Pietist and Free Church
The Pietist and Free Church family grew from revival among members of the Scandinavian Lutheran state churches in the 1800s. Its people met in conventicles for Bible reading and prayer, and those who emigrated to America organized apart. The Evangelical Covenant Church dates from 1885, and the Evangelical Free Church of America from a merger of 1950.
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.
Bodies in this family
Established at Chicago on February 20, 1885, by Swedish immigrants known as Mission Friends, from a revival within the Church of Sweden. They first tried their own Lutheran synods in America, then organized apart.
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.
Research compiled July 2026. Page data built 2026-11-02.