Evangelical Free Church of Canada

The Evangelical Free Church of Canada (EFCC) has its roots in the Danish-Norwegian Evangelical Free Church, which sent missionaries from the United States to Canada, beginning in 1912. Historically, the first recognized Canadian Evangelical Free Church began in Enchant, Alberta, planted by Rev. Carl Fosmark (a prominent leader for sixty years) in 1917. In small Norwegian communities of eastern Saskatchewan, revival tent meetings were held during the Depression by Rev. Olai Urang. The Fosston revival meetings, with Professor L.J. Pedersen of Minneapolis, resulted in Saskatchewan's first EFC, Elim Evangelical Free Church, pastored by pioneer evangelist John Has-Ellison, in autumn of 1932. A total of twenty-one Evangelical Free Churches were established in Saskatchewan over the next seventy-one years. Thirteen remain active (asterisks indicate the three largest): Big River EFC, Lashburn EFC, Osler Community Church*, Buffalo Narrows Community Fellowship Church, Parkland EFC (Kamsack), Elim EFC, Manitou EFC (Neilburg), Quill Lake EFC, Herbert EFC, EFC of Meadow Lake*, EFC of Regina, EFC of Mt. Nebo, and Saskatoon EFC*. Provincial contributions include: the community support ministry “The Door of Hope”(Meadow Lake); camps sponsored by Big River, Fosston, Quill Lake, Meadow Lake and Kamsack EFC churches; and international involvement by Saskatchewan individuals in Bolivia, Venezuela and elsewhere through the EFCC Missions organization. In 1950, the Danish-Norwegian EFC and the Swedish EFC merged, forming the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), of which the EFCC became independent in 1984, with national headquarters based in Langley, BC - also the location of an EFCC institution, Trinity Western University (TWU).

Pam Franklin

Further Reading