Our History

The Evangelical Free Church of America was formed June 18, 1950 by the merger of two church bodies: the Evangelical Free Church of America (Swedish) and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association. Both groups had been birthed in the revival movements of the late nineteenth century.

The Swedish group had its formal beginnings in Boone, Iowa, at a conference held in October of 1884. In that same year, two Norwegian-Danish groups began to worship and fellowship together in Boston, Massachusetts and Tacoma, Washington. By 1912, both the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association had been formed.

Those two associations, representing 275 local congregations, were formally joined together as they gathered for a merger conference in June of 1950 at the Medicine Lake Conference Grounds near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The international and national offices of the EFCA have been located in Minneapolis since the merger took place.

Presidents

Dr. E.A. Halleen, who had served for 28 years as the president of the Swedish association, was elected as the first president of the newly formed Evangelical Free Church of America. His one-year term crowned a brilliant ministry career as a pastor, teacher, evangelist and church leader.

In 1951, Dr. Arnold T. Olson was elected president. He had served as the president of the Norwegian-Danish association for six years, as chairman of the merger committee and as the first moderator of the EFCA. Under his leadership, The Evangelical Free Church of America broke the boundaries of its ethnic background and flowed into the mainstream of the evangelical movement. Dr. Olson served with distinction as the president of the EFCA for twenty-five years.

Dr. Thomas A. McDill became the third president of the EFCA in 1976. His pastoral and administrative gifts were used by God to strengthen significantly the church during an unsettled and challenging time in American history. The movement grew dramatically under his leadership both in numbers and in its spiritual influence.

Dr. Paul A. Cedar served as the fourth president of the EFCA from 1990 until 1996. Dr. Cedar brought a passion for prayer, spiritual dependence, and evangelism to his leadership role. In 1996, Dr. Cedar left the EFCA to become the first full-time president of Mission America, a national networking and evangelism ministry.

Dr. William J. Hamel became the fifth president in June of 1997 and serves currently in that role. Dr. Hamel’s passion is found in the EFCA mission statement to glorify God by multiplying healthy churches among all people.