The Movement 2025

Stories of God at work in the Evangelical Free Church of America

COVER PHOTO:

In 1950, delegates from 275 congregations, representing more than 20,000 members, gather in Minneapolis to vote and affirm the merger between the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church, forming the Evangelical Free Church of America. This year (2025), we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the EFCA as we remember how God has worked across our movement from the beginning.

A Message From Carlton Harris

UNDERSTANDING SCRIPTURE

A Theology of Transformation

MAKING DISCIPLES

From North Tulsa to Waterville

Unremarkable at First Glance

EXTENDING MINISTRIES

Our Free Fridge Is Building Bridges for the Gospel

A Church Home That Builds Leaders

Celebrating New Missionaries

REMEMBERING OUR HISTORY

75 Years of Transformation

The Free Church Has Blessed Me Beyond Words Biblical and Missional. United and Free.

LEADING CHURCHES

Transformation Flows Through Relationships Empty Pulpits Coming to a Church Near You

ENGAGING CULTURE

I Share the Gospel More Than I Ever Thought I Would PLANTING CHURCHES

God Transformed My Life Through Discipleship

Celebrating New EFCA Churches

REACHING ALL PEOPLE

Q&A with ReachGlobal Missionaries

GlobalFingerprints Helped Us Start a Cross-Cultural Partnership

EFCA Ministry Directory Why

In 1992, I stepped in to lead a church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, that was stuck 25 years in the past.

Although the church had a rich history of reaching the lost in their community, they’d lost touch with their roots and were no longer bearing gospel fruit. Over time, they’d become satisfied with stagnation, mired in mediocrity and resistant to any meaningful change.

Yet, the treasured believers of this church took a risk to call me – a 35-year-old with no lead pastor experience – to lead their congregation and reach the surrounding community. And by God’s grace, the Holy Spirit revitalized our ministry.

The change did not come quickly. I heard, “We’ve never done it that way before,” more times than I’d heard in my entire pastoral ministry to that point. Yet gradually, the pain of remaining stagnant started to hurt more than the resistance to change. The church’s loving relationships and heart for Cleveland Heights began to take precedence over discomfort and fear.

Fourteen years later, when God called Carol and I to leave Cleveland Heights to serve a church in San Diego, our hearts brimmed with gratitude at how God had transformed our congregation.

With enough time, all of us gravitate toward comfort, routine, familiarity and often homogeneity. It’s human nature. Whether it’s ordering the same thing at In-N-Out, Culver’s or Whataburger, or sitting in the same seat on Sunday mornings, we’re attracted to what we know. We drift toward the well-beaten path. We like what is expected.

But what happens when this same pattern affects the church? What happens when we start to grow comfortable with what we’re doing? When our values in the church center on personal benefit rather than making disciples of those who don’t know Jesus? What happens when our key metrics for church health stop aligning with the things that grieve the heart of God? In my opinion, this is where stagnation begins.

Our mission in the Evangelical Free Church of America is to glorify God by multiplying transformational churches among all people. I’m sure that’s nothing new to you – you’ve probably heard that hundreds of times, as I have – but in this third edition of The Movement, I want to draw our attention to a specific word, one that often gets overlooked: transformational.

What does it mean to be “transformational”? What is a “transformational church” and what does it look like? How do we experience transformation in our own lives? And how does that transformation carry over into our relationships, churches and communities?

According to my predecessor Kevin Kompelien, “a transformational church is a church where people together are becoming more like Jesus and, empowered by the Holy Spirit, are extending the influence of Jesus’ redemptive work in the lives of individuals, families and communities among all people.”

Brothers and sisters, we have a critical mission – to see lives, relationships, churches and entire communities transformed through the gospel of Jesus Christ. And transformation, by its very definition, requires change. It requires doing things that are unfamiliar. It requires sacrifice. Change is hard, especially when we consider its impact on what is familiar. But as a movement who exists to multiply transformational churches, we need to become accustomed to change – because change is key to transformation.

As you read the following articles from various EFCA leaders, churches and ministries, I hope you catch a glimpse of the transformation God is fostering within the EFCA. I pray you see the biblical and historical foundation for gospel-driven change that God has woven through our movement the last 75 years. I pray these stories affirm, encourage and even inspire you to pursue God’s heart for transformation in your specific ministry context.

The EFCA’s heart for transformation is grounded in God’s heart for transformation. I don’t (necessarily) mean bigger churches or more impressive metrics. I’m talking about true, authentic life transformation – people becoming more like Jesus and extending that influence to those around them.

Thank you for being a part of this transformational movement that I am humbled and honored to serve. May God bring transformation to you and your ministry in the days ahead.

With joyful hope,

CARLTON P. HARRIS Acting EFCA President

“I pray you see the biblical and historical foundation for gospeldriven change that God has woven through our movement the last 75 years. I pray these stories affirm, encourage and even inspire you to pursue God’s heart for transformation in your specific ministry context.

MATT MOORE: God Transformed My Life Through Discipleship

The superintendent of the Western District shares how God led him to be a pastor and church planter.

I grew up in a solid Christian household. My parents faithfully prayed for me. Although I believe I was a Christian, I went off to college seeking to major in a career that would make me a lot of money. In the first few years of college, God began to direct my affections more toward Him. I began leading Bible studies in the freshman dorms. Investing in people was more fulfilling than my academic ambitions.

At the end of my junior year, God led me to start a college ministry at a local Baptist church. My inexperience in ministry forced me to depend upon God, but I was not equipped in the Word. One evening after the college service, a man named John introduced himself and said, “I don’t know if you know this, but when you open the Word, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” I was obviously surprised by his boldness, but I knew he was right.

Soon after, I asked John to begin discipling me. He devoted Monday nights to me – two to three hours in the Word, walking verse by verse through different books of the Bible. He would often ask, “Matt, do you understand what I am teaching?”

“Yeah, yeah, I think I get it,” I’d say.

He’d then further inquire, “But can you teach it to others?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then you don’t get it yet. Let’s go back through it.”

John would then walk me back through the passage. It was his goal to not just disciple me, but equip me to disciple others. This intentional discipleship changed my life. I knew I liked mentoring people, but John gave me the content – namely the Word of God – that made my investment eternally impactful.

After college, God began to further develop His call on my life. I began seminary and started working on staff at a nondenominational church in Southern California. My wife and I took the Perspectives on World Missions course. God gave us eyes to see His heart for all people. We spent the next few years asking God where He may want to send us in the world.

During this time, I met a pastor who was planting a church in a working-class multiethnic neighborhood in Los Angeles. We knew God had a heart for the nations, but we began to see that the nations were in our own backyard. Our call to ministry was being further clarified; He was calling us to start a multiethnic and multiclass church (Eph 2:11-22, Jas 2:1-9).

A few years later, God led our family to South Los Angeles to plant a diverse church in an under-resourced neighborhood. I went in with a passion and plan to make an impact, but God had other intentions. He needed to break me and rework me in order to use me. I wanted to use my gifts and strengths in

this neighborhood. Instead, He wanted to show me His grace in working through my weakness (2 Cor 12:9-10). I wanted to reap; God planned for me to sow. I wanted to see lives changed; He wanted me to prioritize loving people. I wanted to see fruitfulness; He was teaching me to simply walk faithfully with Him.

Many aspects of ministry became overwhelming. I found myself questioning my calling to ministry. I entered a season of depression where I even questioned God’s goodness. After about three years, we decided to move out of the neighborhood to recover. I felt like a failure and told myself I would never plant again. But those close to me saw that this was still a calling on my life.

About a year later, God called our family again to church planting. We moved to Sacramento in 2015 to plant a diverse church in an urban neighborhood. I didn’t want to plant again without the support of a denomination, so we joined the EFCA. I was drawn to the EFCA because of its faithful history, compassionate ethos and commitment to the Word of God.

It was his goal to not just disciple me, but equip me to disciple others. This intentional discipleship changed my life.

During the pandemic, our church lost its Sunday location at the neighborhood high school, so we began meeting online and in backyards. During this time, I began connecting with another nearby church plant that had also lost its venue. The pastor of the other church plant, Sheridan Smith, and I began meeting for discipleship. Although he came from a different theological background, God began uniting us together through our time in the Word. It soon became apparent that God was leading our churches to merge. The value of convictional kindness in the EFCA guided the process of uniting us. Our two churches became One Church Sacramento (EFCA) in 2021.

Since I was now co-pastoring the church with Sheridan, I had the capacity to consider working for the district. In 2022, I was asked to become the associate superintendent and a year later was voted in as superintendent. I love having my feet in both worlds, getting to support pastors while also shepherding a local church. Pastoring keeps me empathetically connected to the pastors I walk with. Whether I’m mentoring a newer believer in our church or encouraging a pastor in our district, discipleship relationships fuel and renew my love for ministry.

A Theology of Transformation

Unpacking God’s redemptive process of definitive, progressive and final sanctification.

GREG STRAND

Greg Strand is the EFCA executive director of theology and credentialing, and he also serves on the EFCA Board of Ministerial Standing and Spiritual Heritage Committee. He and his wife, Karen, are members of Northfield EFC in Northfield, Minnesota.

A couple of years ago, an exercise company promoted themselves through the statement, “motivation that moves you.” Their purpose was to “empower people to live fit, strong, long, and happy lives.” Two of their three values were “belief” (“we believe in the power of [this company] to change people’s lives”) and “lift people up” (“we lift each other up, knowing that together we go far”). The difference this company seeks to make is captured in their promise: “an opportunity for people to discover the best versions of themselves.”

Because of common grace, we agree there are some things that can be done through human self-determination, through grit and grind, through hard work and discipline. And yet, even in the best of those situations, all the changes are transient and of this world. This is a non-Christian understanding of transformation.

And yet, I wonder how many Christians consider the sanctification process – the biblical truth and experiential reality of transformation – in a similar way? It may not be completely in a self-determining way, but it is still too dependent on self. Christians are not exempt from the idol of expressive individualism. Furthermore, there appears to be little understanding of the truth of spiritual transformation and the God-given means of grace (1 Tim 4:7) through which transformation occurs.

As believers living between the first and second comings of Jesus, there is both a “now” and a “not-yet” of the kingdom. How many emphasize the “now” so that they expect perfection in this life? How many emphasize the “not-yet” so that they expect little holiness in this life? How many understand the importance of what God has done (the indicative, the statement of fact) and how we as believers are to live the Christian life (the imperative, the command), and how critical it is to get the order right? How many understand the ground of justification and sanctification, and also the differences?

Practically, what is behind the lack of concern for “holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14)? Why is there little hatred of sin and much pandering after the world? Why does holiness seem legalistic, and worldliness seem common? 1 Why are there so many leaders who know and speak gospel truth but whose lives are lacking the power of the gospel they preach (Titus 1:16)? Might these misunderstandings, and more, be the cause of a lack of holiness, the absence of the Spirit’s transforming power in the lives of Christians?

TRANSFORMATION: THE BIBLICAL STORY

A common way of understanding the Bible’s story is through the major movements of redemptive history: creation, fall, redemption and new creation/consummation (glorification is the term used when emphasizing the final act of God in the salvation of those in union with Christ, i.e., believers). As a big-picture overview, tracing the Bible’s story through these four major movements is helpful. However, it appears that, for many, the notion of

redemption is too narrowly understood. It serves as a redemptive historical transition from death to life when one is justified, but there is little thought given to the life of believers between redemption and new creation.

This is, I believe, a weakness. Although the reality of redemption does not include less than justification, it certainly includes more. It includes all the time and lives of believers between redemption and new creation. That requires more careful biblical and theological thought and nuance.

Although the reality of redemption does not include less than justification, it certainly includes more. It includes all the time and lives of believers between redemption and new creation.

Here is a way to expand the Bible’s story by adding one important movement between redemption and new creation, which I include in full. God in His Word reveals the story of:

• Creation (Gen 1:26-28, 31, “very good”),

• Fall (Gen 2:16-17; Gen 3:1-13; cf. Rom 5:12-21; 1 Cor 15:21),

• Redemption (Gen 3:15; Rom 3:24; Rom 6:23; 1 Cor 6:9-11; 15:56-57; Col 3:14),

• Transformation (progressive sanctification) (Rom 12:1-2; 2 Cor 3:18; Phil 3:20-21; cf. Phil 2:12-13; Rev 22:12-16) and

• New Creation/Consummation (final sanctification) (Rev 21-22; esp. 21:5; cf. Phil 3:20-21).

Our righteous and just God created a “very good” (Gen 1:31) world that has been spoiled by human sin. All humanity stands under God’s just judgment. But in His mercy, God has purposed to provide a means of redemption through his Son Jesus Christ, who satisfies God’s justice through His sacrificial death, thereby justifying the unjust (Rom 3:21-26). He was raised to new life as Lord of all through His resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:36; Rom 1:4). In union with Christ (John 3:3, 5; Rom 6:5-11; Gal 2:20-21; Eph 1:3-14), God’s people are to be renewed by the Spirit (Titus 3:5) to be instruments of God’s grace, seeking to reflect the love of Christ in the world. In union with Christ, we have been delivered “from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14). This means everything about us has been changed and is in the process of being transformed through the gospel (1 Cor 1:18-25) so that weakness is strength (2 Cor 12:9), dying is living (Mark 8:34-38) and serving is greatness (Mark 10:45; Phil 2:5-11).

A BIBLICAL-THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF TRANSFORMATION

With the Bible’s five-part story as a foundation, it is important we understand the specifics of what sanctification or transformation consists, where it fits, and the other aspects of the whole of salvation. Often encompassed in the term sanctification are other important themes like renewal, growth, transformation and glorification.

There are times when it is important to know not just that something works, but how and/or why it works. This is true for all Christians as they consider the work of God in their lives and their response to this work. What follows is that detailed look at the biblical-theological truth undergirding the believers’ spiritual lives. What it reflects is that we have already been changed, we are being changed, and we will be changed.

Union with Christ: This focuses on the Holy Spirit’s work of joining all believers to Christ so that all His saving benefits become ours (Eph 4:30). Through union with Christ, believers are identified/united with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection and ascension (Rom 6:1-11; Eph 2:6), and God communicates all His blessings of salvation: regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, perseverance, resurrection and glorification. Christ dwells in those with whom He is united and they, in turn, dwell in Him (John 15:1-5; Gal 2:20).

Regeneration: The supernatural work of God the Holy Spirit by which unbelievers are given a new nature; the heart of stone is removed and replaced with a heart of flesh (Jer 31:31-33; Ezek 36:25-27; John 3:3-8; 6:63), through the gospel of Jesus Christ (Jas 1:18; 1 Pet 1:23-25). It consists of the removal of the old sinful, spiritual dead nature (Eph 2:1), a spiritual circumcision (Rom 2:29), and the imparting of a new nature, that is spiritually alive to God (Eph 2:4-5). This truth emphasizes a decisiveness, a transformation from death to life (Rom 6:3-11; 2 Cor 5:17; Col 3:9-11), and that this is a whole new act of creation (2 Cor 5:17) in which one’s life is now lived by and for God (Mark 8:34-38; Gal 2:20; 2 Cor 5:14-15).

Sanctification is past (definitive), when we trusted in Christ and were regenerated and experienced union with Christ, present (progressive), as the Spirit works in us enabling us to grow in holiness, and future (final), which is the Spirit’s work of conforming us into the image of the Son in glorified holiness at His return.

Faith and repentance (conversion): Turning from sin to Christ (Acts 20:21), with the turning from sin being repentance and a turning to Christ in faith. Conversion is the term used for these two realities. Though this may be seen to be a human response, it is prompted by regeneration (Rom 10:17) and stirred by grace (Acts 18:27). It could be said that conversion is the evidence, though not the condition, of our justification. It is both an event, in which we are born again (John 3:3, 5), and also a process, in that it consists of the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (cf. Ps 51:10-12; Luke 17:3-4; 22;32; Rom 13:14; Eph 4:22-24; Rev 2:4-5, 16; 3:19).

Justification: This is an act of God based on the work of Christ in which He declares a sinner not guilty, imputing/ crediting the perfect righteousness of Christ (2 Cor 5:21), thus declaring (not infusing) the sinner righteous. This is a forensic term, denoting a judicial act of administering the law, which has been broken and for which we are accountable and guilty (Rom 3:21-26; Gal 3-4; 2 Cor 5:14-21; Eph 2:1-18; Phil 3:4-11). This is not because we are actually made righteous, but because of the righteousness of Christ, an alien righteousness. Sins are removed and forgiven, which is expiation (Heb 9:26), and God’s wrath is removed through propitiation (Rom 3:25-26), through Christ’s substitutionary death (Rom 3:25; 5:9). Christ’s righteousness is imputed (Rom 5:18-19), based on Christ’s perfect obedience on our behalf. It is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Rom 3:25-26), and faith is the instrumental means by which we are justified (Rom 3:25, 28, 30). Believers are simul jusus et peccator, as Luther noted, at one and the same time righteous in Christ but (and) sinners in themselves (Rom 3:10-12; 4:1-8; 5:18-19; Gal 2:16).

Adoption: Before being adopted spiritually (Rom 8:15, 23; 9:4; Gal 4:4-7; Eph 1:5), we were slaves to sin (Rom 6:16-22), doing Satan’s will (Gal 4:3; 1 John 3:10), enemies of God (Rom 5:10) and children of God’s wrath (Eph 2:3). God’s eternal love is the source of adoption (Eph 1:3-6); Christ’s death is the basis of adoption (Gal 3:13; 4:4-5), and faith in Christ is how we receive adoption (John 1:12; Gal 3:26). We are God’s children (John 1:12), we have a family of brothers and sisters (Gal 3:26-28), we are fellow heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17), and we have a future inheritance (cf. Col 3:24) 2 J. I. Packer notes, adoption “is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification . . . To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.”

Sanctification: There are three aspects to sanctification: definitive (positional, a status conferred), progressive (process pursued) and final (glorification, eschatological perfection). God sets us apart from sin to Himself. He also produces holiness in believers, which is progressive. Finally, sanctification will culminate in glorification at Christ’s return. Sanctification is past (definitive), when we trusted in Christ and were regenerated and experienced union with Christ (Rom 6:1-4; 1 Cor 1:2; 6:11), present (progressive), as the Spirit works in us enabling us to grow in holiness (2 Cor 3:18; 1 Thess 4:3; Heb 12:14), 3 and future (final), which is the Spirit’s work of conforming us into the image of the Son in glorified holiness at His return (Eph 5:27; 1 John 3:2). Each Person of the Trinity is active in our sanctification, and although God is the author of our sanctification, we are active participants (Phil 2:12-13; Col 1:28-29) 4

GRACE AND GODLINESS: GOD’S JUSTIFYING GRACE AND HIS SANCTIFYING POWER AND PURPOSE

In the EFCA, we affirm that God’s justifying grace is the ground of His sanctifying grace in the lives of believers (Article 8, Christian Living). There is sanctification – that is, being set apart by and to God through justification – and, by the Holy Spirit, there is ongoing transformation (progressive sanctification) into the image of the Son: “We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose.” Here is a portion of the “theological exposition 5 of Article 8 in our Statement of Faith:

The following is a modified excerpt from Evangelical Convictions: A Theological Exposition of the Statement of Faith of the Evangelical Free Church of America: Grace and godliness are ultimately inseparable. Consider the words of the nineteenth-century Anglican bishop J. C. Ryle:

“He who supposes that Jesus Christ only lived and died and rose again in order to provide justification and forgiveness of sins for His people, has yet much to learn. Whether he knows it or not, he is dishonouring our blessed Lord, and making Him only a half Saviour. The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that His people’s souls require; not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death, but from the dominion of their sin, by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit; not only to justify them, but also to sanctify them.” 6

The Christian life entails growth, for we are to “continue to work out [our] salvation” (Phil 2:12). But we live in the assurance that “it is God who works in [us] to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Phil 2:13), confident “that he who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6).

That is the message of the gospel: this masterpiece of the human person, created to glorify God as His image but defaced by the ravages of sin, can be restored to a glory even beyond its original condition.

One of the most beautiful sights in the picturesque city of Cambridge, England, is King’s College Chapel, a magnificent Gothic building completed during the reign of Henry VIII. One of the great attractions

of the chapel is a painting by one of the Old Masters, Peter Paul Reubens, entitled, “The Adoration of the Magi.” But in 1974, in an act of political protest, a vandal entered the chapel and defaced this magnificent painting by scratching the letters “IRA” deeply into the canvas. It was thought then that this irreplaceable work of art was ruined forever, but soon there appeared a notice alongside it that announced, “It is believed that this masterpiece can be restored to its original condition.” And it was – in all its glory.

That is the message of the gospel: this masterpiece of the human person, created to glorify God as His image but defaced by the ravages of sin, can be restored to a glory even beyond its original condition. This is God’s sanctifying purpose, and by His gracious power we are to grow in godliness and so display the glory of God. As Paul writes: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:8-10).

CONCLUSION

As we ponder this both individually and corporately, where do we see transforming growth and conformity into the likeness of the Son? Give thanks to God. Where do we see sins stunting our sanctification/transformation – arrogance, self-righteousness, pride, judgementalism, apathy, entitlement, exceptionalism, derision and disdain for others, disunity, a lack of mediating on or a desire for the Word, knowing better than God, etc.?

As Peter preached in the early Church, we now hear again: “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19-20). We long for times of refreshing, renewal, holiness, with nothing in our lives exempt (1 Thess 5:23) 7

As believers in Christ, may we rest in our definitive sanctification. May we submit to the Spirit-enabled fight

in progressive sanctification as we are transformed and conformed into the image of the Son. And, as we await our final sanctification, may we sense and say with John Newton:

“I am not what I ought to be. Ah! How imperfect and deficient! Not what I might be, considering my privileges and opportunities. Not what I wish to be. God, who knows my heart, knows I wish to be like him. I am not what I hope to be; ere long to drop this clay tabernacle, to be like him and see him as he is 8, I think I can truly say with the apostle, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am’ (1 Cor 15:10).” 9

Sources for this piece are available in the online version of this article at efca.org/blog.

THE RESTORED MASTERPIECE, “THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI,” BY PETER PAUL REUBENS, ON DISPLAY IN KING’S COLLEGE CHAPEL IN CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND.

God Will Raise the Dead Bodily and Judge the World: Evangelical Convictions of Eternal Realities

February 4-6, 2026 | Naperville, Illinois

A resource encouraging pastors and leaders to be passionate about the gospel and faithful to Scripture.

Episodes help listeners understand, share and live out our most important beliefs.

• EFCA Theology Conference sessions and breakouts

• Ministry and theology matters

• Interviews with EFCA pastors and ministry leaders

• An audio version of Evangelical Convictions

Search “EFCA Theology Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app.

Jeff Spindle: I Share the Gospel More Than I Ever Thought I Would

The story of the EFCA chaplain for First Battalion, Second Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

I’d come to a crossroads with pastoral ministry. I’d been a worship pastor, executive pastor, church planter, lead pastor. I was looking for another way to fulfill my calling.

I thought about doing a military chaplaincy at some point. I talked to my wife about it but never thought I could do it. [Years later] after a year as a hospital chaplain, I told my wife, “Nikki, we’re joining the Navy.” She said, “What’s plan B?” I said, “There’s no plan B. This is where I believe the Word is leading us.”

After much conversation and prayer, we started in 2018 and haven’t looked back. Typically, I visit Marines and the places they go – out on a range, out in the field. I’m right there in their command post. I offer counsel, whether there is just a minor problem, issue with command, legal problems or family trouble. But it could be life or death. They could be dealing with suicidal thoughts, in which case I work with mental health specialists, counselors and medical staff to make sure they get the help they need.

I get to share the gospel more than I ever thought I would, and many of them are receptive to the gospel, but there's a process, right? This is an infantry unit. These guys will be first on the ground if something happens. Using that occasion, [I can ask] “Okay, where are you and God? What are you building your life on?”

I’ve been coming to the EFCA Theology Conference since 2019. The sessions about disabilities and AI were helpful because that's something being talked about in the military a lot. We are creatures, and there are limits. We have limitations that bring us to a place of needing to trust and rest.

This is an infantry unit. These guys will be first on the ground if something happens. Using that occasion, [I can ask] “Okay, where are you and God? What are you building your life on?”

Please pray for the families of my Marines, as we’re often away from our families for months. I’m very thankful to have a supportive family. My wife, Nikki, my two daughters, Sophia and Eliana, and my mom, Carol. Please also pray for no training accidents. We’re going to be training hard. We’re going to be in the field, and I want to bring all my Marines home safely.

PHILIP (BACK ROW, SECOND FROM RIGHT) AND THE CROSSOVER LIONS FOOTBALL TEAM CELEBRATE THEIR CHAMPIONSHIP WIN.

Transformation Flows Through Relationships

And relationships happen when we know our community and move toward them in love.

PHILIP ABODE

When my wife Ronni and I first arrived in north Tulsa, Oklahoma, to plant Crossover Bible Church (EFCA) in the mid-2000s, I started playing basketball two mornings a week.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, I drove downtown to the corner of 12th and Boulder, walked past the towering spires of First Methodist Church and into their youth and family center for a couple hours of pick-up basketball. And every week, dozens of other men from the community joined me.

Man, I thought. What if our church had something like this?

The only problem, ironically, was the church. When people hit the hardwood, they knew where they were – and not in a good way. On the rare occasion somebody cussed – after a hard foul or a missed layup – the outcry came quick: “Man, you can’t do that! This is a church!” That didn’t sit right with me.

Around that same time, I saw a sign outside another local church that read, “Careful, God working inside.”

As we moved toward planting Crossover, the last thing we wanted was for somebody in the community to think they needed to buy into what we believed before they were welcome in our church – or that they needed to go to a church building to experience God. The church isn’t a building; it’s the people (1 Cor 12:12-2). The gospel flows through relationships – not stone spires or sheetrock – and authentic relationships can’t happen if people can’t show up as their authentic selves.

The church isn’t a building; it’s the people. The gospel flows through relationships – not stone spires or sheetrock – and authentic relationships can’t happen if people can’t show up as their authentic selves.

On February 20, 2006 – two months before we officially launched Crossover – I put my hopes and dreams into my prayer journal:

“The main thing on my mind right now is my dream to build a brand-new community center here in north Tulsa. I would love to see a state-of-the-art facility that becomes the hub of the community. It would provide a natural setting for us to get to mix it up with non-believers in real life situations . . .

This facility would help improve life for people in north Tulsa: both spiritually and physically. I say that because ultimately, I want to see people come to know the Lord through this facility. The facility is really just a vehicle for Crossover to minister to real needs and build authentic relationships with non-believers.”

WHAT’S OUR STARBUCKS?

Before I left Dallas Theological Seminary in 2005, one of the common church-planting paths I noticed for my fellow seminarians ran through organic missional conversations. Over and over, I heard a different version of the same story:

“I was doing my sermon prep at Starbucks, and I struck up a gospel conversation with a stranger.”

The problem for us (a majority Black community) was: Black folks didn’t really drink coffee like that – at least, not back in 2005.

What’s our Starbucks? I thought.

In communities like north Tulsa, one of the loudest critiques of the Church is that we don’t actually do anything. And when we first arrived in 2006, we had no evidence to combat that argument.

Looking around, we saw plenty of churches – every couple blocks we’d find another one – but the number of church buildings seemed to have little effect on the cycles of poverty and violence in the community. Or the plummeting home values. Or the fact that three-quarters of kids (70 percent) were born to unwed mothers, less than half (46 percent) were graduating high school, and, on average, all of them were dying more than a decade (14 years) earlier than their neighbors to the south.

The history of the Black Church, for so long, was one of community betterment. Think of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s. The Church championed a cause characterized by meeting real needs with the gospel. But over time, that legacy faded. As the American free market – and human brokenness –subtly shifted incentives away from community betterment and toward growing the Sunday service, the question started to arise: Do churches still benefit communities?

If you can look around and see churches on every corner, but the community’s still a mess, then what good is the Church?

At Crossover, we wanted to combat that narrative. One of the core questions that drove us – and one that still drives us today – was something I’d heard floating around at seminary: “If your church was to close its doors, never to open them again, would anyone in your community notice?”

At first, we tried to do this by breaking the mold of a traditional Black church (a.k.a., our services weren’t long). We wanted to provide something different, and initially, people seemed to respond. After one of our core members invited his cousin to join us for an early preview service, the cousin said, “This is going to be my church home.”

But then we never saw him again.

As it turned out, what he meant was, “This will be my church home . . . when I’m actually interested in going to church.”

North Tulsa didn’t need a Starbucks. Most of the community wasn’t looking for a “church home” or another steeple to occupy another street corner. They had real, tangible needs – education, housing, poverty – right on the surface. If we wanted address the brokenness in our community – if we wanted to be a church that north Tulsa noticed – we needed to meet people in their context. We needed to move toward people through relationship.

DISCIPLESHIP ON THE GRIDIRON

Once we realized a great Sunday service wasn’t going to radically change our community, we switched up our strategy. We started hosting community events – barbecues, back-toschool bashes, neighborhood clean-ups – anything we could do to show the community we cared. That gave us momentum for a while, but eventually, the inertia of starting a new church drove us back to Sunday mornings. The call-to-action remained the same (“Join us for church this week”), and our momentum toward community impact stalled.

Then, by the grace of God, came a football team.

At the time, our church met at a local community center – on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard – and in summer of 2008, that community center needed third-grade football coaches. Given my football background at the University of Tulsa, one of Crossover’s other pastors and I volunteered to help. Although I’d love to take credit for this “intentional ministry move,” the reality was, God dumped a game-changing ministry opportunity on our laps without us even looking for it.

I knew things were bad in north Tulsa, but before the football team, I didn’t know just how bad. Of the 8- and 9-year-olds we coached, almost all of them were already failing at school. Several of their dads had already left the picture, if not worse. They were good kids, but the other coaches and I knew if they didn’t change their attitudes, they were destined for the cycles of darkness that had already claimed so many in the community. We also knew that, even if these kids never walked through the doors of our church, we needed to find a way to help.

CROSSOVER DEVELOPMENT COMPANY BUILDS AND REMODELS HOMES IN THE NORTH TULSA COMMUNITY.

We started by discipling the boys where we could. We talked about character at practice; we tutored them after school. Little by little, not only did their attitudes improve, but their families also started letting us into their lives. In just one season as Coach Philip, I had more “organic missional conversations” with people in north Tulsa than in several years as Pastor Philip.

In just one season as Coach Philip, I had more “organic missional conversations” with people in north Tulsa than in several years as Pastor Philip.

After a few years of exploring this unforeseen discipleship pathway, Bob Rowley – at the time, the superintendent of the EFCA Texas-Oklahoma District – sent out a monthly newsletter called, “The Parish Paper,” which included practical ideas and insights for local churches. That edition addressed a specific question: “Should your church start a non-profit?

Later that year (2012), we “officially” moved our efforts beyond Sunday mornings by starting a separate non-profit, Crossover Community Impact (CCI), to be the outreach arm of the church. In July 2012, CCI launched Crossover Sports Association (CSA) and our own youth football team – this time, first and second graders. Later that year came a basketball team, and in Spring 2013, the boys grabbed their gloves and hit the baseball diamond.

After CSA, we started Crossover Kids, an after-school program and summer day camp, and hired high schoolers to work as tutors (StreetLeaders). In 2014, we opened a primary care clinic, Crossover Health Services, and in 2015, we started Crossover Development Company to build and remodel homes in the neighborhood. In 2017, we enrolled our first class of seventh graders at Crossover Preparatory Academy, an all-boys, tuitionfree private school, and in 2021, we added an all-girls school.

In the end, CCI’s programs did increase our Sunday morning attendance, but that was never our goal. We’re not trying to build the biggest church or amass the largest following. God has called us to see transformation here in north Tulsa. We want to restore our community, to recognize real needs and leverage those needs for the sake of the gospel. Because ultimately, gospel transformation flows through relationships.

WHAT’S THE WIN?

In December 2021, I stood in front of the entire CCI team at our annual Christmas party and read from my February 2006 journal entry, emphasizing the last line:

“My prayer is that the Lord would give me clarity of vision and the discipline, diligence and faith needed to see it come to pass.”

On April 15, 2022, we broke ground on Crossover Community Center, and on December 16, we opened the doors. Today, beyond hosting our church staff and Sunday morning services, the community center is home to Crossover Prep, a sports and fitness center, our Crossover Kids programs, among many other things (community events, dance classes, facility rentals, etc.).

More than 15 years after I wrote those words in my prayer journal, the dream became a reality. It was a cool moment to share with our staff – to look back and see God’s faithfulness in such a tangible way, from the vision to restore our community,

to coaching a third-grade football team, to opportunity after opportunity to move toward our community in relationship.

At the end of the day, that’s the heart behind the community center – and the health clinic, the sports program, the schools, all of it. We want to put ourselves in proximity to people’s everyday lives. To build relationships. To hear people’s stories and open doors for gospel conversations. And Lord-willing, we want to see God transform the lives of individuals, families, neighborhoods and entire communities.

At the end of the day, that’s the heart behind the community center – and the health clinic, the sports program, the schools, all of it. We want to put ourselves in proximity to people’s everyday lives.

Transformation flows through relationships, and relationships come from knowing and moving toward your community. Yes, we celebrate when a new face walks through our doors on Sunday morning, but ideally, they’re not a “new face.” Our goal is that they’d already know us – because their teenage son’s enrolled at Crossover Prep, or their three-year-old daughter joined a ballet class, or they just signed up for a new gym membership. Sunday morning attendance is an outcome of relationship, not the other way around.

In the church, inertia can often drive us to focus inward. It’s easy to be consumed with our members and our attendance and our children’s ministry working well. But when we give into that consumerism feedback loop, we can slide into the false belief that “everything’s great” because our budget is good and our church is growing – meanwhile, we haven’t made any kind of impact in the community outside of us. We lose sight of the goal: to make disciples who make disciples outside the church.

Yes, the church is a place to demonstrate life within the Kingdom of God, but it’s more than that. As Wayne Gordon put it in Who Is My Neighbor?, it’s wanting for my neighbor what I want for myself and my kids.

As humans, we naturally divide up into “us” and “them.” Even when we do have a sense of community – for example, in the church – it’s “us” over here and “them” over there. But the gospel breaks that down. In Christ, it’s only “us” (Gal 3:26-29). Even when it comes to our enemies, we’re called to love them (Matt 5:43-44), with the hope that they would someday become a part of us.

SCAN to watch the transformational story of Crossover Bible Church (“The Church Matters”).

The win isn’t: How much is my church growing? The win is: How many people are walking with Jesus that weren’t walking with Him before?

DO YOU REALLY KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY?

God has called us, Crossover Bible Church, here, to north Tulsa. But north Tulsa isn’t south Tulsa. It’s also not a rural community in central Nebraska or a college town in coastal California. Our story isn’t your story, and our ministry will (and should) look different from yours.

Where is there brokenness in your community? The problems might not be on the surface – or as stark as they are in north Tulsa – but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. They might be behind the scenes of a “good job” and a “healthy family,” or beneath the façade of the “American Dream.” Maybe it’s someone clinging to comfort, trapped in isolation or drowning in distraction.

On a practical level, the gospel is the key to the self-inflicted aspects of brokenness in a community. At its core, almost every issue – obvious or hidden, acceptable or reprehensible – is a gospel issue, from individuals and relationships to communities and systems. When we operate by the “If I’m good, then we’re good” mindset within a community, it can lead to many of the disparities and injustices we see in society today.

But Christ calls us to something different. He calls us to transformation – and not just for ourselves, but for the people around us. Look at Titus 2:11-14:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior

Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

An individual life that’s transformed by Jesus leads to “renounc[ing] ungodliness and worldly passions,” but it also leads to something deeper. The church is called to make disciples who make disciples. The fruit of a real relationship with Jesus is passion for doing good. True community transformation can’t happen apart from the gospel, and the gospel flows through relationships.

What’s the story of your community? How does the gospel intersect that story to provide uniquely good news to the people around you? How might you intentionally put yourself in proximity to them, to meet them in their real lives and their real needs? How could you take the gospel to them in a relational and transformational way?

If your church were to close its doors today, never to open them again, would anyone in your community notice?

True community transformation can’t happen apart from the gospel, and the gospel flows through relationships. “

Philip Abode serves as the lead pastor of Crossover Bible Church (EFCA) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as the executive director of Crossover Preparatory Academy. Philip and his wife, Rondalyn, have been passionate about helping people grow in their relationship with the Lord ever since they committed their lives to Him during their college years at the University of Tulsa.

From North Tulsa to Waterville

Fueled by his own story of transformation, Pastor Jeremy Jones is following Crossover Bible Church’s lead to bring transformation to his community in Maine.

JEREMY JONES

I watch the video of Crossover Bible Church (EFCA) –“The Church Matters” – almost once a week. It’s my “Rocky” video. I put that thing on and think: Yes. We can do this.

Our district superintendent, Sam Huggard (EFCA New England District), shared the video with me and our senior pastor, Brent Small, after we told Sam about our vision for Faith Church (EFCA) and reaching the community in Waterville, Maine, with the gospel.

Now, I can’t stop watching it. I show it to anyone who gives me an audience.

And I tell them, “This is the impact we can make in our community. It doesn’t have to be that magnitude, or in the same way, but we can do this.”

MY ROAD TO PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION

I grew up in a small, rural town of 1,000 people, about an hour north of Waterville. I graduated with a class of 24 kids. Everybody knew everybody, and everybody loved basketball. We won six state championships in a row. We held the longest active winning streak in Maine high school basketball history (101 games). The joke in town was, “If you were going to rob someone, you should do it during a state tournament game.”

As a member of that championship-winning team, I could do no wrong. Grades weren’t a priority. As long as we were “good enough,” teachers pushed us through. Senior year, my buddies and I started drinking and partying. We were bulletproof. Even if we got caught, we weren’t reprimanded. The coaches weren’t

going to kick us off the team. They knew better than to stop the locomotive.

After I graduated, instead of going to a smaller college to play baseball, I chose a school where I could party with my high school buddies. After my freshman year of college, my “Possession of Alcohol by a Minor” violations (2) were higher than my GPA (1.8). That’s where the locomotive stopped.

This is the impact we can make in our community. It doesn’t have to be that magnitude, or in the same way, but we can do this.

My grandmother was an alcoholic. My dad was an alcoholic. My uncle was, too. Still, I didn’t see it coming. But after my wife and I got pregnant with our first son, I found myself planning my drinking to accommodate the birth timeline.

If I start drinking now, I’ll be sober enough that when I’m in the delivery room, no one will know.

That’s when I thought I might have a problem.

After years of trying to “cut back,” life showed me the weight of my addiction. I saw the wreckage I’d caused in the lives of people I loved. I felt like I was suffocating.

“I’m going to quit,” I told my wife after we got pregnant with our second son. “I’m done.”

JEREMY JONES COACHES BASEBALL IN HIS HOMETOWN OF WATERVILLE, MAINE.

Except, instead of trying to fix the problem, I just started hiding it. I drank and drove home from work, stopping at different gas stations to cover my tracks. Every move was calculated. A few months later, after drinking my way through a night of Christmas shopping with my wife, she confronted me.

“Have you been drinking?” she asked. I knew better than to lie. I was struggling just to stay awake at that point.

“Yup,” I said, bracing for impact. But none came. She didn’t fight me. I’d expected her to blow up, but this time, she just looked at me. And I knew: the last person in my corner was finally done. In that moment, I was completely broken.

“I’m going to go to AA tomorrow,” I told her on the drive home. I shook like a leaf as I walked into the meeting the next night. I was so scared that I sat down in the wrong direction and had to awkwardly shift my folding chair around to face the man right next to me, who was sharing that night. And as soon as he started talking, I broke down. He was telling my story.

After that first meeting, one of the guys introduced me to my eventual sponsor. “When you’re ready to start putting in the work,” my sponsor told me. “You need to figure out who your ‘higher power’ is. It can’t be me (‘What if I go out and drink tomorrow?’), and it can’t be you (‘How’s that been working out for you?’).”

And as soon as he started talking, I broke down. He was telling my story.

After starting to dig into the Bible, I reached out to my mom, who was a believer. “What’s this Jesus stuff?” I asked. She explained the basics to me, and little by little, I started to believe. I started listening to Christian music. I started reading More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell, which my mom had also given me. Eventually, it clicked.

Six months into recovery, sitting in my office as my co-workers buzzed around me over the noise of the radio, I asked Jesus to come into my life . . . and everything went quiet. I don’t know if the radio cut out or what, but for a split second, it was just . . . silent. Complete stillness. The moment was fleeting, but it was so distinct that it was undeniable.

I didn’t push my wife to go on the same faith journey as me, but as she saw the change in my life, she also became a believer, and we started going to church together. I’d been reading the Bible on my own, but I needed a nudge to go deeper. After visiting a church that wasn’t a good fit, a friend recommended Faith Church in Waterville. As soon as we walked through the doors, we knew we’d found what we’d been looking for. Every Sunday, the pastor read the Word of God from the pulpit, and it fed my hungry soul.

After getting plugged into the church, I approached our associate pastor, told him my story and asked how my experience might help others in the church. I couldn’t help but think there were other people in the church who were hurting, just like I was. We had great, thriving small groups, but I wondered how deep they were going. Were people talking about the silent sins they didn’t want anyone to know?

“I don’t know what this looks like,” I told him. “I just know I’m feeling led to do this.”

“We’ve been praying for someone to come forward,” he said.

Nine months later, we launched our Celebrate Recovery program – helping men and women find restoration from their hurts, habits and hang-ups – and it’s been going strong for six years.

When I look back at my story, I’m still in awe of God. The alcohol used to whisper to me, “I know what you’ve done. You can’t get through this without me.” But when I shared my story – everything I’ve done – with another person, it was like God lifted sandbags off my back. I had no idea the freedom I would experience. I didn’t have to hide anymore.

When I look back at my story, I’m still in awe of God. The alcohol used to whisper to me, “I know what you’ve done. You can’t get through this without me.” But when I shared my story – everything I’ve done – with another person, it was like God lifted sandbags off my back. I had no idea the freedom I would experience. I didn’t have to hide anymore.

I’m so grateful God has used my brokenness to reach other people. That’s what gets me so excited when I talk to people who are struggling.

“You know that story you’re most afraid to share?” I tell them. “That’s where God is going to set you free.”

STARTING SOMEWHERE

Three years into leading Celebrate Recovery, I felt God nudge me toward pastoral ministry. I told my senior pastor, and we found an online program that worked with my schedule. Three years after that, in January 2024, I earned my bachelor’s degree in biblical counseling and joined church staff as the outreach pastor.

A few months later, when Sam Huggard showed me and Brent the video of Crossover Bible Church, we had our outreach theme: If our church were to close its doors today, never to open them again, would anyone in our community notice?

At that point, the honest answer was, “Probably not.” Our church was theologically sound, based in Scripture, with wellexecuted small groups, but we lacked focus outside the church.

JEREMY JONES AND HIS WIFE, JESSICA.

We hosted one-off events from time to time, but day-to-day gospel conversations weren’t a priority.

Faith isn’t like Crossover or your typical community church. Our building is located right off the interstate (I-95), so we’re more of a destination church. Of our 300 people, only 30 actually live in Waterville. To reach our community, we needed to be intentional.

After Celebrate Recovery started to take off, the culture at Faith started to change. People saw God transforming lives – and not just inside the church, but outside of it, too. Given that – and the added effects of COVID and shrinking attendance – we changed our mindset as a church: We can’t just expect people to just come to us. We need to go to them.

When I started as outreach pastor, I knew my in-road into the community right away: youth sports. Like Pastor Philip in north Tulsa, all my natural connections came from the field. My kids played sports. I coached the junior high baseball team and now currently coach the varsity baseball team. Parents and coaches were my mission field. I’d heard the stories of kids coming to sporting events – broken homes, broken families, hungry kids. I saw the opportunity for gospel impact.

From day one, I could’ve filled my weeks pursuing that angle, but I held back. I didn’t want to be a one-trick pony. That was too small, I thought, for our community to “notice.” I wanted to help the whole congregation get engaged in the whole of the community, so I put sports on pause.

Initially, we looked for a property – one that would allow us to do community-focused events targeted to pockets of the community. We wanted a more permanent location in the community – to show we were there to stay – but that proved difficult, given the small geographic footprint of Waterville. We talked to school officials, city officials. We met with an outreach team. We looked at existing properties.

We started with the lowest-hanging fruit: the South End. It’s the oldest (and poorest) part of Waterville, and it shows –rundown buildings, single-family homes turned into three-unit apartments, absent landlords. After six months of partnering with the community there – walking the streets, neighborhood cleanups, bus tours – we found a storefront in the South End. But God slammed that door shut.

He had something different in mind. He showed me where I was going wrong – trying to find a route to community engagement for everybody in the congregation, instead of actually engaging the community. We just needed to start somewhere, so God brought me back to my roots: youth sports.

Of the 30,000 people in the Greater Waterville Area, 230 kids live in the South End. My kids go to the same schools, so we

see what these kids are up against. We see the boundaries and hurdles they have to overcome. We see the real needs and the opportunity to leverage those needs for the sake of the gospel.

This summer, our plan is to host two week-long sports camps in the South End, using the outdoor courts and fields that already exist in the community. And as we take that step forward in faith, God has already brought people from the congregation out of the woodwork to help.

The thing I thought would hold us back is now what’s propelling us forward.

LOOKING

FORWARD TO GOSPEL TRANSFORMATION

Watching (and re-watching) the Crossover story reminds me: We can do this.

It will take time to shift our culture and focus beyond the four walls of our church, but we’re here for the long haul. Even if it looks different than we’d planned, even if it doesn’t solve all our problems with community engagement, God can use Faith Church to bring transformation to Waterville.

Our passion is for the brokenness in our community. Right now, we’re showing up where we can. We’ll continue to build trust through proximity and presence, by showing up every day.

Our passion is for the brokenness in our community. Right now, we’re showing up where we can. We’ll continue to build trust through proximity and presence, by showing up every day. This summer, it’s youth sports. Like Crossover, we hope that by showing love to the kids, the parents will notice something different – that we’re not just showing up once, handing out popsicles and retreating to our big building off I-95. We’re here to stay. Through that, we hope to build relationships and watch God transform lives through the gospel.

Who knows what will come of it? Maybe we’ll find a facility. Maybe something will pop up as we continue to be present in the community. All I know is God has called me – and Faith Church – to bring the gospel to meet real needs of the real people in Waterville. And I know the gospel transforms lives of real people every day.

and

Jeremy Jones serves as the outreach pastor at Faith Church (EFCA) in Waterville, Maine, combining a heart for people with a background in biblical counseling. He’s been married to his wife Jessica for 19 years, and they’re raising three awesome kids – Wyatt (15), Connor (12) and Addilyn (9). Outside of church, Jeremy loves coaching youth sports

staying connected with families in his community.

JEREMY (SECOND FROM LEFT) VISITS PASTOR PHILIP ABODE (RIGHT) AND CROSSOVER BIBLE CHURCH IN MARCH 2025.

Expanding God’s Kingdom in Wisconsin

“What God requires, God provides,” said Andy Kvernen, senior pastor at Cornerstone Community Church (EFCA) in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Through a biblically based capital campaign, investments and plans for a church loan, Cornerstone partnered with Christian Investors Financial (CIF) to support their building expansion and renovation project designed to meet their congregation’s growing needs. According to Pastor Andy, CIF’s process is one that honors God and edifies the church: “CIF heard what the Lord was doing at Cornerstone and came alongside to help.”

LEARN MORE about how CIF can come alongside your church at christianinvestors.org.

Meet New FCMM President Tim Rowley

“As a young man, the Lord impressed upon me His heart to share His love with every tongue, tribe and nation. For the last 25 years, that meant serving as a pastor, and more recently, I began to feel a greater burden for serving those in ministry. Given my experience with financial education, planning, insurance and investments, several individuals thought I’d be a good fit to lead the ministry of FCMM, and my heart felt tugged.

When I first started in the Free Church, our senior pastor and elders made sure I was enrolled in an FCMM plan, and the church made monthly contributions for me. I felt cared for and grateful. The plan gave me peace of mind knowing my family’s finances and future were being considered and prepared for. I could not be more excited to see FCMM grow into its next chapter continuing to care for EFCA pastors, church staff and missionaries as they spread the gospel around the world.”

Learn more about how FCMM enables pastors, church staff and missionaries to serve Christ throughout their lives at fcmmbenefits.org.

HOLLY CRUMRINE: Our Free Fridge Is Building Bridges for the Gospel

The story of a church member who is helping feed her community and reduce waste.

Two summers ago, a friend – who leads a ministry to feed people – and I were talking, and he said, “You know, your church campus (Lanse Evangelical Free Church) could do a free fridge.”

I was like, “That is a great idea.”

Clearfield County is one of the poorest in Pennsylvania, and there have been different programs addressing food insecurity. More provisions came and additional funding for food came about with COVID, like free lunches in the summer at school, but most of them have stopped. We have a food surplus program and food pantry nearby, but it has requirements for income. There are multiple reasons people don’t want to take that step.

The free fridge helps a different group of people. There are no cameras. There’s no registration. It’s a food rescue –anybody can take food. And we’re using food that would get thrown away otherwise.

I contacted a number of people who are directors of free fridges in Pennsylvania to find out about legality and logistics. A donor helped us purchase the fridge, and one of the elders offered a shelter for it. It slowly came to fruition, and the Lord provided step by step.

We had a congregational meeting at the church, and I brought the plan to them. When the congregation approved, we got to work. The shed was built; we bought a fridge; the church facilities team dug a trench and laid conduit. We placed it near an accessible spot so people could pull right off the road and get food.

We opened the free fridge the week before Thanksgiving 2024. We depend on donations as the Spirit moves people, and we occasionally get donations from local grocery stores. A few local businesses have donated, and a preschool program donates snacks for kids, but donations mostly come from individual community members.

We’re praying that it makes people see that the church is a place that cares for people in a holistic way.

We have literature included, like gospel tracts, pamphlets that address different things like parenting and grief, and some Bibles and information about our church. Six Bibles have been taken so far.

A lady recently messaged me and said, ‘This is so great. I love this. Is there any way for my son to get involved? I would love for my 14-year-old to do some community service, but we’re really not religious.’

He and his mom both now check in on the fridge once a week, in a space that is literally covered in prayer and Bible verses, and they are getting exposed to the heart of our church and the gospel. We’re praying that it makes people see that the church is a place that cares for people in a holistic way.

A Church Home That Builds Leaders

Juan Gutierrez went looking for a new church in his new hometown. What he found was new life.

EFCA COMMUNICATIONS

At the start of 2022, Juan Gutierrez needed a church home. A 20-something immigrant from Colombia, Juan grew up in a Christian home, but he admitted his faith was shallow. Now a new resident to Omaha, Nebraska, he wanted to find a place to plug in, but since he primarily spoke Spanish, he struggled to find a church.

When he discovered Brookside Church (EFCA) offered a bilingual service, he couldn’t believe it. He had no idea this open door would be his first step into deeper, transformative relationship with Jesus.

Brookside Church at the Millard Campus, formerly Faith Evangelical Free Church, is nestled against Highway 275 and Interstate 80. It’s one of the larger churches in the Omaha area with a second campus (Elkhorn), bilingual service and virtual service inside Douglas County Correctional Center.

In 2007, church leadership saw clear signs God was deepening the congregation’s heart to serve their surrounding community. Through a partnership with a local intake center, they saw the growing number of children being removed from their homes due to neglect and abuse, and they were heartbroken. They knew they needed to do something to help.

They started by launching a clothing center for foster families. Along with the intake center, they partnered with nearby schools and a refugee resettlement agency for referrals.

His fluency in Spanish proved especially helpful given the influx of Spanish speakers on that first day. At the end of the night, he had the opportunity to invite a Spanish-speaking family to the bilingual service.

By the time Juan arrived at Brookside, the clothing center had been operating for several years. He’d plugged into Brookside in other ways first – playing bass guitar for the worship team and helping mix audio – but when friends in his small group asked him if he’d be interested in volunteering at the clothing center, he agreed. He figured it would be easy.

“I can do laundry,” he said.

When he arrived on the first day, Juan discovered the job was more than just laundry. He spent most of his time serving kids and their parents. His fluency in Spanish proved especially helpful

given the influx of Spanish speakers on that first day. At the end of the night, he had the opportunity to invite a Spanish-speaking family to the bilingual service.

“Some of them are still coming every Sunday,” Juan said. “That’s the best part.”

STEPPING INTO LEADERSHIP

In 2024, after several team leaders moved, the Brookside Care Center leaders asked Juan to consider becoming a team leader at the clothing center. At first, he was scared, but eventually he came around to the idea, hoping to grow in his leadership skills. Soon after, he joined Brookside’s 4D Leadership Program.

The 4D program (“Disciple, Discover, Develop, Deploy”) is a practical and comprehensive training program that offers two primary paths: residency (full-time) and internship (part-time).

Residents and interns pick an area of focus and receive hands-on experience, mentorship, and biblical and theological training at Brookside Institute, the church’s in-house Bible and theology school in partnership with Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS).

Brookside had long valued theological training, and when Tim Wiebe came on staff, they deepened their investment. Tim grew up at Brookside. He didn’t like going to church initially, but his life took a positive turn in high school when a youth leader intentionally discipled him.

“He poured into me in my sophomore year of high school, and God's gracious activity took shape in my own life and heart,” Tim said. “The gospel became living, real and fresh to me.”

This influence prompted him to pursue ministry. He received his undergraduate degree in Omaha and then went to TEDS for his graduate studies (Tim has since also completed a DMin from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary). After graduating from

TEDS, Brookside offered Tim a short-term internship to build their adult education ministry. That opportunity turned into a full-time job.

Tim's first task was rethinking the Sunday school programs. He found they were relationally strong but lacked biblical substance. As the church focused more on small groups for biblical community, he wanted the Sunday school classes to focus on biblical education.

Over several years, Tim wrote and developed curriculum and then restructured Sunday school classes around core Bible and theology topics (e.g., systematic theology, spiritual disciplines, church history, hermeneutics, apologetics, etc.). The classes were a big success, drawing many people who were hungry to learn.

When two local Christian colleges closed their doors, Tim and other Brookside leaders saw an opportunity to step into the gap and develop Christian leaders in their community. In 2019, Brookside launched 4D.

As part of the 4D program, Juan started taking theological training classes at the Brookside Institute, and initially he struggled. The language barrier made it difficult to understand what he heard and read. When he did understand the material, it often felt too intellectual.

Despite that, Juan maintained a positive attitude. “If God knows who I am, why would I not take the time to get to know Him better?” Juan said. “Getting to know Jesus has been one of the best parts of my life.”

The 4D program taught Juan how to study the Bible, take notes in a journal and spend time in prayer. It also gave him solid ground in core theological doctrines.

Juan was not alone. Among the 37 participants in the program to date, many have shared how the program has impacted them

spiritually and given them tools to pursue different areas of service in the local church and parachurch ministries.

Initially, when the 4D program immersed Juan in learning about worship and production, he hoped he could play a background role and not interact with many people. He often struggled to know what to say, how to say it and how to motivate people. But the more Juan's responsibilities at the clothing center required of him, the more he realized God was calling him into something deeper, to those often-uncomfortable areas of leadership.

Rather than run away from it, Juan found ways to improve and learn. One-on-one mentorship proved helpful as several Brookside leaders walked alongside him, offering techniques to better communicate with his team, provide encouragement and establish trust.

"I’m grateful to serve with my team,” Juan said. “They’re great people who love Jesus and look to help people.”

Among the 37 participants in the program to date, many have shared how the program has impacted them spiritually and given them tools to pursue different areas of service in the local church and parachurch ministries.

CONTINUING THE MISSION

As Juan nears the end of his internship, he’s planning to re-apply for a second year. He’s still determining how God might use him for future ministry and keeping an open heart and mind.

“I’m going to continue serving Him every Sunday,” Juan said. “That’s what I love. I’m going to worship God with everything I have because this is who I am now.”

As for Brookside, they continue to develop, train and send leaders into ministry opportunities through the 4D Leadership Program, Brookside Institute and the Brookside Care Center. After learning of two other pervasive issues affecting the Omaha community – food insecurity and lack of affordable auto care –the Care Center expanded their offerings to include a food center and auto repair center.

In everything they do, Brookside’s mission is simple: to help people, like Juan, find and follow Jesus, so they can live the transformed lives God designed for them.

Years 75of Transfor

June

13-18, 1950:

The Merger

Arnold T. Olson leads a merger committee to develop a Statement of Faith and guide the Swedish and NorwegianDanish Evangelical Free Churches toward a successful merger conference in Minnesota, forming the Evangelical Free Church of America under its first president, E.A. Halleen.

1950s: Healthy Foundations

In 1952, Arnold T. Olson replaces E.A. Halleen as EFCA president and creates pathways to establish a unified denomination, encouraging a spirit of diversity while pointing to the core doctrines that unite the movement. Multiple international mission fields open under Olson’s leadership, and support of missions expands through collaborative efforts with local churches, forming what is now ReachGlobal.

1950s-60s: Training and Growth

As new EFCA churches are planted – including some beyond U.S. borders in Canada – seminary training becomes an even greater focus. In 1962, Trinity Junior College – what would later become Trinity Western University – opens in British Columbia with 17 students. In 1963, Trinity Seminary and Bible College renames to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School after a decade of continued growth and expansion.

mation

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Evangelical Free Church of America, here are 10 significant moments from the last three-quarters of a century. Although not a comprehensive history of the movement, these key snapshots shed light on God’s faithful work in and through our movement, from 1950 to today.

1976: Rapid Expansion

Newly elected EFCA President Thomas McDill calls for more church planting, expanding the EFCA from 500 to 1,100 local churches.

“If I leave any mark at all on the Free Church, I hope it is in the area of evangelism, disciplemaking, church growth and church planting . . . I call the entire Free Church to the task of making disciples of all nations.”

– THIRD EFCA PRESIDENT, THOMAS MCDILL

June 24, 1984:

The Centennial

Nearly 10,000 people gather in Ames, Iowa, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Swedish EFC. In his keynote address, “The World on Our Doorstep,” McDill champions the EFCA vision of reaching all people in the United States. A diverse collection of leaders arises from this vision, laying the groundwork for the EFCA’s All People Initiative.

1990: Decade of Disciplemaking

EFCA President Paul Cedar focuses on areas of growth in prayer, evangelism and dependence on the Holy Spirit, declaring the 1990s the “Decade of Disciplemaking.”

1996: Denominational Transformation

EFCA President Bill Hamel emphasizes a servant mindset within the EFCA national office. Within three years, EFCA national ministries are repurposed to serve churches, and the EFCA national conference is changed to an intentional event of equipping and relationship building.

2005: Real Needs, Real Response

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, EFCA churches send 25,000 people and significant financial resources to support Crisis Response, a newly formed ReachGlobal ministry. In 2006, GlobalFingerprints, a child sponsorship ministry, is established to help churches meet the needs of vulnerable children in response to the AIDS epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

2015: One EFCA

In 2015, EFCA President Kevin Kompelien introduces the idea of “one EFCA”: “If we, as the EFCA, want to glorify God by multiplying transformational churches among all people, we need each other. If we want to extend gospel ministries and multiply disciplemakers, we need partnership. If we want to strengthen, revitalize and plant churches, we need shared values and trusting relationships.” – Kevin Kompelien in 2020

April 1, 2024: The Next Season of Gospel Impact

The EFCA Board of Directors appoints Carlton Harris, EFCA executive vice president of national ministries, as acting president of the EFCA .

“Carlton is an insightful, bold and Christ-honoring leader. May this be our most fruitful season for gospel impact in the history of our association.”

– MICHAEL SHIELDS, SUPERINTENDENT OF EFCA CENTRAL DISTRICT

With more than 1,600 congregations, 550 missionaries and 17 districts, the EFCA has grown from small Bible studies to a diverse movement of churches, united by common convictions and a Statement of Faith. With eyes on the future and hearts of gratitude for our past, we continue to pursue our mission to glorify God by multiplying transformational churches among all people.

SCAN to watch “This Is Our Story,” a quick video overview of the history of the EFCA.

EMPTY PULPITS COMING TO A CHURCH NEAR YOU

A quarter of pastors plan to retire by 2030. The next generation won’t replace them – unless we act now.

DAVID BOEREMA

You want the good news or the bad news first? We all hate that question. No matter which way it’s spun, the bad news usually trumps the good no matter how good it is. You probably choose to brace yourself to weather the storm of the bad news long enough to get to the good stuff. Well friends . . . brace yourself. Ready or not, here it comes.

THE BAD NEWS

The Church and the EFCA are at a critical crossroads. As the pool of pastoral and missionary candidates shrinks, the future of ministry leadership faces significant challenges. The reality is stark: fewer young people are stepping into vocational ministry, and the current generation of pastors is aging rapidly.

In 1992, the median age of Protestant clergy was 44; by 2022, it had risen to 52. Barna reports that today, only one in seven pastors is under 40, with 25 percent of current pastors planning to retire by 2030. This trend poses a significant threat to the continuity of leadership within the church. We hear the alarm sounding, and if unaddressed, the future of our movement here and abroad is at risk.

Many young people today see vocational ministry as a less-than-ideal career choice. They fear financial instability, the tremendous weight of responsibility of leading in the church and lack confidence in their calling. This problem has compounded because many churches lack mentorship structures that encourage, coach and train the next generation for ministry. Very few church leaders are elevating this high calling from their pulpits or personally inviting young people to consider ministry as a viable path. Meanwhile, the internet is inviting them to consider becoming online influencers – 32 percent of Generation Alpha want to become YouTubers, according to Fortune.

If we don’t act now, the effects could be far-reaching. As more pastors and missionaries retire without adequate replacements, churches may face closures or mergers, leaving communities without spiritual guidance and leadership. Furthermore, the diminishing number of foreign missionaries poses a threat to global outreach efforts, as unreached people groups continue to grow.

OK, take a deep breath.

THE GOOD NEWS

The emerging generation is hungry for substance, meaning and impact. They long to be a part of something bigger than themselves and are looking to be used to make a difference in

this world. In recent months a revival has begun to sweep across college campuses. Athletes, coaches and droves of collegiates are giving their lives to Jesus and publicly testifying to the transforming work of the gospel. Within the EFCA we are seeing young people involved in mission work through Apex, Crisis Response and ReachGlobal initiatives. At Challenge, district youth events and youth ministries all over the country, high school and middle school students are saying “yes” to the gospel and committing to be gospel influencers wherever God leads them. God is moving in the hearts of this generation. The question remains: How can we effectively mobilize the emerging generation for missions and ministry?

God is moving in the hearts of this generation. The question remains: How can we effectively mobilize the emerging generation for missions and ministry?

Apex, as a division of ReachStudents, is here to help and seeks to answer this question by acting as a catalyst to help churches and leaders identify, invite and inspire young people to consider full-time ministry. Apex exists to serve the local church by mobilizing the emerging generation to be gospel influencers from here to everywhere. It’s our aim to set the pace within the EFCA to help you catalyze the students in your church and provide experiences where defining moments with God can occur. We provide resources and relationships to help the emerging generation understand who they are and discover their call to ministry. We never want to lead students to a dead end, so we always point to next steps to full-time ministry within the EFCA. In doing this, we hope to reverse the trend of decline and see a wave of young, faith-filled leaders pursing the call of God to lead the EFCA movement for the sake for gospel and the glory of God.

WHAT YOU CAN JOIN GOD IN DOING

While we long to see the next generation of workers join God in the harvest field, we cannot do this alone. We need pastors and leaders to actively invite and inspire young leaders in their church to take a step of faith toward full-time ministry. Together we need to “shake the tree” and see what fruit falls. Once identified,

we have the privilege of helping these students – including those in your church – understand who they are, how God has designed them and their specific call to ministry. We then get them involved right away because as a former teammate of mine frequently said, “involvement breeds commitment.”

This work is not necessarily difficult, but it requires intentionality. It could be as simple as identifying one or two young people in your church and investing in them relationally. It means sharing personal stories of ministry, guiding through spiritual questions and providing real opportunities to engage in ministry work. Churches can host vocational ministry weekends, invite young people to assist in service and event planning, provide mission trips that expose them to global ministry needs, and point them to Christian colleges.

The call to mobilize young people for ministry cannot be ignored. The Church’s future depends on today’s leaders taking proactive steps to invest in the next generation. By partnering with Apex, churches can be at the forefront of raising up new pastors and missionaries, ensuring the Great Commission continues to advance. Take action and take heart. Let us commit together to inspire, equip and send the emerging generation to fulfill their calling in ministry to be gospel influencers from here to everywhere.

The Spirit of God is stirring the hearts of young people to join the Head of the Church in His redemptive work to bring the gospel to our world. What a privilege it is that we get to be a part of raising the next leaders for generations to come.

PRACTICAL STEPS THAT YOU CAN WORK ON RIGHT NOW:

1. Identify where you might see God calling a student in your church into vocational ministry. Ask yourself if that student knows you feel that way. If they don’t, tell them.

2. Create a culture of mentorship within the church, where older leaders intentionally invest in younger generations.

3. Integrate practical ministry opportunities into youth and college groups.

4. Normalize conversations about vocational ministry as a viable and honorable life choice.

5. Partner with Apex to put students into meaningful ministry experiences, training and support for calling young leaders into ministry.

David Boerema serves as director for Apex, which serves the local church by mobilizing students for missions and ministry in the EFCA. For 20 years, David served in local church student ministry and is passionate about helping students take the next step in their walk with Jesus. David also serves as the director of NextGen Ministry for EFCA East. David and his wife, Shawna, live in central Pennsylvania and love to spend time with their adult sons, travel and enjoy finely crafted coffee.

Celebrating New EFCA Churches

EFCA churches planted with ReachNetwork in partnership with districts from 2024-2025.

PARK HILLS EN ESPAÑOL, Freeport, Illinois • HIGHLAND COMMUNITY CHURCH - MINISTERIO ESPAÑOL, Wausau, Wisconsin • BLACKHAWK CHURCH - EN ESPAÑOL, Middleton, Wisconsin

HOPE ALIVE HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, Hot Springs Village, Arkansas • IGLESIA COMUNIDAD DEL

CAMINO, Lancaster, California • NORTH COAST CHURCH - TEMECULA, Murrieta, California • CREEK

COMMUNITY CHURCH, Johnson Creek, Wisconsin • IGLESIA DE FE, Indianapolis, Indiana • THE GROVE CHURCH, Champaign, Illinois • THE GATHERING, Maineville, Ohio • REDEEMER CHURCH OF BOSCAWEN, Boscawen, New Hampshire • CLOQUET COMMUNITY CHURCH, Cloquet, Minnesota

FREDENBERG COMMUNITY CHURCH, Duluth, Minnesota • PIONEER GROVE EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH, Loveland, Colorado • REDEMPTION VALLEY CHURCH, Elizabeth, Colorado • CROWN HILL EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH, Lakewood, Colorado • HILL COUNTRY ESPAÑOL, Lakeside, California

Q A

with ReachGlobal Missionaries

Three international disciplemakers share their paths to missions and stories of transformation.

EFCA COMMUNICATIONS

For more than 100 years, the EFCA has sent missionaries around the world to establish the Church where the gospel isn’t known. From Hans Von Qualen, the first international missionary to China, to more than 500 missionaries on almost every continent, the EFCA is committed to the Great Commission’s call to make disciples of all people. To learn more about how God is working through international ministries, we asked three EFCA ReachGlobal missionaries how God called them to missions, how they’re using their gifts in their ministry context and how they’ve seen the gospel transform lives.

JIM SNYDER ReachGlobal Executive Leader for Africa

Q: Tell us about your path to missions – and specifically, your path to ReachGlobal.

During my sophomore year of high school, I was introduced for the first time to the truth of the gospel. Soon thereafter, I sensed God’s call into missions. Initially, I wanted to become a missionary pilot. Flying had been part of my life since childhood, and I loved the idea of being a pilot in some remote part of the world.

After college, I applied to Moody Aviation in Tennessee and was accepted as a mechanic. It was not quite what I had planned, but I found it suited me well. The following year, however, attempting to gain experience as a mechanic in general aviation, I was miserable. The Evangelical Beacon ran an ad asking for help to replace a home that had burned down at Tandala. So, in 1984, my wife and I became missionary candidates with the EFCA International Mission [now ReachGlobal], and a year later, we packed up our two sons (Ben, 2, and Sam, 10 months) and headed to Zaire for a two-year short term.

Following that time, we were tired and felt like we had enough of missions (we also came home with two more sons). When we received a letter from the missionary leadership team in Zaire asking us to return, we some hard decisions to make. I had a great job. We bought a home. Our kids were in a good school. Though I came to this conclusion a few months before my wife Ruth did, we were happy but not content.

It is out of obedience that my wife and I have found our greatest joy and fulfillment.

God stirred our hearts, and we returned to Zaire in 1990. I served as a builder and mechanic, oversaw the maintenance of homes, generators and vehicles for our mission. My wife and I also served as dorm parents at our missionary kids’ boarding school. We never planned to live or work in Africa, but I have now been working there for almost 40 years. It is out of obedience that my wife and I have found our greatest joy and fulfillment.

Q: How are you using your God-given gifts on the mission field?

There are many pieces to successful ministry. The capacity to develop deep, trust-filled relationships takes time, but it all begins there. Knowing the nuances of communication that goes way beyond words is a piece of that. Being inquisitive, becoming intuitive, keeping EQ and IQ in check, and knowing how little or how much needs to be said is all part of adjusting to culture and one’s capacity to work well on a team.

I work closely with ReachGlobal staff to help them see what has not yet been seen and with national partners to remove the veil over what God has already given them so they can do abundantly more than they could have imagined. For me, that’s a big win.

Q: How are you seeing God transform lives in your context – and in what ways can others/churches join you in that work?

I’ve had the privilege of seeing God work through churches that are open to explore what He would have them do in a given ministry context. Just as the Lord uses each of us uniquely, I believe God has a unique purpose for every church to be used in cross-cultural ministry. It’s not just about giving – though many goals have been surpassed as people are prompted by the Lord to give – but also about sending teams into uncomfortable situations to learn, to train, to equip, to become a voice for the ministry. This allows people to see that they can no longer be content on the sidelines of God’s work. I am blessed to help provide pathways for the people in our churches to experience God’s leading and favor in ways they would never otherwise know. The multiplication of ministry, discipleship and church growth that comes through this is incalculable.

HEATHER HALL

GlobalFingerprints Site Coordinator (Gemena, DRC)

Q: Tell us about your path to missions – and specifically, your path to ReachGlobal.

God has been preparing me for the mission field for almost 25 years. Looking to combine my childhood interest in culture with my desire to pursue healthcare, I felt God call me to medical missions at age 15.

I pursued a bachelor’s degree in nursing with a minor in missions and cross-cultural ministries and later worked for a year as a nurse at a mission hospital in Kenya, East Africa. During this time, I pursued my interest in culture by working with the mission hospital’s community health and development program. I realized my true passion for global public health and community development and felt God leading me to use that as my platform for missions. So, I pursued a master’s degree in global public health nursing and worked for three years at a health department in Ohio as a program manager for the tuberculosis, refugee and immigration programs.

I had searched for an organization that shared my value of empowering people in ways that bring about lasting change.

I first heard about ReachGlobal after connecting with long-term missionary, Holly Freitas, at a medical missions conference. She has been a mentor and friend for almost 12 years and gave me my first glimpse into the life of a ReachGlobal missionary. In addition to their focus on missionary care, I had searched for an organization that shared my value of empowering people in ways that bring about lasting change.

Q: How are you using your God-given gifts on the mission field?

I began working with GlobalFingerprints – ReachGlobal’s child sponsorship program – as a program development consultant in 2019. After connecting with our site in Gemena, DRC, God opened the opportunity to serve long-term as the GlobalFingerprints Congo site coordinator. The site partners with the local church, the Free Church of Congo (CECU), and serves close to 2,000 children.

I provide leadership to our GlobalFingerprints Congo field staff who are all from the local church – the team that oversees the educational, medical, nutritional, physical and spiritual needs of the sponsored children. Built upon the foundation of relationship, I also work to empower the site’s leadership and strengthen the site’s infrastructure through training and program development consulting.

At the heart of this work are our GlobalFingerprints care workers – they are our frontline workers. Conducting monthly home visits to each of their kids, the GlobalFingerprints care worker may be the only caring person in that child’s life and is often the only person who shares the gospel with the child and their family.

Q: How are you seeing God transform lives in your context – and in what ways can others/churches join you in that work?

For Landrine, a child in the GlobalFingerprints Congo program, her spiritual life was not good. The GlobalFingerprints care worker and program manager counseled her and connected her to a local pastor – she eventually became a believer and was baptized just before Christmas. At the Elikya Center – our sibling ministry that is a vocational training center – there were 30 baptisms this past year.

Bodja, a boy who came from Brahmanism, attended New Horizon School – our sibling ministry that is a private Christian school – and learned about Jesus through different devotions at school. He would continually go home and act as a pastor with his friends. Bodja now loves Jesus to the point of influencing his mother and grandpa who became Christians.

Pray for the Church in Congo to continue to grow deep in their love of and walk with the Lord. People can also join us by sponsoring a child.

AARON BURCHFIELD

Berlin City Team Leader (Berlin, Germany)

Q: Tell us about your path to missions – and specifically, your path to ReachGlobal.

Before joining ReachGlobal, we led an ordinary life back home. I had a career in corporate banking, and Denise was a stay-at-home mom after leaving a corporate sales job at a telecommunications company. Missions was on our hearts, but we assumed it was not for us. Over time, God nudged us out of our comfort zone. We felt a growing burden for places where so few know Jesus – a place like Berlin, where countless people have never met a follower of Christ. Our introduction to ReachGlobal came through our church family. ReachGlobal’s vision to invest in disciplemakers to establish the Church where the gospel isn’t known resonated deeply. We loved that they were about people and relationships, genuine discipleship, local relationships and long-term impact.

Q: How are you using your God-given gifts on the mission field?

I serve on the Berlin City Team leadership, so I spend a lot of time encouraging, coaching and equipping our team on the ground. I get to walk alongside teammates – helping them grow, problem-solve and thrive in their calling. Denise’s gift for connection and mentoring shines in more personal ways. She regularly meets one-on-one with teammates, local believers, not-yet-believing friends and neighbors by listening, praying and offering steady encouragement. We also volunteer together at a local neighborhood café where we serve coffee and waffles – but more importantly, we’re present with people.

Q: How are you seeing God transform lives in your context – and in what ways can others/churches join you in that work?

One story that stands out: a friend came to a church plant hangout – just a casual BBQ and bowling night. Something about the community sparked curiosity, and over time, honest questions turned into deep conversations about faith. Eventually, someone asked, “What’s keeping you from coming to Jesus?” He paused and said, “Nothing.” That day, he gave his life to Christ. A few weeks later, we celebrated his baptism in a Berlin lake. Today, he’s growing in his faith and sharing it with others.

Not all transformation happens quickly. For years, our next-door neighbors were kind but distant – common in Berlin culture. Then, something shifted. A simple comment in a hallway led to a realization: we’d lived beside each other for six years but barely knew one another. Then everything changed. We shared coffee, swapped stories and spent hours in conversation. One day, they came over just to talk and process something deeply emotional. It was a sacred moment of trust. Since then, they’ve invited us in as true friends. We believe these are the first steps on their journey toward Jesus.

One day, they came over just to talk and process something deeply emotional. It was a sacred moment of trust. Since then, they’ve invited us in as true friends. We believe these are the first steps on their journey toward Jesus.

We can’t do this alone. Several churches have come to Berlin, walked our streets, met our community and caught the vision. Whether you pray, send or come, thank you for walking with us. God is moving – and we’re grateful to have you in it.

Explore

more stories like this at give.efca.org/missionaries.

GLOBAL

GLOBAL FINGERPRINTS

Photos taken by ReachGlobal missionaries John and Kate Rechin.

GlobalFingerprints Helped Us Start a CrossCultural Partnership bob travis:

How one EFCA church built a relationship with churches in Southeast Asia through the EFCA's child sponsorship ministry.

In 2019, several leaders at Lancaster Evangelical Free Church, including senior pastor Tony Hunt, designated Southeast Asia as an area of strategic focus. I came on board [as the pastor of mobilization] in 2022, and we decided to go ahead and do a real push for child sponsorship with GlobalFingerprints. For two weeks, we got the word out. We set up a table in our church lobby for people to come, learn about child sponsorship, consider the opportunity and pray. In those two weeks, the church sponsored 170 children from Southeast Asia. Since then, I’ve traveled twice to Southeast Asia to participate in the GlobalFingerprints ministry there. I will likely be going back with GlobalFingerprints’ staff this fall.

We align with GlobalFingerprints’ passion for multiplying churches – knowing sponsorship helps children, which also helps families, which is then a means of seeing new churches planted. The way they use sponsorship as a catalyst for church planting is a great fit.

We want relationships with our ministry partners, but it’s difficult to build relationships so far apart. So, our church sends teams to Southeast Asia to do leadership development. One of our administrative staff is going to Southeast Asia with her family this summer. We’ve also sent five families from our church to do full-time missions there.

In November 2023, a Southeast Asian pastor who serves as the leader of a network that works with GlobalFingerprints spent five days at our church. That relational connection was wonderful. After the service, I gathered all the elders, mobilization team leaders, staff and their spouses, and we had lunch together. The pastor shared about the ministry, and he and I interviewed each other, which helped our leadership and church family feel personally connected to what we’re doing there.

We also want this long-term relationship to be reciprocal, where we’re mutually building one another up. I was training pastors with GlobalFingerprints staff this past October, and I asked them what we could learn from their ministry. One example was prayer. They can help teach our church the meaning and value of prayer because of their struggles – the trials of planting churches and carrying out gospel ministry in a place that’s often closed to the Word of God.

Unremarkable at First Glance

Remember your leaders. Consider their lives. Imitate their faith.

JAMES PETERSEN

Behind the door in my office hang my diplomas and my ordination certificate. Most people who come into my office never see them – and that’s okay, because they’re there to remind me of my training and my calling.

A few months ago, I paused and read through the yellowing parchments. I was surprised to realize that this year, 2025, marks 30 years since I was ordained. That thought took me to memories of my ordination service, and then to a pastor by the name of Bob.

REMEMBER YOUR LEADERS

I recently had lunch with Bob, who is 97 years old. Bob was my parents’ pastor when I was born. He, along with my mom and dad, dedicated me as an infant at Bethany Evangelical Free Church in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1963. Through his faithful, persevering ministry as a pastor, Bob called his congregations to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Rom 12:2).

Bob’s preaching, shepherding and vibrant spirit were tools God used to bring about gospel transformation in thousands of lives, even though he worked primarily in small and mediumsized churches. His biblically grounded, Spirit-empowered ministry continues to bear fruit long after he has moved on to serve elsewhere. This is how God multiplies the impact of transformation: like pebbles thrown into a pond, our words and actions ripple outward in ways we may never fully see. Transformational ministry carries forward in ways we often can’t measure.

This is how God multiplies the impact of transformation: like pebbles thrown into a pond, our words and actions ripple outward in ways we may never fully see. Transformational ministry carries forward in ways we often can't measure.

As long as I can remember, Bob and my dad were close friends. Even after Bob moved on to serve other churches, our families kept in touch – not just with the obligatory Christmas letters, but through regular correspondence. At times, Bob and his family even became vacation destinations for us. Once both couples became empty nesters, they would meet up for fun and fellowship.

It was only in the last year that I reconnected with Bob, who lives just 45 minutes from my office in Minneapolis. What has stood out to me from eating lunch with Bob is that his influence on my life has almost all been indirect. Bob was not my friend; he was my dad’s friend, and they were friends long before I was born.

Having a good friend makes a profound difference in a man’s life. My dad was a better father because he had a good friend and a good pastor. As a result, my dad grew in his faith, studied his Bible, and led family prayer and devotions at most evening meals during my childhood. While my dad made his own decisions about how to spiritually lead our family, I suspect Bob’s influence played a role in that, which subsequently had a lasting impact on me.

CONSIDER THEIR LIVES

One of my favorite stories about Bob took place in 1965, just a few years after I was born. While Bob was pastoring Bethany EFC, God led him and the congregation to plant two new Free Churches in Madison. At the time, Bethany was centrally located, and the city was expanding east and west. With God’s guidance, Bob planted both churches simultaneously. He preached early on Sunday morning at the mother church, then preached at the east side church later in the morning. After a nap, Bob would head to the west side for an evening service. Today, those churches –Door Creek Church (EFCA) and Blackhawk Church (EFCA) – are two of the largest in the county, and Bethany continues to serve central Madison, hosting multiple ethnic congregations.

My parents were sent out from Bethany as founding members of Door Creek (originally called Buckeye EFC). Although Bob did not serve as my pastor, I was raised in a church he helped start. It was in that church I came to faith in Jesus Christ, was discipled and baptized. This church nurtured me through my school years. During my freshman semester in college, the church gave me a scholarship to attend Urbana ‘81, which changed the trajectory of my life. Two years later, they supported me on a three-month mission experience. Later, after I married in the church, they provided me with a modest scholarship each semester during my time at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School to show their affirmation and support. All these blessings in my life trace back to Bob’s obedience to God.

While most of Bob’s impact on my life was indirect, there were two key moments in my adult life when he was very much present. The first came in 1995, when I had gone through the ordination process. My congregation was planning an ordination service, and when they asked me who I wanted to preach that

POLAROID 1: BOB AND HIS WIFE, MARGARET.

POLAROID 2: BOB, MARGARET AND THEIR FAMILY.

James Petersen grew up in the EFCA and earned an M.Div. ('90) and Th.M. ('91) at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Ordained by the EFCA, he served as a senior pastor for 25 years in a variety of church settings. With a lifelong heart for missions, James began with EFCA ReachGlobal in August 2015. Having served as interim international leader for Africa and executive director of personnel for missionaries, he now serves as a member of the ReachGlobal Leadership Team during a season of transition. James is married to Jennifer, and they have five married children and ten grandchildren. He and his wife are artists and beekeepers in their spare time.

Sunday, I first thought of Dr. Ivan York, the district superintendent, and then Dr. David Larsen, my homiletics mentor. But then I thought of Bob – a faithful, persevering, local church pastor who had held me as an infant. That morning, after Bob preached, he, my father, the district superintendent, and the church chairman laid hands on me and prayed at the close of the service.

The second moment came in 2009. In his retirement years, Bob was part of a gospel quartet and called me to see if our church would be willing to host a concert. We agreed, and the concert was well-received. Afterward, at our home for dessert, Bob and his wife, Margaret, asked how things were going at the church. We shared that, after a three-year building campaign and significant facility expansion, we were in a season of conflict and discouragement. Bob and Margaret listened without judgment, then shared their own experience of church conflict at Bethany. After 40 years, though living with forgiveness, there were still painful memories. With tears, they shared how my parents had walked with them during that difficult season, and how their friendship had developed out of it. I had never heard that story.

That evening was transformative for my wife and me. Sometimes, what we do feels small and insignificant, but it matters. God uses it. And often, he multiplies it in ways we cannot fully comprehend. On the grand stage of life, Bob is like most of us: unremarkable at first glance. Yet, God’s transformative work in us goes far beyond us. The faithfulness and perseverance of a transformed life truly is remarkable. God takes it all, and by his grace, he multiplies it “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20-21).

Sometimes, what we do feels small and insignificant, but it matters. God uses it. And often, he multiplies it in ways we cannot fully comprehend.

IMITATE THEIR FAITH

In recent visits with Bob, he has shared many stories about the ups and downs of pastoral ministry and the personal challenges he faced. For a decade, he watched his wife slowly decline from Alzheimer’s and eventually pass away. He recounted the joy of falling in love again, remarrying and the sadness of planning another funeral.

Perhaps the most poignant moment for me came when I asked him to tell me what my dad was like when he was in his 30s. Bob began to speak, then choked up, placing his head down to gather himself. After a moment, he looked up at me with a broken voice and said, “Your dad was a great friend.” That’s all he could manage to say, so we sat in silence.

I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on Bob’s faithful and persevering work, and how God has multiplied that work in my life in countless ways, both direct and indirect. I will always think of Bob when I read Hebrews 13:7, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”

Bob retired 30 years ago, and while he may not feel as transformative as he once did, from what I can discern, he’s still living a transformative life. Most of his friends have passed, and he is increasingly aware that his time on earth is limited. As he recently told me, “I’m old. I’m not going to be around much longer.” That brings me joy – not because of his approaching death, which will come to us all – but because of his faithful, persevering heart, and his hope for a new facet of gospel transformation that is just around the corner.

PASTOR BOB FALLT (LEFT) AND JAMES PETERSEN (RIGHT).

KEVIN KOMPELIEN:

The Free Church Has Blessed Me Beyond Words

The EFCA President Emeritus shares his heart for the movement that raised, shaped and loved him.

The Free Church is the air I’ve breathed my entire life.

The pastor of the church at the time I was born, Thief River Falls Evangelical Free Church, was on the 1950 EFCA Merger Committee. The pastor that followed him was Wes Johnson, who became the district superintendent of the EFCA Great Lakes District. There were two families from our church that led evangelistic meetings in Free Churches all over the country, and we had a constant stream of Free Church missionaries come through our church, many of whom stayed in my family’s home.

Wes Johnson’s son, Larry, was one of my best buddies in elementary school. I was in their house all the time. I had the chance to understand the heart of a pastor from the perspective of his family. One of my dad’s older sisters also married a Free Church pastor, so I grew up 1) with an uncle who was a Free Church pastor, 2) being in a Free Church pastor’s house all the time and 3) hearing a great deal about what was happening in the Free Church in the U.S. and around the world.

THE FORMATIONAL YEARS

I trace a great deal of my spiritual heritage back to a little Free Church camp called Cooperstown Bible Camp in Cooperstown, North Dakota. In junior high, that’s where I said, “Yes” to fully following Jesus. Every year in high school, my church went to the Free Church Youth Fellowship National Conference, which was the precursor to Challenge.

In youth group, there was a volunteer youth leader named Wally who invested in us. I remember him saying, “I can’t do this full-time, but I’ll teach you how to do things.” He taught us how to study the Bible and lead Bible studies, to lead groups and events. That was just normal for him – it was intentional disciplemaking, before we called it that.

From that youth group, a number of us became missionaries, pastors and leaders in local churches. Two were instrumental in starting two international missions agencies. One taught for years at Denver Seminary. And, lo and behold, another guy out of that youth group ended up being the president of the Free Church. I grew up seeing my parents engage in and enjoy being a part of a local church family – where other adults invested and spoke into my life – and it was a powerful experience. The church was family for me.

ANSWERING THE CALL

When I’d come home from college, there was an older Scandanavian man who’d come up to me on Sunday mornings. With his cane and his coffee breath, he would walk slowly across the sanctuary, get right up in my face and say, “Young man, God has gifted you for ministry. When are you going to answer his call?”

After my freshman year at Trinity College, God began to nudge me into ministry. When I came to TEDS in 1979, it was ground zero for the discussion on the inerrancy in Scripture in North American evangelicalism. Because of that, people asked me, “Is that why you chose to go to TEDS?” I said, “No, I went because it’s the Free Church seminary, and I want to be a pastor in an EFCA church.” I saw what the movement of churches meant, and it mattered to me.

I met and married Becky during my time at TEDS, and after graduating, the Lord led us to Pleasant Valley Church (EFCA) in Winona, Minnesota. They’d been through a major split six years earlier, and we were able to come in, love the people and watch God do His reconciling work. During that time, I got involved with the North Central District of the EFCA. They said, “We need churches planted in southeast Minnesota,” so I joined the church planting committee and watched God work in church plants across southeast Minnesota.

BECKY AND KEVIN WITH MERV SEASHORE, THEN-NORTH CENTRAL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT, AFTER KEVIN’S INSTALLATION SERVICE IN WINONA.

All four of our kids were born in Winona, and we quickly outgrew the parsonage. After searching for almost a year, the Lord opened up a house just five doors down from where we’d been living. We bought it, painted everything and told people, “We’re here for the long haul.” Little did we know, the day Becky unpacked the last box, we’d get a call from a Free Church in San Jose, California.

The Lord moved our family to Hillside Church (EFCA) in San Jose – a church that really cared about reaching their community and the world. At the time, San Jose was one-third Hispanic and had one of the largest Vietnamese populations outside of Vietnam, and we launched a ministry for recent immigrants in a neighborhood near the church. God grew the church, and He grew our heart for all people in our community.

We also launched a ministry to an unreached Islamic people group in Tanzania. I love the Free Church’s heart for missions, and one of the reasons we got involved in Tanzania was to work with ReachGlobal to see churches established. Over an eightyear window, our church sent 60-plus people to Tanzania. I also went multiple times, training Tanzanian leaders and Sudanese refugees in Uganda.

Given those connections, ReachGlobal invited me to speak at the ReachGlobal Africa division conference in 2005. When I came back, I wrote to ReachGlobal leadership and said, “Thanks for the opportunity to invest in your missionaries. Our church cares about Africa, and if there’s anything I can do to help with the work in Africa, let me know.” Two weeks later, they emailed back, “Have you ever thought about leading the ReachGlobal Africa division?” I almost fell out of my chair.

Becky and I spent almost a decade leading the ReachGlobal Africa division, and it was amazing to see all the places God took us. I remember sitting in a mud-walled, thatched-roof house in the middle of rural Congo, meeting with Congolese pastors, and thinking, “What is a kid from Thief River Falls doing here?” Yet, God opened doors, and through a movement of national leaders, we saw almost 4,000 churches planted over the next decade.

When [EFCA President] Bill Hamel announced he was retiring, I did what everybody else did: I started praying for the next president. Then I got an email from the search committee saying, “Your name’s been given to us as someone who could provide leadership for the Free Church.” Becky and I spent two and a half months praying, asking the Lord if I should even apply.

This was never my preferred career trajectory. One of the application questions was, “Why do you want to be EFCA President?” My answer was, “I really don’t want to be EFCA President. But if I can help the Free Church, I’ll serve however I can.”

A MESSAGE TO THE FREE CHURCH

The greatest honor and privilege of my life of ministry has been serving as the Free Church president.

The Free Church is who I am. Nobody sat me down and taught me the History, Theology and Polity Course. I lived the History, Theology and Polity Course. It’s fascinating how God used all my experiences growing up and serving in ministry in the Free Church and said, “I’ve entrusted all that to you; now I want you to lead our movement.” God used the Free Church to shape me, and I think He allowed me to be a part of helping keep the Free Church, the Free Church.

If someone asked me, “What do you want to leave from your time as EFCA President?”, I would say two things. First, in everything we do, we must never take our eyes off Jesus, His mission and His Word. As Walter Kaiser Jr. [former academic dean at TEDS] often said, “Keep your finger on the Text.” Or, as the Scandinavian founders of the Free Church would say, “Where stands it written?”

The second is an idea I happened to say to a missional summit of Free Church leaders in 2015, following our biennial national conference: “We just came from EFCA One. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we functioned like ‘one EFCA?’” That phrase took a life of its own – because it’s who we are. We do this together.

To the Free Church, I say: never forget what God called us to, and never forget who He has called us to be. Ministry will look different in different generations and different places, but if the values are solid, if we have our eyes on Jesus and His mission, if what we do flows out of the Scriptures, if we work together in trusting relationships, we’ll be fine.

It’s been an incredible blessing to have spent my life in the EFCA. I’ve met some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met anywhere – from people in small churches in rural communities, to large churches in major cities, to incredibly bright people at TEDS, to mission leaders and national partners around the world. I am blessed beyond anything I can put into words.

KEVIN, BECKY AND THEIR FOUR YOUNG CHILDREN.

KEVIN (RIGHT) ON HILLSIDE EFC’S FIRST MISSION TRIP TO TANZANIA.

To the Free Church, I say: never forget what God called us to, and never forget who He has called us to be. “

EFCA MINISTRY DIRECTORY

EFCA NATIONAL OFFICE

Office of the President officeofthepresident@efca.org

Theology, Credentialing and Care theology@efca.org | credentialing.efca.org Chaplains chaplains@efca.org | efca.org/chaplains

Pastoral Care pastoralcare@efca.org

Placement Services placement@efca.org | pastorsearch.efca.org

Communications communications@efca.org

Ministry Advancement ministryadvancement@efca.org efca.org/ministry-advancement

Donor Services give@efca.org | give.efca.org

Human Resources jobs@efca.org | jobs.efca.org

Administration and Building Services adminfin@efca.org

Missionary Personnel engageteam@efca.org

Archives archives@efca.org

Events events@efca.org | events.efca.org

INSTITUTIONS

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School tiu.edu/divinity

Trinity Western University twu.ca

PARTNERS

Christian Investors Financial (CIF) christianinvestors.org

FCMM fcmmbenefits.org

Immigrant Hope immigranthope.org

NextStep Resources nextstepresources.com

REACHNATIONAL

efca.org/reachnational

All People Initiative

Multicultural Ministries efca.org/all-people-initiative

Disability and Special Needs Ministry efca.org/all-people-initiative

GATEWAY efcagateway.org

Prepared prepared@efca.org | efca.org/prepared

ReachNetwork (church planting) reachnetwork@efca.org efca.org/reachnetwork

ReachStudents reachstudents@efca.org efca.org/reachstudents

Apex apex@efca.org | apexmissions.org

REACHGLOBAL efca.org/reachglobal

Africa africa@efca.org | efca.org/africa

Asia asia@efca.org | efca.org/asia

Europe europe@efca.org | efca.org/europe

Latin America and Caribbean latinamerica@efca.org | efca.org/lac

Middle East and North Africa mena@efca.org | efca.org/mena

Crisis Response

crisisresponse@efca.org efca.org/crisis-response

Global Equipping globalequipping@efca.org efca.org/global-equipping

GlobalFingerprints (child sponsorship) globalfingerprints@efca.org globalfingerprints.org

DISTRICTS

Allegheny Rev. Kerry S. Doyal – Superintendent allegheny@efca.org | allegheny.districts.efca.org

EFCA Central Rev. Mike Shields – Superintendent office@efcacentral.org | efcacentral.org

EFCA East Rev. Tony Balsamo – Superintendent Dr. Cedrick Brown – Superintendent efcaeast@efca.org | efcaeast.com

EFCA Southeast Rev. Marc Ramirez – Superintendent southeast@efca.org | efca-southeast.districts.efca.org

EFCA Texas-Oklahoma District Dr. Brent Burkart – Superintendent multiply@efcatxok.org | efcatxok.org

EFCA West Rev. Tim Jacobs – Superintendent efcawest@efca.org | efcawest.org

Forest Lakes District Rev. Jon Payne – Superintendent info@forestlakes-efca.org | forestlakes-efca.org

Great Lakes District Rev. Brett Gleason – Superintendent gld@gld-efca.org | gld-efca.org

Hawaii District Rev. Matt Dirks – Superintendent matt@harborhawaii.org

Inland Mountain District Dr. Rick Weinert – Superintendent admin@inlandmtn.org | inland-mountain.districts.efca.org

Midwest District Dr. Colby Kinser – Superintendent mwd@efcamidwest.org | efcamidwest.org

North Central District Rev. Brian Farone – Superintendent ncd@ncdefca.org | ncdefca.org

Northern Plains District Dr. Brian Wright – Superintendent office@npdefca.com | npdefca.com

New England District Rev. Sam Huggard – Superintendent office@efcneda.org | efcneda.org

Pacific Northwest District Rob Chadwick – Superintendent info@efcapnw.org | efcapnw.org

Rocky Mountain District Rev. Barry Vetger – Superintendent bvetger@rockymountaindistrict.org rockymountaindistrict.org

Western District Rev. Matt Moore – Superintendent matt@westerndistrict.org | westerndistrict.org

Biblical and Missional. United and Free.

Transformation requires change – and anchors us in what doesn’t.

CARLTON P. HARRIS

When I accepted the position of EFCA executive vice president of national ministries in 2021, it required significant change. It was uncomfortable and unknown. It took embracing uncertainty and risk. It certainly felt like a step of faith, as did each new place God called us – from Wichita to Houston to Cleveland Heights to San Diego. As did accepting the role of acting EFCA president last spring.

Yet, despite the uncertainty, Carol and I felt peace about the decision – because we knew our feet were firmly planted. Given my previous experience with the EFCA – interning at First Free Wichita (EFCA) with Pastor Mike Andrus, subscribing to the Evangelical Beacon and Pursuit Magazine – we knew that, even though our circumstances were changing, our foundation was steady.

Carol and I knew the heart, the ethos, the mission of the EFCA – in other words, what has not changed during the last 75 years – and that firm foundation is what helped us to confidently step into this change.

Since my introduction to the movement, I have known two things to be abundantly clear about the Evangelical Free Church of America. First, we are a people of the Book; we love and cherish the Word of God. Second, we are a people who live out our evangelical heritage with an unwavering commitment to the Great Commission. Free Church people are biblical and missional. Tethered to the Text, committed to our calling.

I witnessed this back in 1981 through Pastor Mike Andrus’ biblical preaching and heart for church planting, and I’ve continued to see it as I intersect with leaders from across the EFCA in my current role as acting president.

One thing, among many, that I love about our biblical and missional DNA is how significant they have been to our identity as a movement. These core traits keep the Evangelical Free Church of America united doctrinally, relationally and missionally, even in the midst of disagreement. They provide a solid foundation, which frees each pastor, each congregation, each community to bring the gospel to their unique context.

God, in His providence, has knit together a movement of churches who value the gift of our freedom – spiritually and organizationally – but our unity is a choice. One of our favorite words as a movement is “autonomy.” However, coupled with autonomy is the importance of “interdependence.” We willingly and joyfully choose to unite around our theological convictions to fulfill the mandate of the Great Commission.

This summarizes what we all know about the EFCA: We are biblical and missional, united and free. It is because of these inherent traits, inseparable from the identity of the EFCA, that I believe we will see God continue a work of transformation in and through our movement.

In these pages, I hope you caught a glimpse of that transformative work. Of biblical truths transforming lives as they move from head to heart. Of individual transformation inspiring relational, church and community transformation. Of the Holy Spirit’s power to multiply the simple work of a faithful saint who’s “unremarkable at first glance.”

We are biblical and missional, united and free. It is because of these inherent traits, inseparable from the identity of the EFCA, that I believe we will see God continue a work of transformation in and through our movement.

True transformation requires change – and anchors us in what doesn’t. Together, let’s remain tethered to Scripture, to our mission and to one another as we meet needs in the spaces God ordains for those of us who call the EFCA “home.” As we do, I believe we will fulfill our mission to glorify God multiply transformational churches among all people.

Carlton Harris started ministry in 1981 as a pastoral intern at First Evangelical Free Church in Wichita, Kansas, and has spent 40 years in church leadership. He began his role at the EFCA national office leading the ReachNational division in September 2021 and was named acting president of the EFCA in April 2024. He and his wife, Carol, are members at New Hope Church (EFCA) in New Hope, Minnesota.

“

“ “ why we serve: Faces of the EFCA National Office

I serve at the EFCA national office as the director of accounting, coordinating financial operations to support our ministries. I am thankful to have a role in which I can combine my love for numbers and ministry work, stewarding funds to see the gospel shared. Though most of our work is behind the scenes, I know the Lord is using my team as we serve our churches and missionaries, sending funds around the globe to support efforts like church planting, crisis response and child sponsorship. I spend much of my time meeting with ministry leaders to answer their financial questions and develop strategies to meet their ministry goals. In my role, I also get to see firsthand how the generosity of our donors helps meet our financial needs, and it is humbling and encouraging to see the Lord at work in this way. I am grateful to serve at an organization where dependence on God, prayer, sharing the gospel and excellence in our work are valued and lived out daily.

COURTNEY BLESI DIRECTOR OF ACCOUNTING

The EFCA’s mission – to glorify God by multiplying transformational churches among all people – compels me to serve at the EFCA national office. As the director of multicultural ministries, I am privileged to collaborate with a team of leaders who equip and encourage churches to engage and disciple marginalized imagebearers of Christ. We often return to a phrase: “We are better together.” Through both progress and setbacks, we remain steadfast in pursuing Christ and the personal transformation necessary to reflect the vision of the Church described in Revelation 7:9: “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

APRIL WARFIELD DIRECTOR OF MULTICULTURAL MINISTRIES

I am so humbled and honored to serve as the director of pastoral theology and care. As a fellow under-shepherd who has encountered the grace of God in both my own brokenness and brokenness in the local church, the Lord has formed my heart to come alongside my brothers and sisters in ministry. As recent statistics have shown, more pastors are leaving the profession, and fewer are entering it. It is in the crucible of the unique pressure of pastoral ministry that our sin and brokenness are brought to the surface and even magnified. In light of such pressures, my heart is to be used by the Holy Spirit in this role to help catalyze a movement of mutual care, vulnerability, grace-filled accountability and personal transformation through the gospel among our pastors.

SCOTT BARBER DIRECTOR OF PASTORAL THEOLOGY AND CARE

From all of us at the EFCA national office, we are grateful and honored to serve you and your church – with projects like The Movement – as we all seek to glorify God by multiplying transformational churches among all people.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Carlton Harris, Acting President

Carole Lehn, Executive Vice President of Operations

Rae Phillips, Chief Strategy Officer

Scott Sterner, Executive Vice President of National Ministries

Kate Downs, Executive Assistant to the President

NATIONAL MINISTRIES

Grace Gould, National Ministries and ReachNetwork Manager and Executive Assistant

Maria Linn, Ministry Coordinator of ReachNetwork

David Boerema, Apex Missions Director

April Warfield, Director of Multicultural Ministries

Ben Johnson, Director of Immigrant Hope

Paul Miller, Director of ReachStudents

Molly Brant, ReachStudents Administrative Associate

Alex Rauch, GATEWAY Ministry Coordinator

EVENTS

Laurie Seay, Events Director

Tracy Maas, Events Coordinator

FINANCE, HUMAN RESOURCES, ADMINISTRATION AND BUILDING SERVICES

Courtney Blesi, Director of Accounting

Angel Bird, Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis

Kari Berglund, Manager of Finance

Becky Dahlen, Purchase Card Administrator

Becky Anderson, Financial Operations Accountant

Kayla Carter, Trust and Payables Supervisor

Heide Becker, Accounting Assistant

Curt Swanson, Accounting Assistant, Trust and Payroll

Emily Moak, Director of Human Resources

Jaci Suarez, Senior Payroll Specialist

Tilly Plunger, Human Resources Administrator

Talis Rudzitis, Manager of Administrative Services

Randy Smith, Building Maintenance Coordinator

John Caflisch, Mail Center Coordinator

Terry Smith, Copy Center Coordinator

Terry LaPlante, Copy and Graphics Coordinator

Magna McSpedon, Administrative Assistant

Sarah St. Julien, Receptionist

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Jason Blanchard, Director of Information Technology

Peter Olson, Technical Support Analyst

MINISTRY ADVANCEMENT

Lanny Harris, Associate Executive Director of the EFCA Foundation

Zachary Gelineau, Director of Annual Fund and Gift Planning

Denise Heskin, Development Administration Manager

Lizzie Phillips, Administrative Assistant

INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

Interim Leadership:

Revell

DONOR SERVICES

Nyng Yang, Director of Donor Services

Kimiko Huber, Senior Donor Services Associate

Cara Weier, Senior Donor Services Associate

Mai Yang, Donor Services Associate

Jean DuBay, Donor Services Associate

Kim Nagel, Donor Services Associate

THEOLOGY AND CREDENTIALING

Greg Strand, Executive Director of Biblical Theology and Credentialing

Scott Barber, Director of Pastoral Theology and Care

Dani Richards, Administrative Assistant

ARCHIVES

Tom Cairns, Archivist

MISSIONARY PERSONNEL

Drew Pederson, Interim Director of IMA Personnel

Mike Davis, Director of Mobilization

James Lauderdale, Director of Member Care

Mandi Rodger, Associate Director of Ministry Effectiveness

Stewart Humphry, Director of Connect

Harold Golden, Director of Transitions

Amy Medina, Associate Director of Engage

Mark Long, Interim Director of Engage

Liz Blancke, Associate Director of IMA Support Services and Transitions

Larry Couch, Director of Alumni

Sandy Sindelar, Candidate Coach

Rick Stigen, Associate Finance Director

Emily Schomers, ReachGlobal Explore Supervisor

Judy Westrum, Resource Specialist

John Westrum, Personnel Projects

Connie Winston, Administrative Assistant

Deonna Mitchem, Administrative Assistant

Allina Shvedchikov, IMA Administrative Assistant

Leslie Burford, Mobilization Team and Administrative Assistant

COMMUNICATIONS

Nate Thompson, Director of Communications

Kevin Horner, Content Strategist

Jason Ingolfsland, Staff Writer

Natalie Kuhl, Senior Graphic Designer

Kendall Soderstrom, Graphic Designer

Josiah Barrett, Video Producer

May God bless the work you are doing in your local congregation and around the EFCA. If you or your church has a story to share with the movement, let us know at communications@efca.org.