Churches in Owen Sound

Reformed churches are Protestant churches in the tradition of John Calvin and the Dutch Reformation, confessing the Three Forms of Unity. In Ontario the name covers four related federations with a shared Dutch heritage and distinct histories.

Roman Catholics belong to the worldwide church led by the Pope in Rome, gathered each Sunday around the Mass, where they believe Christ himself is truly present in the bread and wine. In Wellington County, Catholic parishes belong to the Diocese of Hamilton.

Anglicans belong to the Anglican Church of Canada, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion that grew out of the Church of England. They hold the faith of the creeds, worship from the Book of Common Prayer or the Book of Alternative Services, and are led by bishops; local parishes belong to the Diocese of Niagara.

The United Church of Canada was formed in 1925 when Methodist, Congregational and most Presbyterian congregations joined together. It is Canada's largest Protestant denomination, known for an open communion table, a wide theological welcome and a strong emphasis on social justice.

Methodism began as a renewal movement inside the Church of England under John and Charles Wesley in the 1730s, and grew into the largest Protestant body in nineteenth-century Canada. Most Canadian Methodists entered the United Church in 1925; the congregations still called Methodist today are chiefly those that did not.

Presbyterians belong to the Presbyterian Church in Canada, a Reformed church with Scottish roots, governed by elders and guided by the Westminster Confession and the modern statement Living Faith. Its stone churches are among the oldest congregations in Wellington County.

Lutherans follow the teaching of Martin Luther as set out in the Augsburg Confession and the Small Catechism, centred on justification by grace through faith and on Christ's presence in baptism and Holy Communion. Canada has two Lutheran churches: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and Lutheran Church–Canada.

Baptists are evangelical Christians known for baptizing only those old enough to profess their own faith, and for the independence of each local congregation. In Ontario most Baptist churches belong either to the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec or to the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches.

Pentecostals are evangelical Christians who emphasize the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit such as speaking in tongues and healing, and lively, expressive worship. Most Pentecostal churches in Wellington County belong to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.

Non-denominational churches are independent congregations that belong to no denomination and answer to their own leadership. Most are evangelical in belief, contemporary in style, and go by names like community church, Bible church or Christian fellowship.

Evangelical churches in this group belong to smaller Canadian denominations — Free Methodist, Wesleyan, Evangelical Missionary, Associated Gospel, Evangelical Free, Vineyard and others — that share a gospel-centred, Bible-believing faith and a heart for mission, while differing in history and emphasis.

Alliance churches belong to the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, an evangelical denomination founded for world mission and known for its Fourfold Gospel: Jesus Christ as Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King.

Brethren assemblies and Bible chapels are independent evangelical congregations from the nineteenth-century Plymouth Brethren movement, marked by a weekly breaking of bread and leadership by elders rather than clergy; the separate Brethren in Christ come from Anabaptist and Wesleyan roots.

The Salvation Army is an evangelical Protestant church in the Wesleyan-holiness tradition, founded in London in 1865, whose congregations are called corps, whose ministers are officers, and whose worship goes hand in hand with social service.

The Church of the Nazarene is a Wesleyan-holiness denomination, formed in the United States in 1908 out of several holiness missions and churches, which teaches that a believer may be entirely sanctified by a second work of grace after conversion.

The Churches of Christ are autonomous congregations of the nineteenth-century Restoration Movement, which set out to leave creeds and denominations behind and restore the church described in the New Testament. Most sing without instruments and break bread every Lord's Day.