FreeChurch Toronto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
FreeChurch Toronto was planted in January 2001 by Todd Cantelon and Gord Marriage as Freedomize Toronto. They felt called to plant a church "for our peers, by our peers." Then meeting at St. Andrew’s on University and King, David McGhee was soon added into leadership and served for eight years as a pastor.
Later Cyril Guerette joined the team and eventually became Senior Pastor. The group moved to St. Stephen-in-the-Fields in the Kensington neighbourhood in 2009.
Jon Osmond joined the leadership team in 2013, the same year FreeChurch became an associate member of the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.
The group has always seen itself as an outreach to young adults, both professional and students. In 2017 it has services at two locations. The worship services in 2017 incorporated a variety of musical and artistic elements including indy-rock, spoken word, and hiphop. FreeChurch's mission statement in 2017 was: "To Be a Light in Our City: Loving God and Loving Our Neighbours."
On 14 October 2022, FreeChurch Toronto was suspended by the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches based on their articulated position on full inclusion of members of the LGBTQ community and their desire to be a fully affirming church. The church was formally removed from membership in the Ontario MB Conference on 25 February 2023.
Bibliography
"History." FreeChurch Toronto. 2016. Web. 30 January 2017. http://freechurch.ca/?page_id=124
Longhurst, John. "Ontario MB Leader Ousted; Two Congregations Suspended." Anabaptist World. 14 November 2022. Web. https://anabaptistworld.org/ontario-mb-leader-ousted-two-congregations-suspended/.
Longhurst, John. "Southridge Community Church, Toronto FreeChurch Removed from Membership in Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches." Time to Tell. 27 February 2023. Web. 4 March 2023. https://timetotellcanada.blogspot.com/2023/02/southridge-community-church-toronto.html.
Additional Information
Address: 736 Bathurst Street, Toronto ON (10:30 service in the Annex Theatre); St. Stephens-in-the-field Church, 103 Bellevue Avenue, Toronto (4:00 pm service).
Phone:
Website: http://freechurch.ca/
Denominational Affiliations:
Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | March 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "FreeChurch Toronto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2023. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=FreeChurch_Toronto_(Toronto,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=174965.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (March 2023). FreeChurch Toronto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=FreeChurch_Toronto_(Toronto,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=174965.
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