I get that question a lot.  Many visitors are curious about our movement, our beliefs and practices.  The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is a movement of about 1500 autonomous congregations that began in the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway & Denmark.  In the 19^th century a growing number of Christians saw the state church becoming nothing more than an arm of government.

Though it was illegal, small groups of men and women began meeting in house churches (referred to as free churches).  These groups centered on a few common convictions such as the authority of Scripture and the urgency of missions.  Eventually, these churches received official sanction from the state church.

As Scandinavian immigrants moved to the new world, they brought their free churches with them.  In 1884 the first Free Church in America was founded in Boone, Iowa.  Over the next 65 years, the Free Churches would grow closer together until 1950, when they formally joining together as the Evangelical Free Church of America.  Holding to the same convictions that started the first home groups, the EFCA is devoted to glorifying God by multiplying healthy churches around the world.

For more information on the EFCA, check out efca.org.

These posts come from Ask the Pastor, a weekly column published in the Beecher Herald.