Mission statement
The mission of the Evangelical Friends Church, International is "to help local Friends churches around the world meet the spiritual needs of their communities."Statement of Faith
(https://efcinternational.org/about/statement-of-faith/) The Holy Bible We believe that the 66 books of the Holy Bible were given by the inspiration of God; that there can be no appeal from these Scriptures to any other authority whatsoever; that they are able to make one wise unto salvation through faith that is in Jesus Christ; that the Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures must ever be its true interpreter as Christ works through the disciplined and dedicated minds of those within His Church; that any professed guidance that is contrary to these Scriptures must be counted as a delusion. God We believe in one God, revealed through the Holy Spirit in the person of Jesus Christ; that He is both the creator and preserver of all things visible and invisible; that He alone is worthy of worship, honor, glory, dominion, praise, and thanksgiving both now and forevermore; and that in the unity of the Godhead, there exist three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, inseparable in divinity, power, glory, and eternity. Jesus Christ We believe Jesus Christ to be the only begotten Son of God; that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary; that He is the express image of the invisible God, and that He combines within Himself both the nature of God and the nature of man in one perfect indivisible personality, the God-man. We believe that He was crucified as a substitutionary atonement for us and the sins of the whole world, making provision whereby each person may and the forgiveness of sins, the power for a new life, and be brought back into a perfect relationship with the Father. We believe that He arose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of God, making intercession for us and that He will come to earth again to receive His Church unto Himself and to judge the world in righteousness. Holy Spirit We believe the Holy Spirit to be the third person of the Trinity, proceeding from both Father and Son but equal with them in authority, power, and glory; that He convicts the world of sin, imparts life to the penitent believer, sanctifies the child of God, empowers the disciple for service to others and enables each one by His indwelling presence to love God supremely. People We believe that God created people as male and female in His own image; that they enjoyed unbroken fellowship with their maker, and that their whole life was centered in the person of God. We believe that people fell from this original state by an act of transgression; that in this fall, they suffered the immediate loss of their perfect relationship to God, making self the center of their life; and that in this act they suffered immediate spiritual death. All people are born in this disposition to sin. We own no principle inherent naturally by which they may be saved, except by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as a provision for all people. Marriage and Sexuality God designed marriage for humanity. As first described in Genesis and later affirmed by Jesus, marriage is a God-ordained, covenant relationship between a biologically born male and a biologically born female. This lifelong, sexually exclusive relationship brings children into the world and thus sustains the stewardship of the earth. Biblical marriage – marked by faithfulness, sacrificial love and joy – displays the relationship between God and his people. Salvation We believe that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the direct and immediate agency of the Holy Spirit, people can be recovered from their fallen state through divine enlightenment, the forgiveness of sin, regeneration, and sanctifcation of their affection, and the final glorification of their bodies; that in this life they can love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, that they can live in victory over known sin and enjoy unbroken fellowship with the Heavenly Father; and that once more their whole lives may center in and revolve around their Creator and Redeemer. We believe the experience of sanctification is the work of God’s grace by which affections are purified and exalted to a supreme love for God and others, and the believer is empowered for faithful witness to the living Christ. This is accomplished by the infilling with the Holy Spirit in the life of a dedicated and believing child of God; that this is both an act in which the heart is purified by faith and a process in which the life is continuously disciplined into paths of holiness. By submission and availability to Jesus Christ, people become channels for Christ to do His work in this present age. The Church We believe that all those persons who repent of their sins, believe in and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, are born again into His kingdom by the Holy Spirit, and that these constitute the Church of Jesus Christ. This Church we believe to be spiritual in nature, universal in scope, holy in character, and redemptive in her life and purpose. We believe that wherever two or three are gathered together regularly and faithfully in the name of Christ, He is truly present in the person of the Holy Spirit and that such an assembly is a local church, the visible expression of His body and the Church universal. We believe that believers must relate themselves to the local and visible body of Christ being framed together with others into a holy temple in the Lord and built together for a habitation of His Holy Spirit. Christian Ministries We believe that in the church, the believer is committed to both the worship and the work of God; that this work involved not only personal righteousness as the fruit of a new life, but the ministry of evangelism and teaching; that in this commission of Christ every believer is involved in the stewardship of the kingdom, and that is fulfilled only the faithful service in and through the fellowship of His church; and this work is continuous until Christ comes again calling the Church unto Himself. We believe that all Christians are called upon to witness by word and by deed within a sinful world, not returning evil for evil, but in Christlikeness demonstrating love, forgiveness, and the way of peace. We believe that in the fellowship of His body, the Holy Spirit gives to every member a gift to be exercised for the mutual advantage of every member in the body, and for the influence of the Church upon those outside; the ministry is a special calling given to certain ones whom God ordains for a service of leadership in His Church; that this service may be that of pastoring, teaching, evangelizing, administration, or other kinds of service to humanity. Liberty Regarding Christian liberty we recognize that among Evangelical Friends and among the larger body of evangelical Christians there are minor differences of faith and practice, due in part to historical and cultural differences and our imperfections. We look forward to the time when we shall all come into a greater unity of the faith. Until then, we believe that in biblical essentials there must be unity, in nonessentials there must be liberty, but in all things there must be charity. Spiritual Realities We believe that both Christian baptism and communion are spiritual realities which are not dependent upon physical and outward ordinances; that baptism is an inward receiving of the Holy Spirit in which He becomes Lord over all – guiding, cleansing, empowering, and in general, representing God to us in immediate experience; that communion is the daily receiving and realization of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; that this communion is dependent not only upon the condition of the believer walking daily in the light of Christ but also in the historic act of Christ on Calvary as His body was broken and blood shed once and for all for us; that Christ thus becomes a daily personal spiritual reality known immediately in Christian experience; and that through Him and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, God and divine realities are known experientially and immediately. Resurrection and Judgment We believe in the second coming of Christ; that at His coming the dead shall be resurrected, some to everlasting glory and others to everlasting condemnation; that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive recompense for the things done in the body; that the judgment of the blessed shall be unto heaven, and the judgment of the lost shall be unto hell; that the punishment of the wicked and the blessedness of the righteous shall be everlasting; that this judgment is in the hands of our compassionate Redeemer, who does all things after the counsel of his wisdom, love and holinessTimeline
* 1947 - The Association of Evangelical Friends * 1965 - The Evangelical Friends Alliance * 1989 - Evangelical Friends, International * - Evangelical Friends Church, International (update to name)History
The Friends Movement Begins: George Fox and the Valiant 60
Orthodox Friends
The Religious Society of Friends debated a number of issues in the early 19th Century that led the various Friends Meetings to develop separate fellowships. The first major division dealt with Scriptural authority, among other issues. "Orthodox Quakers" emphasized Biblical sources while " Hicksite" and his followers believed the inward light was more important than scriptural authority. The Evangelical Friends Church, International grew out of the Orthodox branch that held to the primacy of scriptural authority.Gurneyite Friends
The next major controversy led to separation in the Orthodox branch. "Gurneyite" Friends, were deeply influenced by the evangelical movement (as were other Protestant denominations of the era), especially the ideas ofOhio Yearly Meeting
The Ohio Yearly Meeting was originally based in Mt. Pleasant, OH. Following the separation over evangelical teachings, there were two Ohio Yearly Meetings: "Wilburite" and "Gurneyite". The "Gurneyite" group relocated to Damascus, OH in 1917, becoming Ohio Yearly Meeting (Damascus). Later, they relocated again, this time toFive Year Meeting
Most of the Gurneyite Friends formed the Five Years Meeting (renamedEvangelical Friends come together
In 1947, theDistinctives
The Evangelical Friends Church and other Friends
Friends, especially in the United States, are divided today as a result of divisions that took place mostly in the 19th Century. The Evangelical branch is the one that is most similar to otherChurches
Evangelical Friends may refer to a local congregation as a ''church,'' while some other Friends call it aProgrammed services
EFCI holds programmed (i.e. planned) services, while many other Friends hold silent services in which people speak as they feel led by God. Programmed services may incorporate silent worship, but it is only one element in the larger service.Salvation
A key doctrinal issue that sets Evangelical Friends apart from other Quakers is their view of salvation. Evangelical Friends believe that all people are in need of salvation, and that salvation comes to a person by putting his faith inBiblical authority
Because of evangelical Friends' origins within the Gurneyite faction during the 19th century series of schisms that divided the Society, some Evangelical Friends rely relatively less on the authority of the Inner Light and more on their belief in the authority of a literal reading of the Scripture.Allowance for water baptism and Communion
Similar to other branches of Friends, the Evangelical Friends Church affirms baptism and Communion as spiritual realities. These realities are realized in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Unlike most of the other branches of Friends, several of the Yearly Meetings within the EFC do allow freedom of conscience in regards to participating in water baptism or in offering and receiving Communion within their churches.The Evangelical Friends Church and other Evangelicals
The issue that sets Evangelical Friends apart from other evangelical Christians is that they consider themselves part of the larger Friends movement. They also feel that their particular beliefs are consistent with the beliefs of the earliest Friends, such asOrganization
The Evangelical Friends Church, International is divided into several geographical areas called "Regions". Each region has its own director. A region is composed of the various Yearly Meetings and mission fields within its bounds.Regions and Yearly Meetings
*Evangelical Friends Church / Africa **Rwanda Yearly Meeting **Burundi Yearly Meeting *Evangelical Friends Church / Asia ** Bundelkhand Yearly Meeting (India) *Evangelical Friends Church / Europe *Evangelical Friends Church / Latin America ** Including EFC-Brazil Yearly Meeting *Evangelical Friends Church / North America **Alaska Yearly Meeting ** Evangelical Friends Church - Eastern Region (United States) **Evangelical Friends Missions
Evangelical Friends Church International shares the gospel of Jesus Christ through their mission agency, Evangelical Friends Mission (EFM). EFM recruits and sends missionaries to various parts of the world to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and to disciple those who believe and follow Jesus. Starting new EFC congregations is often a key part of their ministry.Related ministries and organizations
Camps
*Camp Gideon, located near Salineville, Ohio Quaker Ridge Camp and Retreat Center located near Woodland Park, Colorado Twin Rocks Camp and Retreat Center, located in western Oregon *Colleges, universities, and seminaries
*Statistics
over 2,000 Evangelical Friends churches representing more than 200,000 Friends in 30 countries are associated with EFCI.Associations
Evangelical Friends Church International of North America is part of the National Association of Evangelicals, a large body of Christian denominations and groups in the United States that share evangelical beliefs.See also
*References
External links