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Evangelical Friends International
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Evangelical Friends International (EFI) is an association of Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) Yearly meetings (regional associations) around the world that profess evangelical Christian beliefs.
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The mission of EFI is "to help local Friends churches around the world meet the spiritual needs of their communities." Over 1,100 Evangelical Friends churches representing more than 140,000 Friends in 24 countries are currently associated with EFI.
Evangelical Friends International spreads its form of Quakerism through the Evangelical Friends Mission, which recruits and sends missionaries to various parts of the world to teach people the beliefs of Evangelical Friends and to start new Friends churches.
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 like other Christian denominations. Evangelical Friends refer to a local congregation as a church, while other Friends call it a Monthly meeting. They have programmed (i.e., planned) services, while many other Friends have silent services in which people speak as they feel God is leading them. They have paid pastors who lead their congregations, while other Friends appoint unpaid lay people to fulfill various roles but not to lead or conduct the services.
Two key doctrinal issues that set Evangelical Friends apart from other Friends are their view of the Bible and their view of salvation. Like other evangelical Christians, Evangelical Friends accept the Bible as the ultimate authority for all questions of faith and practice, officially going so far as to call it the "word of God" (a title traditionally reserved by Friends for Christ). Other Friends ascribe various degrees of authority to the Bible and generally emphasize personal inspiration and convictions over the text of the Bible. Evangelical Friends believe that all people are in need of salvation, and that salvation comes to a person by putting his faith in Jesus Christ. Other Friends have a range of views on salvation, up to and including Universalism, which is a belief that all people have God (see Inner light) within them and are already loved and accepted by Him with no further need for salvation.
Evangelical Friends International of North America is part of the National Association of Evanglicals, a large body of Christian denominations and groups in the United States that share evangelical beliefs.
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 as George Fox. (Meanwhile, other Friends assert the same about their own beliefs and practices.) Evangelical Friends also generally adhere to most, if not all, of the testimonies (core beliefs and values) of Friends (see "Testimonies" under Religious Society of Friends).
- Alaska Yearly Meeting
- Evangelical Friends Church - Eastern Region
- Evangelical Friends Church - Mid-America Yearly Meeting
- Northwest Yearly Meeting
- Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting
- Evangelical Friends Church--Southwest