Sevilla Chapel is a confessional, Reformed Baptist church plant in Niagara, dedicated to glorifying God through Christ-centered worship, biblical evangelism, and discipleship. We are affiliated with the Canadian National Baptist Convention (CNBC).
As a church holding to the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession, we are committed to the faithful proclamation of the gospel in all of life, the growth and edification of Christ’s church, and a bold witness through relational and cultural engagement.
Sevilla Chapel was planted in response to the sobering reality that 89–90% of Niagara’s population remains far from God and in desperate need of the gospel. Though Niagara is often considered the Bible Belt of Ontario, its over 400,000 residents are served by far too few churches. We firmly believe that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37). Join us as we labor to build a Christ-centered church for the present and future.
To glorify God by advancing the gospel through faithful, biblical evangelism; preserving and defending God’s truth through robust discipleship and apologetics; and cultivating a multi-ethnic covenant community that worships Him in spirit and truth.
We seek regeneration, redemption, restoration and cultural renewal at all levels through the exposition and application of God’s word to every sphere of life – beginning with the individual, then the family, the community, the academy and the culture (Gen. 1:28; 9:1; Ps. 2:10-12; Matt. 28:18; 2 Cor. 10:4-5; 1 Tim. 6:5-6).
We seek to take all thoughts captive to Christ and his kingdom by unveiling the conflict at the worldview level between Christianity and all competing philosophies of life – all of which are inescapably religious – and inculcating Christ and God’s word as the ultimate authority for all knowledge through expository preaching, teaching and discipleship (2 Cor. 10:5).
We assert that Christianity is not probably true; it is a total certainty which rests upon Scripture’s self-attestation to its authority and truthfulness. We seek to train believers to articulate, defend and manifest God’s truth through expository preaching, teaching and supporting our resourcing ministry, the Cántaro Institute (1 Pt. 3:15; Tit. 2:8; Prov. 22:6; 2 Tim. 2:15).
We seek to be a missional, outward-turned community of grace-bought believers (bought with a price by the grace of God), committed to advancing and applying the gospel and administering the grace of God in all spheres of life in order to make all nations disciples of Jesus Christ (Gen. 1:28; Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 10:14-15).
Sevilla Chapel believes in the biblical model of church leadership, where elders are called to shepherd, teach, and oversee the congregation with wisdom and accountability.
Steven R. Martins is the founding pastor of Sevilla Chapel and the founding director of the Cántaro Institute. He holds a Master of Theological Studies from Veritas International University and a Bachelor’s degree from York University. He is also a prolific writer, authoring numerous works in Christian apologetics, theology, and philosophy.
In addition to his pastoral and writing ministry, Steven oversees Worldview Campus in Wellandport, Ontario, a ministry of the Cántaro Institute, as well as the Institute’s publishing imprints, Cántaro Publications and Paideia Press. He lives in the Niagara region with his wife, Cindy, and their children.
Laurence Leriger is pastor of Sevilla Chapel. Laurence was born and raised in Northern Alberta. Laurence and his wife Jenn were married in 1999 and moved to the Niagara Region in 2005 to be close to Jenn’s family. Laurence came to know the Lord when he was 30, and he and Jenn were baptized together in 2006. Their family includes four children, two of whom are married, and two grandchildren, with a third on the way.
For the last 20 years, Laurence has been a devoted student of Scripture, theology and church history. Laurence has been an elder at Rosedale Baptist Church for the past three years and is currently completing the last 6 months of his 2-year Pastoral Internship at Rosedale Baptist Church. Laurence and his family are excited and thankful to be joining the work at Sevilla Chapel.
