Canaan EM About Us

Our Vision::What are we all about?

Canaan EM exists to be a gospel centered community that celebrates Christ above all things.

Building a gospel community…

More than a name, a location or a Sunday gathering, Canaan church is a community of people.  And more than common proximity or interest, it's the radical grace we have found in Jesus Christ that binds us together.  We believe that when we were still sinners and enemies of God, he sent his son to die for our sins and resurrect from the dead that we might have life in him (1 Cor 15).  This gospel is what defines us and we want to radically exemplify it.  Our goal as a gospel community is to be and to continuously move toward being a reflection of God by loving one another as we have been abundantly loved by Him (1 Jn 4:7,8; Jn 17:20-23). 

…that celebrates Christ.

We celebrate Christ for all that he has done for us, is doing in us and will do through us.  We believe that Jesus is not simply the means to a better life: to a better house and a better job and a better family.  Jesus in fact is not a means at all, he is our reason.  He’s the reason our lives are already better, despite our broken homes, our broken families and our broken lives.  Furthermore, He’s the reason we will live better lives for all eternity and that's the life we look forward to and live for.  We celebrate Him by living in His way (Jn 14:21) expressed in His Word (Rom 12:1,2), and by inviting and teaching others to do the same (Matt 28:18-20).

Our Values::Why do we do what we do?

Truth-Oriented Transformation

We value the teaching and preaching of the Word of God as the primary means by which God gives us grace.  It is the chief means of proclaiming God’s salvation (Rom 10:17; 1 Pet 1:23; Eph 1:13) and the chief means of knowing, growing and being satisfied in Christ. We believe that it is powerful and transformational and we lean on it to teach us who God is and how he wants us to live for our good and his glory (2 Tim 3:15-17; Heb 4:12).  We cannot celebrate God apart from His Word.  Therefore, the celebration of God is the celebration of God’s Word (Josh 1:8; Psa 1:1-3; Jn 15:10-11).

Gathering Together

We value gathering together as the primary means by which God builds community in and through us (Acts 2:44-47; Heb 10:24,25).  We meet together to bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2), build up the body (1 Thes 5:11), speak truth to one another (Eph 4:15), correct one another (2 Tim 3:16-17), encourage one another (Heb 3:13), despair together (Rom 12:15), suffer together (1 Cor 12:26), rejoice together (1 Cor 12:26) and love God and each other together (1 John 3:13).

Holistic Restoration

We value the holistic restoration of lives: body and spirit by aiming to restore whole people with the whole gospel.  We believe first and foremost that there is a spiritual need in every heart for Jesus Christ for salvation (Jn 3:16).  We also see however, that there are physical and emotional needs brought on by sin and social injustices that God desires to be restored by grace (Isa 58).  We believe in not only preaching the gospel, but modeling the gospel life that others might see our deeds and glorify our Father because of them (Matt 5:16).

Our Ministries::How do we do what we do?

Building the Canaan Community

Sunday Celebration Service

Sundays 9:45am and  1:30pm

Our Sunday celebration service is about gathering to catch a glimpse of God’s glory by together engaging him in worship and hearing and responding to His transformative Word. 

Friday Bible Studies

As a community, Canaan is committed to not only studying, but immersing ourselves in the Word of God.  One way that we do this is by gathering specifically for the purpose of engaging the Word more deeply.  Periodically, we have bible studies in series on Friday nights covering specific books of the bible and topics such as: theology, hermeneutics, apologetics, evangelism and more.

Community Groups

To us, "community" means more than just food and games.  Our community groups are for those who desire to go deeper in relationship with God and people.  We gather to break bread together, worship God together, study His word together, pray together, and share life with one another.

Membership

We believe that biblical followership is about more than just behavioral modification.  It’s about a heart commitment to Christ.  For those who are looking for something even deeper by way of accountability and discipleship, we encourage the commitment to membership.  We offer membership classes periodically throughout the year or upon request.  Our membership classes consist of two three-hour sessions covering our theology, our doctrines, our vision / values, our structure and our ministry strategy.    

Retreats

We believe in periodically setting aside an extended time to intentionally retreat from the deceit of the world and the anxieties of life to more deeply engage Christ and process the course of our lives.  At these retreats, we spend time apart with Christ in prayer and enjoy Him in biblical worship and community.  We hope to seek refreshing, restoration and renewal in the grace of God so that when we re-engage the world, we will allow that grace to lead us in the course of our lives. 

Building the Local Community

We celebrate Christ not only by gathering amongst ourselves, but we celebrate life in Christ by taking the gospel to a world in need of Him.

Kingdom Causes Bellflower

Kingdom Causes is a local ministry that has a vision to see cities everywhere transformed as God's people live out the Great Commission locally.  We partner with them in the hopes of seeing Bellflower transformed through various projects and local ministries.  For more information about kingdom causes, go to kingdomcauses.org.

Building the Global Community

"Purnata Bhavan"

Right now, our primary global ministry is to an orphanage in a rural part of India called "Purnata Bhavan," which means "House of Wholeness."  Purnata Bhavan exists to provide love, education and health care to women and children who have been infected with HIV.  Our hope is to partner with those working there to bring hope and joy to the lives of these people through the love of Christ.  We are committed to praying for, giving financially and sending people to support this ministry as God allows us.  For more information about Purnata Bhavan, visit oasisindia.org.