Evangelical Free Church of America

The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is an

Evangelical Free Church
evangelical Christian denomination in the Radical Pietistic
tradition.[1] The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the
of America
Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish
Evangelical Free Church Association. It is affiliated with the
International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches.

History

Classification Protestant
Orientation Evangelical
Theology Radical Pietistic[1]
Polity Free Church and
Community Evangelical Free Church of Congregationalist
Soap Lake, Washington
Associations National
Association of
The Swedish Evangelical Free Church formed from a number of Evangelicals ·
Free Mission Friends[3] as the Swedish Evangelical Free Mission International
in Boone, Iowa, in October 1884.[4] Several churches that had Federation of
been members of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Ansgar Synod
Free Evangelical
and the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Synod, along with
some independent congregations, were instrumental in organizing Churches
this voluntary fellowship. In the same year, two Norwegian- Region United States
Danish groups in Boston, Massachusetts, and Tacoma, Headquarters Bloomington,
Washington, began to fellowship together. By 1912, they had
Minnesota, US
formed the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church
Association. The Swedish and Norwegian-Danish bodies united in Origin June 1950
June 1950 at a merger conference held at the Medicine Lake Minneapolis,
Conference Grounds near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The two Minnesota, US
bodies represented 275 local congregations at the time of the Separated from Lutheranism
merger.[5]
Branched from Mission Friends
Merger of Swedish
Evangelical Free
Church and
Norwegian-
Danish
The EFCA shares some early ties with those who formed the Evangelical Free
Swedish Evangelical Covenant Church as they both came from Church
Mission Friends groups. It has been a member of the National Association
Association of Evangelicals since 1943, the year after that
Separations Evangelical Free
organization was formed.
Church of
Canada
Beliefs Congregations 1,600[2]
[2]
In its Statement of Faith, the Evangelical Free Church of America Members 180,000
affirms the authority and inerrancy of the Bible; the Trinity; Official website efca.org (http://ef
atonement through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ; original sin; Christ ca.org)
as head of the church and the local church's right to self
government; the personal and imminent return of Christ; the bodily Slogan Multiplying
resurrection of the dead; and the two ordinances of water baptism Transformational
and the Lord's Supper. [6] The denomination, within its own Churches Among
Statement of Faith and FAQ, claims to be most similar to the All People
Baptist tradition, but prefers to use "baptist" with a lowercase "b"
as a minor non-primary descriptor due to it primarily although not exclusively embracing the Baptist
doctrine on credobaptism, while leaving some allowances for the use of paedobaptism because of its early
history having origins within Lutheranism, and having had an influx of former Methodists and
Presbyterians in the denomination's early days.[7][8]

The EFCA passed a substantial revision to its Statement of Faith on June 26, 2008, the first revision since
the Statement was first adopted in 1950.[9] This revision was proposed in order "to update archaic
language, to clarify some theological ambiguities, to seek greater theological precision, to address new
issues, to have a SoF that would be better suited to be used as a teaching tool in our churches."[10] Specific
beliefs based on biblical interpretation can vary somewhat due to the congregational governance system
that gives autonomy to individual local EFCA churches.

The EFCA does not ordain women.[11] The church describes its stance on homosexuality and same-sex
marriage as "welcoming but not affirming," stating that the church "will not credential one who engages in
homosexual conduct or one who does not believe that homosexual behavior is sinful, even though
remaining celibate."

Structure
The word Free in the Evangelical Free Church's name refers
to its congregational polity, meaning each member church is
autonomous, and to its history, meaning that the free churches
were free from state control.[11] The governing body of the
EFCA is the Leadership Conference held annually.[12]
Delegates to the conference are credentialed ministers,
chaplains, tenured university faculty, and representatives of
each EFCA church. The Leadership Conference elects the
board of directors which acts as the governing body between
Leadership Conference meetings. As chair of the Directional
Team, the President coordinates the work of the various An Evangelical Free church in Superior,
national boards and ministries.[13] The office of the President Nebraska
has responsibility for reviewing the licensing and ordaining of ministers and, in addition, oversees the
discipline and restoration process for pastors.

The EFCA is divided into 17 regional districts which, among other responsibilities, examines and approves
applicants for ordination.[13][14] The denomination maintains headquarters in suburban Minneapolis,
Minnesota, and engages in ministries in education, publications, senior housing, children's homes, and
camp facilities. The EFCA supports the mission of Trinity International University and Trinity Evangelical
Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois; Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, California; and supports Trinity
Western University in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.

The Evangelical Free Church is a member of the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches.

Membership trends
In 1950 there were 20,000 members and under 300 congregations.[15] By the 1980s there were over 800
congregations and over 100,000 members.[15] In 2003, the Association reported 300,000 members in over
1,400 congregations.[15] In 2014, the EFCA reported a weekly attendance of 371,191 in 1,500
congregations. In the United States there are 1,314 EFCA churches and 176 church plants with 270 multi-
ethnic churches and 102 multi-site or second language services. Close to 550 missionaries serve in more
than 80 countries.[16] As of 2000, California had the largest number of congregations with 175.[17]
However, membership is primarily concentrated in the Midwest.

Notable members
Walter Kaiser Jr., Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary President Emeritus and Old
Testament professor
D. A. Carson, Trinity International University Emeritus professor of New Testament
Chuck Swindoll, Dallas Theological Seminary former president
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the U.S. representative for Washington's 5th congressional district
since 2005.[18]
Tina Wesson, winner of Survivor: The Australian Outback, is a member and occasional
speaker
Colin Smith, pastor, author, and council member of The Gospel Coalition
Darren Carlson, pastor, founder of Training Leaders International, producer of Jesus in
Athens

Presidents
E. A. Halleen: 1950–1951
A. T. Olson: 1951–1976
Tom McDill: 1976–1990
Paul Cedar: 1990–1996
William Hamel: 1996–2015 (1996 Interim, 1997 President)
Kevin Kompelien: 2015–present

See also
Evangelical Free Church of Canada
 Evangelical Free Church of China

Notes
1. Shantz, Douglas H. (2013). An Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the
Dawn of Modern Europe. JHU Press. ISBN 9781421408804.
2. "EFCA Yearbook 2017 / 2017 EFCA Directory" (http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/single
item/collection/tiu_efcadir/id/137/rec/1). Free Church Press. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20181215221904/http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/tiu_efca
dir/id/137/rec/1) from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
3. Gustafson, David M. (2008). D.L. Moody and Swedes: shaping evangelical identity among
Swedish mission friends, 1867-1899 (http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:17528/FUL
LTEXT01.pdf) (PDF). Linköping University, Department of culture and communication. pp. 6,
167. ISBN 9789173939959. OCLC 489777085 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/489777085).
4. George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States,
Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 825
5. About the EFCA: Our History (http://www.efca.org/about-efca/our-history) Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20100201133518/http://www.efca.org/about-efca/our-history) February 1,
2010, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 10, 2010.
6. EFCA Statement of Faith (http://www.efca.org/about-efca/statement-faith) Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20081027175436/http://www.efca.org/about-efca/statement-faith)
October 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 10, 2010.
7. "Theological FAQ — National Office" (https://national-office.ministries.efca.org/theological-fa
q). national-office.ministries.efca.org. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2022111705553
2/https://national-office.ministries.efca.org/theological-faq) from the original on November 17,
2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
8. "EFCA Tweaks Statement of Faith" (https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2008/july/129-1
1.0.html). News & Reporting. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20221204075107/https://
www.christianitytoday.com/news/2008/july/129-11.0.html) from the original on December 4,
2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
9. EFCA: Resources for Statement of Faith Transition (http://www.efca.org/about-efca/statemen
t-faith/resources-statement-faith-transition) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/200810040
82410/http://www.efca.org/about-efca/statement-faith/resources-statement-faith-transition)
October 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 10, 2010.
10. Strand, Greg. EFCA Statement of Faith: Introduction (http://www.efca.org/about/doctrine/sof-
documents.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080422001901/http://www.efca.or
g/about/doctrine/sof-documents.html) April 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed
March 10, 2010.
11. "Theological FAQ — National Office" (https://www.efca.org/resources/document/theological-
definitions-positions). EFCA. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180227035305/https://
www.efca.org/resources/document/theological-definitions-positions) from the original on
February 27, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
12. About the EFCA: Our Structure (http://www.efca.org/about-efca/our-structure) Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20100201180850/http://www.efca.org/about-efca/our-structure)
February 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 10, 2010.
13. About the EFCA: Office of the President (http://www.efca.org/about-efca/our-structure/office-p
resident) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20091015064650/http://www.efca.org/about-
efca/our-structure/office-president) October 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed
March 10, 2010.
14. Steps Toward Credentialing (http://www.efca.org/files/document/office-of-the-president/steps
-toward-credentialing.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20101226174243/http://ww
w.efca.org/files/document/office-of-the-president/steps-toward-credentialing.pdf) December
26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, page 2. January 2000. Accessed March 10, 2010.
15. "Historic Archive CD and Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches" (https://web.archive.
org/web/20100707165302/http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1438.asp). The National
Council of Churches. Archived from the original (http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1438.a
sp) on July 7, 2010. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
16. About the EFCA: Statistics (http://www.efca.org/about-efca/who-we-are/statistics) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20110722152110/http://www.efca.org/about-efca/who-we-are/st
atistics) July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 10, 2010.
17. "2000 Religious Congregations and Membership Study" (http://www.thearda.com/mapsRep
orts/maps/map.asp?variable=181&state=101&variable2=). Glenmary Research Center.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120127054315/http://www.thearda.com/mapsRepor
ts/maps/map.asp?variable=181&state=101&variable2=) from the original on January 27,
2012. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
18. "FIFTH DISTRICT" (https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDIR-2011-12-01/pdf/CDIR-2011-12-01
-WA-H-5.pdf) (PDF). Official Congressional Directory. 2011. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20140202114210/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDIR-2011-12-01/pdf/CDIR-2011-12
-01-WA-H-5.pdf) (PDF) from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.

References
Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton, editor
Handbook of Denominations in the United States, by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, and
Craig D. Atwood
Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States (2000), Glenmary Research
Center
This Is the Evangelical Free Church. Minneapolis, Minn.: Evangelical Free Church of
America, [199-]. Without ISBN

External links
Official website (https://www.efca.org/)
Trinity International University (http://www.tiu.edu/)
Some records (http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/P2536.xml) of the Evangelical Free
Church of America are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society. (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20090131030751/http://www.mnhs.org/)

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