The Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches (EFCC) is an association of around 120 independent local churches in the United Kingdom, each practising

congregationalist church governance Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous". Its first articul ...

. The EFCC was founded in 1967 by those evangelical Congregationalists who did not want to lose their independence with the formation of the

Congregational Church of England and Wales The Congregational Union of England and Wales brought together churches in England and Wales in the Congregational tradition between 1831 and 1966. The Congregational churches emerged from the Puritan movement, each church operating independently ...

and the subsequent formation of the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

in 1972. The EFCC is an

Affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Par ...

partner. The EFCC churches share a common doctrinal statement, called the Basis of Faith, which is

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

and

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

. As the EFCC churches are congregational, the EFCC does not have any denominational hierarchy. However, the Fellowship does have officers, including a ministry director. Some of their churches are also in membership of the

Congregational Federation The Congregational Federation is a small Christian denomination in Great Britain comprising 235 congregations, down from 294 in April 2014. The Federation brings together Congregational churches, and provides support and guidance to member chur ...

or of the

Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is a network of 639 independent, evangelical churches mainly in the United Kingdom that preach an evangelical faith. History The FIEC was formed in 1922 under the name ''A Fellowship of ...

(FIEC). The EFCC is a member of the

World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship The World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship (WECF) is a global association of evangelical Christian Congregational Churches, from various national associations around the world, which is united by a common belief in the lordship of Jesus Chris ...

(WECF). EFCC hosted the WECF's Triennial Conference in 2007 at

Hothorpe Hall Hothorpe Hall, in Northamptonshire, is a Georgian manor house near Market Harborough. It lies in the parish of Marston Trussell in Northamptonshire but is close to Theddingworth in Leicestershire. The hall is currently used as a conference centr ...

, Leicestershire and again in 2019 at Hebron Hall in South Wales.

References

External links

* Christian organizations established in 1967 Evangelicalism in the United Kingdom Reformed denominations in the United Kingdom Congregational denominations established in the 20th century Calvinist denominations established in the 20th century {{Christianity in the United Kingdom Congregationalism in the United Kingdom