Mission
The mission of ARPA Canada is to educate, equip, and encourage Reformed Christians to political action, and to bring a biblical perspective to our civil authorities.
Overview
ARPA Canada is a grassroots Christian political advocacy organization.
We regularly intervene at all levels of courts, provide information and support to elected officials in their difficult task of governing our provinces and nation, host conferences to assist youth and adults who desire to take part in the democratic process, organize presentations at churches and schools across the country, write for publications like the Supreme Court Law Review and major Canadian newspapers, and much more.
We are registered federally as a non-profit organization, but not as a charity.
ARPA Canada believes that Jesus Christ is sovereign over all, including all civil governments. However, we also uphold the separation of the institutions of church and state. You can find this explained, alongside our other core principles, here.
Reformed
By calling ourselves the Association for Reformed Political Action we emphasize two things. First, our efforts to educate, equip, and encourage for political action are directed primarily toward Reformed Christians in Canada. However, we are grateful if others can benefit from this work as well. Second, in harmony with our Reformed theological tradition, we are grounded on the truth of the Bible.
Click here to read the position paper “The ‘R’ in ARPA: Why ARPA Canada is explicitly ‘Reformed’ and has a particular focus on serving the Reformed community.”
Funding
ARPA Canada is funded entirely by individuals who support our mission. We are not a registered charity and do not receive funding from governments or charities. Our finances are audited annually.
If you desire to help us advance our mission through a donation, click here.
Structure
ARPA Canada has staff throughout Canada. Our main offices are in southern BC and Ottawa. Click here for the ARPA staff listing.
ARPA Canada is under the direction of a board of directors which has members from BC, Alberta, and Ontario.
ARPA Canada also operates the We Need a Law campaign, which has a mission of advancing pre-born human rights through legislation and grassroots action.
History
The Reformed church community has a history of political action and involvement in Canada. Already in the 1970s, local groups formed in churches and became known as ARPAs. These groups functioned independently of each other. In 2000, an effort was made by the Reformed Perspective Foundation to encourage the formation of more local ARPA chapters. In 2007, ARPA Canada was founded as a new national non-profit, with its current mission and vision. At that time it had one part-time employee. We thank and praise God for the immense blessing on this effort in the years since.
Local ARPA Chapters
In communities across the country there are groups made up of members of Reformed churches that work to promote political awareness and action within their community. Although independent of ARPA Canada, all of them may benefit from the resources and assistance of ARPA Canada if they desire. Local groups make a very valuable contribution to their communities by facilitating things like guest speakers, letter to the editor writing, meetings with government officials, and encouragement for church members to get involved in political issues and events.