Since I grew up in an Evangelical Free Church, studied at the EFCA Seminary (Trinity) and have served only at EFCA churches, I am very familiar with our denomination. But in case you are not, here is a quick overview of what the EFCA is all about.
The word “evangelical” stands primarily for three commitments:
- The Gospel of Jesus Christ (Greek: evangel)
- The Authority of Scripture and
- Our Mission to make disciples of all nations
So evangelicals are centrally focused on Jesus, the Bible and the world. Our denomination is known for how we “major on the majors” and provide freedom in secondary matters (such as the age of the earth, the mode and timing of baptism, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, etc.). The Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone is our center and we focus more on how that unites us with other who proclaim Him as opposed to the things that might divide us.
From the earliest days of Free Church work in America in the late 1800s our firm foundation was the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. “Where stands it written?” was our guide in all areas. This has kept the EFCA on rock solid footing when other denominations have stumbled into controversy and division.
And Free Church workers have always been devoted to preaching the gospel both at home and abroad. “For the harvest!” was the rallying cry of the 1880s and ’90s as revival swept through Europe and America and many believed Jesus would return at any moment.
In 2015 I wrote a summary of the history and convictions of the EFCA – you can read that here. The short story is that lots of Swedes, Norwegians and Danes moved to the U.S. in the late 1800s. For several generations they did ministry in their native languages because so many immigrants kept arriving. This ended with World War I which allowed for the merger of the Swedish Free Church with the Norwegian-Danish Free Church in 1950, as they had all switched to English by that time. This is why you meet a lot of Andersons, Johnsons, Svensons, Olsens and Carlsons in Free Churches across the country!
The “Free” part of our name stands for our governing structure. Each local church is “free” to manage its own affairs. We are an association of autonomous churches united around our shared theological convictions.
Secondarily, “free” expresses our ethos to celebrate Christian liberty – that each believer is free in Christ to follow the Holy Spirit. We are not free to indulge our sinful nature, but we are free from the controlling power of sin and therefore free to live holy lives devoted to Christ and His mission.
For the next several weeks I’m excited not only for Oakwood to learn more about the EFCA but to experience the heart of the Free Church by hearing from four other faithful pastors and preachers in our movement.