the place of his forefathers. Needless to say, the work was monumental and Nehemiah knew there was no way he could handle such a massive task alone; but he knew just what to do! He caused the people to realize that the ruined city was “everybody’s problem” and not just his! “Then he said to them, ‘You see the troubles we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem…” (2:17). Nehemiah made it clear that everybody was to play a part in this project – everyone’s gifts and talents would be needed!
Led by Nehemiah, the leaders and their families prayed, planned, organized, and worked. They made the confession that God would give them success before the work began (2:20). But Chapter 3 is the key (read the entire chapter). You will notice in it a list of assignments. The reconstruction workload was divided: some rebuilt towers, others rebuilt sections of the wall, doors, and gates. The leaders set the example for the other families by establishing a sound work ethic that was pleasing to God – they built their portion, they prayed, and dedicated their work to the Lord. But if you look closely you’ll see that God used all types of people in this project. There were goldsmiths and perfume-makers (v.8), there were rulers or governors (v.9), and last but not least, there were women (v.12). Remember, God is no respect of persons!
You may wonder why the prophet, high priest, and other leaders worked just like the common people. Well, the prophet was given the vision and as a leader I can tell you that we must nurture the gifts among us, challenge God’s people to do good works, pray for and encourage them when they become weary, keep our eyes out for the opposition (because enemies will rise up), enlist the aid of others, but most of all, hear God’s voice and speak God’s Word concerning our works. As we GROW, the entire family at Canaan believes in advance that God will give us success as well! Come share your gifts with us! Come GROW with us, as we…Seek, Serve, and Celebrate the Savior!
Rev. Larry Owens, Jr., M.Div., Senior Pastor
(Nehemiah 2:20 – The Disciple’s Study Bible)
Canaan Baptist Church is a church on the GROW! To determine how we can best serve God, each other and our community we are taking inventory. We’re not assessing the material things we possess, but rather we are taking a spiritual inventory – we are assessing our own gifts. Every believer has at least one gift that they can offer to the service of the Lord.
The Book of Nehemiah gives the account of the people of Israel, led by the prophet Nehemiah, setting out to rebuild the decimated walls of their city. Jerusalem had been destroyed by the enemies of Israel and the people were taken into captivity. In due course, God allowed His people to return to their ruined city and Nehemiah inquired of its welfare. When he learned of its present condition (having known of its former glorious state), “he wept…mourned, fasted and prayed” (1:4). God placed it in Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild the once thriving home of the Jewish people. The king whom he served, Artaxeres, gave him permission to return and rebuild the place of his forefathers. Needless to say, the work was monumental and Nehemiah knew there was no way he could handle such a massive task alone; but he knew just what to do! He caused the people to realize that the ruined city was “everybody’s problem” and not just his! “Then he said to them, ‘You see the troubles we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem…” (2:17). Nehemiah made it clear that everybody was to play a part in this project – everyone’s gifts and talents would be needed!
Led by Nehemiah, the leaders and their families prayed, planned, organized, and worked. They made the confession that God would give them success before the work began (2:20). But Chapter 3 is the key (read the entire chapter). You will notice in it a list of assignments. The reconstruction workload was divided: some rebuilt towers, others rebuilt sections of the wall, doors, and gates. The leaders set the example for the other families by establishing a sound work ethic that was pleasing to God – they built their portion, they prayed, and dedicated their work to the Lord. But if you look closely you’ll see that God used all types of people in this project. There were goldsmiths and perfume-makers (v.8), there were rulers or governors (v.9), and last but not least, there were women (v.12). Remember, God is no respect of persons!
You may wonder why the prophet, high priest, and other leaders worked just like the common people. Well, the prophet was given the vision and as a leader I can tell you that we must nurture the gifts among us, challenge God’s people to do good works, pray for and encourage them when they become weary, keep our eyes out for the opposition (because enemies will rise up), enlist the aid of others, but most of all, hear God’s voice and speak God’s Word concerning our works. As we GROW, the entire family at Canaan believes in advance that God will give us success as well! Come share your gifts with us! Come GROW with us, as we…Seek, Serve, and Celebrate the Savior!
Rev. Larry Owens, Jr., M.Div., Senior Pastor
