Affiliation

Grace is a member of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), a denomination in the Protestant Tradition. The EFCA consists of over 1500 Evangelical Free Churches Stateside and Free Church ministries in 45 countries outside of the United States. 

Within the EFCA, we are a member of the EFCA Central District.

The Evangelical Free Church came to the US from Scandinavia, where “free” meant free from state control. It now means free from a central controlling governing body. Member churches depend on active leadership and participation of pastors and lay people.

“Evangelical” refers to our commitment to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our commitment to the authority of the Bible for guiding faith and practice. 

The early roots of the EFCA are traced directly to a city in our district, Boone, IA. In 1884, a group of churches that had only relational connections, met in Boone for an initial conference. They chose to create a "free church" organization of like-minded churches to carry out ministry that would be beyond the scope of any one church and which could be done more efficiently together.

Distinctives of the EFCA:

  1. The EFCA is a believers’ church—membership consists of those who have a personal faith in Jesus Christ.

  2. The EFCA is evangelical—we are committed to the inerrancy and authority of the Bible and the essentials of the Gospel.

  3. The EFCA embraces a humble orthodoxy in partnership with others of like faith.

  4. The EFCA believes in Christian freedom with responsibility and accountability.

  5. The EFCA believes in both the rational and relational, i.e. the head and the heart, dimensions of Christianity.

  6. The EFCA affirms the right of each local church to govern its own affairs with a spirit of interdependency with other churches.