Evangelical Free Church of America
Pietist and Free Church · 1950 · United States
Formed in June 1950 by the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church of America and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association, whose work it dates to 1884. Its roots are in revival among members of the Scandinavian Lutheran state churches.
Evangelical Free Church of America was formed in 1950. Evangelical Free Church of America continues today. Evangelical Free Church of America's institutional line runs back through Lutheran, Roman Catholicism to the post-apostolic church. No body on this tree is the assembly of Acts 2; where a body claims that, the claim appears in the claimed-lineage layer.
Between the post-apostolic church and Evangelical Free Church of America stand 3 divisions along the institutional line, counting separations and disputed forks, not mergers, renewals or national organizations.
At a glance
- Formed
- In 1950
- Family
- Pietist and Free Church
- Region
- United States
- Cause tags
- Governance
- Also known as
- EFCA
What it teaches
The EFCA holds a Statement of Faith teaching one God in three Persons, and the Bible without error in its original writings. It says Christ's death and resurrection are the only ground of salvation, and it permits several accounts of how salvation works. It leaves the timing and mode of baptism open. Each church governs itself.
- Scripture. Verbally inspired, without error in the original writings, and the ultimate authority. (EFCA Statement of Faith, adopted 2019, efca.org. The page says the EFCA considers the Statement to be in the public domain and asks that it be cited in full by link, art. 2)
- God. One God, Creator, in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons. (EFCA Statement of Faith, adopted 2019, efca.org. The page says the EFCA considers the Statement to be in the public domain and asks that it be cited in full by link, art. 1)
- Salvation. Christ's atoning death and resurrection are the only ground. Arminian, Reformed and Lutheran accounts of how it works are all allowed. (EFCA Statement of Faith, adopted 2019, efca.org. The page says the EFCA considers the Statement to be in the public domain and asks that it be cited in full by link, art. 5; Theological FAQ, EFCA Credentialing site, 2026 (quotes Evangelical Convictions))
- Baptism. Commanded by the Lord, with timing and mode left open. Practice is mainly believers by immersion. (EFCA Statement of Faith, adopted 2019, efca.org. The page says the EFCA considers the Statement to be in the public domain and asks that it be cited in full by link, art. 7; Theological FAQ, EFCA Credentialing site, 2026 (quotes Evangelical Convictions))
- Lord's Supper. It confirms and nourishes the believer and is not a means of salvation. How Christ is present is left undefined. (EFCA Statement of Faith, adopted 2019, efca.org. The page says the EFCA considers the Statement to be in the public domain and asks that it be cited in full by link, art. 7; Theological FAQ, EFCA Credentialing site, 2026 (quotes Evangelical Convictions))
- Church government. Each church runs its own affairs under congregational government, and cooperates through districts and national ministries. (EFCA Distinctives, efca.org, art. 6)
- Ministry. Those called are chosen by God, affirmed by the local church and recognized with laying on of hands. (Ministerial Credentialing in the Evangelical Free Church of America, EFCA booklet (lists options through 2023), § II)
Is the Evangelical Free Church of America Biblical?
Not gathered on divine ground.
June 1950; roots from 1884. Twenty-two Swedish free church ministers met at Boone, Iowa, in 1884, which the body counts as the start of its Free Mission work. In June 1950, a conference at Medicine Lake, Minnesota, joined 78 Norwegian-Danish and 197 Swedish congregations, and it dates its birth to that merger.
It calls itself an association of autonomous churches united around the theological convictions of its Statement of Faith. A church counts as Evangelical Free by adopting that Statement, and a national Conference is its top decision-making body. It says "Free" means free of state-church control and of hierarchy. Freedom from a state church does not by itself gather believers to the one body. Here a signed statement of faith decides who is in the association, and the Lord's name asks for no such signature (Matthew 18:20).
“They are gathered to some form of church government, some favorite doctrine, some special ordinance, some gifted man. The Holy Ghost will never gather to any one of these. He gathers only to a risen Christ.”
Sources: Our History, efca.org; EFCA Statement of Faith, adopted 2019, efca.org. The page says the EFCA considers the Statement to be in the public domain and asks that it be cited in full by link; The Evangelical Free Church of America, Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, as amended June 21, 2023, Bylaws arts. I, II.A; Theological FAQ, EFCA Credentialing site, 2026 (quotes Evangelical Convictions).
This verdict concerns the ground of gathering, not the salvation of any individual. Whoever truly believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is a member of the one body, wherever they gather; ‘[The] Lord knows those that are his’ (2 Timothy 2:19).
Meeting comparison
| Row | A typical Evangelical Free Sunday | The assembly meeting in Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| Gathered to | Local churches of believers, with fellowship resting on personal faith in Christ.EFCA Statement of Faith, adopted 2019, efca.org. The page says the EFCA considers the Statement to be in the public domain and asks that it be cited in full by link, art. 7; EFCA Distinctives, efca.org, art. 1 | The Lord's name alone, on the ground of the one bodyMatthew 18:20; Ephesians 4:3–4; Rossier pt. 2 |
| Who presides | Credentialed ministers, whose duties can include leading worship.Frequently Asked Questions, EFCA Credentialing site | The Lord Jesus, personally in the midst. No man presides.Matthew 18:20; Psalm 22:22; Rossier pt. 3; Kingscote pp. 10–11 |
| Lord's Supper | Bread with grape juice or wine. No frequency is stated.EFCA Statement of Faith, adopted 2019, efca.org. The page says the EFCA considers the Statement to be in the public domain and asks that it be cited in full by link, art. 7; Theological FAQ, EFCA Credentialing site, 2026 (quotes Evangelical Convictions) | Every first day of the week. It is the main object of the gathering.Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 10:16–17, 11:18–26; Rossier pt. 4; Miller p. 95 |
| Who administers the Supper | Among the duties of credentialed ministers, with no rule limiting it to them.Frequently Asked Questions, EFCA Credentialing site | No one. "The very idea of a person standing apart and claiming to administer it as a right alters and ruins the Supper."Kelly, in Huebner pp. 40–41 |
| Who takes part audibly | Ministry in the local church is open on the basis of personal faith.EFCA Distinctives, efca.org, art. 1 | Brothers, as the Spirit leads, one by one. Two or three speak and the others judge.1 Corinthians 14:26–33; Rossier pt. 6; Kingscote pp. 12–13 |
| Women | It does not ordain women, by a 1988 decision. Women on staff can receive a ministry certificate. Women usually do not serve as elders, and each church decides. National ordination is for men, and eldership is decided locally.Theological FAQ, EFCA Credentialing site, 2026 (quotes Evangelical Convictions); Frequently Asked Questions, EFCA Credentialing site | Silent in the assembly1 Corinthians 14:34–35; Kingscote p. 13 |
| Order of service | Not documented | None arranged beforehand. Liberty of the Spirit, with dependence on the Lord.1 Corinthians 14:26, 33; Dennett Letter 6 |
| Ministry | Licenses, a Certificate of Christian Ministry and a Certificate of Ordination.Obtain a Credential, efca.org | By gift, exercised in responsibility to the Lord. Not by election to an office.Romans 12:6–8; 1 Peter 4:10–11; Ephesians 4:11–12; Dennett Letters 4–5, 7 |
| How ministers are appointed | Approved by a local church, a district board and a national board. Ordination is with prayer and laying on of hands in a church service.Ministerial Credentialing in the Evangelical Free Church of America, EFCA booklet (lists options through 2023), §§ III, V.E | Gifts are given by the risen Lord. Elders were appointed only by apostles or their delegates, and there are none today.Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; Dennett Letters 4–5; Ruin pt. 2 |
| Kinds of assembly meeting | A national Conference every odd year. Local weekly meetings are not described.The Evangelical Free Church of America, Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, as amended June 21, 2023, Bylaws art. II.A | Worship (the breaking of bread), prayer, and the open meeting for edificationRossier pts. 3–6 |
| Who may break bread | Left to the local church. In a 2023 survey, 93% of those answering said their church does not require baptism first.2023 EFCA Doctrinal Survey Results, Assessments, and Comments, EFCA, October 2024, pp. 11–12 | Every believer not under scriptural discipline for walk or doctrineDennett Letters 6, 8; 1 Corinthians 5 |
Gathered to
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Who presides
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Lord's Supper
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Who administers the Supper
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Who takes part audibly
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Women
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Order of service
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Ministry
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
How ministers are appointed
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Kinds of assembly meeting
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Who may break bread
A typical Evangelical Free Sunday
The assembly meeting in Scripture
Last verified November 1, 2026.
What it separated from
- Separated from Lutheran. The revival among members of the Scandinavian Lutheran state churches, organized in America as free churches, with no single act of separation.
On the tree
Solid lines are separations and unions; dashed lines are renewals that began inside a body; dotted gray lines are national organizations of one communion or branches of one family; a diamond marks a fork event where neither side is drawn as the one that left. Lines run back to the post-apostolic church, except where a body was organized apart from any body on this tree. No body descends from the assembly of Acts 2. Dashed gray boxes mark the institutional line after the apostles, shown as departure; no line of descent is drawn from Pentecost.
Sources
- History, efca.org
- Statement of Faith, efca.org
Quotations from assembly writings: R. A. Huebner, courtesy of Present Truth Publishers (free PDF).
Research compiled July 2026. Page data built 2026-11-02.