The Evangelical Free Church of Canada (EFCC) is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

in Canada. Its home office is located in Langley,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, on the campus of

Trinity Western University Trinity Western University (TWU) is a Private university, private Christian liberal arts university with campuses in both Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Langley and Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia. The ...

. EFCC is an affiliate of the

Evangelical Fellowship of Canada The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC; ) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Its affiliates comprise 48 evangelical Christian denominations, 66 Christian organizations, 33 educational institutions, ...

and the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches.

History

The EFCC was founded in 1917 at Enchant, Alberta. It merged with the Fellowship of Gospel Churches in 1957 and was incorporated under federal charter in 1967. It became autonomous from the Evangelical Free Church of America in 1984. In 1962, the Evangelical Free Church of Canada and the Evangelical Free Church of America founded

as a college. Trinity Western Seminary became a graduate division of the University, and the EFCC is uniquely partnered with several other denominational seminaries under the name Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS). The Fosmark family, particularly brothers Carl and Lee, gave noteworthy leadership to the development of the EFCC. In 1993, in recognition of their vision and contribution, the building that now houses the Free Church seminary, Trinity Western Seminary, as well as the Home Office for National and International Ministries of the EFCC, was named the Fosmark Centre. The EFCC operates national and international mission arms known as ServeCanada and ServeBeyond. The international mission was previously known as Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission (EFCCM). In 1990, there were 10,000 members in Canada. According to a denomination census released in 2023, it claimed 145 churches.

Doctrine

To update archaic language, to clarify theological ambiguity and to address new issues, the EFCC passed a substantial revision to its Statement of Faith on July 26, 2008, the first revision since the Statement was first adopted in 1950.

Distinctives

In May 2008 The Board of Directors of the EFCC approved a document that reflects that which characterizes the Evangelical Free Church of Canada community of churches and chose to move from "Distinctives" to "Our Character and Calling".

References

External links

* {{Christianity in Canada Evangelicalism in Canada Evangelical denominations in North America Christian organizations established in 1917 Members of the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches Congregationalism in Canada