Our Beliefs

EFCA Statement of Faith

Adopted by the Conference on June 19, 2019
The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:

God

1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing
in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from
eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

The Bible

2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through
the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without
error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the
ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be
judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and
trusted in all that it promises.

The Human Condition

3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted
by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated
from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be
rescued, reconciled and renewed.

Jesus Christ

4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two
natures. Jesus—Israel’s promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and
born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose
bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as
our High Priest and Advocate.

The Work of Christ

5. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the
cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious
resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

The Holy Spirit

6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He
convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into
union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates,
guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

The Church

7. We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace
through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of
Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose
membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two
ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the
gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in
genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.

Christian Living

8. We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power
and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live
out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the
oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we
are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to
make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.

Christ’s Return

9. We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our
blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic
mission.

Response and Eternal Destiny

10. We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning
to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the
dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal
conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the
new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.