The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is an association of autonomous evangelical Christian congregations. The term Christian means belonging to Christ and is derived from the Greek noun Χριστός Khristós which means anointed one, which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word Moshiach (Hebrew: משיח, also written Messiah), (and in Arabic it is pronounced Maseeh مسيح). ...

History

The Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association merged in June of 1950 to form the Evangelical Free Church of America. The merger conference took place at the Medicine Lake Conference Grounds near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The two bodies represented 275 local congregations at the time of the merger. June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Minneapolis is the county seat of Hennepin County, Minnesota. ...

The Swedish group formed as the Swedish Evangelical Free Mission in Boone, Iowa in October of 1884. Several churches that had been members of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Ansgar Synod and the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Synod, along with some independent congregations, were instrumental in organizing this voluntary fellowship. Also in 1884 two Norwegian-Danish groups, in Boston, Massachusetts and Tacoma, Washington, began to fellowship together. By 1912 they had formed Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association. Boone is a city located in Boone County, Iowa. ... October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ... City nickname: Beantown, The Hub, The Athens of America Location in the state of Massachusetts Founded September 17, 1630 County Suffolk County Mayor Thomas Menino (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 232. ... Tacoma, with Mount Rainier in background This page is about the city in Washington. ... 1912 is a leap year starting on Monday. ...

The EFCA shares some early ties with those who formed the Swedish Evangelical Covenant Church. The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is an evangelical Christian denomination with a Lutheran historical-theological background. ...

Doctrine

The Evangelical Free Church of America claims six distinctives: that it "is inclusive not exclusive...evangelical but not separatistic...ecumenical in spirit though not in structure...believes in liberty with responsibility and accountability...believes in both the rational and relational dimensions of Christianity...and...affirms the right of each local church to govern its own affairs." The church is Trinitarian in theology, moderately Calvinistic in soteriology, congregational in ecclesiology and polity, and premillennial in eschatology. The church holds two ordinances, water baptism and the Lord's supper. They summarize their doctrinal position in a twelve-article statement of faith (available on the church web site). Trinitarianism is the Christian doctrine that God, although one being, exists in three distinct persons (hypostases) known collectively as the Holy Trinity. ... Calvinism has been known at times for its simple, unadorned churches and lifestyles, as depicted in this painting by Emmanuel de Witte where the 17th century congregation stands to hear a sermon. ... In Christianity, salvation is arguably the most important spiritual concept, second only to the divinity of Jesus. ... Congregationalist chuch governance, often known as congregationalism, is a system of church governance in which every local congregation is independent. ... Ecclesiology is that branch of Christian theology that deals with the doctrine of the Church: its role in salvation, and its origin, its discipline, and its leadership. ... Polity is a general term that refers to political organization of a group. ... Millennialism (or chiliasm), from millennium, which literally means thousand years. Primarily a belief in some Christian denominations, literature and folk religion, that at some point in the future there will be a Golden Age, a Paradise on earth when universal peace will reign, when all people will dwell in prosperity... Christian Eschatology is the study of Christian beliefs concerning final events and ultimate purposes (from eskhatos, last). ... Baptism is a water purification ritual practiced in certain religions such as Christianity, Mandaeanism, Sikhism, and some historic sects of Judaism. ... The Lords Supper is a variation of the name and the service of The Last Supper or Eucharist. ...

Organizational Structure

The President, the National Leadership Team, and the Board of Directors of the EFCA provide denominational leadership. The EFCA is divided into 20 regional districts to serve the needs of the local church. In 2005 the denomination had 1,270 autonomous member congregations, with an average weekly attendance of 343,692. The denomination maintains headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and engages in ministries in education, publications, camps, senior housing, children's homes, and camp facilities. The EFCA operates the Trinity International University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, California, and Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Minneapolis is the county seat of Hennepin County, Minnesota. ... Trinity International University is an evangelical Christian institution of higher education headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. ... Deerfield is a village located in Lake County, Illinois. ... Santa Ana is the largest city and the county seat of Orange County, California. ... Trinity Western University is a private Christian liberal arts and sciences university located in Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada, enrolling approximately 2,850 students. ... Langley, British Columbia can mean the following: Township of Langley City of Langley This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Notable EFCA Leaders & Pastors

EFCA Presidents

• William J. Hamel: 1997-present
• Paul A. Cedar: 1990-1996
• Thomas A. McDill: 1976-1990
• Arnold T. Olson: 1951-1976
• E.A. Halleen: 1950-1951

Others

Radio teacher/preacher Chuck Swindoll is a former EFCA pastor. He is also president of Dallas Theological Seminary. Charles R. Chuck Swindoll (born October 18, 1934) is an evangelical Christian pastor, educator and radio preacher. ... Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) is a conservative graduate-level theological seminary located in Dallas, Texas, which has been, according to its mission statement, equipping godly servant-leaders for the proclamation of His Word and the building up of the body of Christ worldwide since its founding by Lewis Sperry Chafer...

External links

• Evangelical Free Church of America (http://www.efca.org/) - official Web Site
• Trinity International University (http://www.tiu.edu/)
• Adherents.com (http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_271.html#1492)

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