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| Evangelical Church of North America | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Evangelical,Holiness |
| Polity | Congregational-Connectional |
| Associations | Christian Holiness Partnership,National Association of Evangelicals |
| Region | U.S. districts, worldwide missions conferences |
| Origin | 1968 |
| Separated from | Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) |
| Merger of | Holiness Methodist Church (1969), Wesleyan Covenant Church (1975) |
| Congregations | 128 (2010) |
| Members | 12,475 (2000) |
| Official website | https://www.theevangelicalchurch.org/ |
TheEvangelical Church of North America (ECNA) is aWesleyan-Holiness,Protestant Christian denomination headquartered inClackamas, Oregon. As of 2000, the Church had 12,475 members in 133 local churches.[1] The Church sponsors missionaries in seven countries.
Its official emblem is composed of a red flame, symbolizing the fire of theHoly Spirit which descended atPentecost, atop an openBible. It has published an official magazine,The Evangelical Challenge, and a newsletter,The Heartbeat.
| Part ofa series on the |
| Evangelical United Brethren |
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| Background |
| Doctrinal distinctives |
| People |
| Predecessor groups |
| Related movements |
The Evangelical Church of North America was officially born June 4, 1968, inPortland, Oregon. But the origin of The Evangelical Church can be traced back to two earlier movements: theWesleyan awakening inEngland underJohn Wesley, the founder of The Methodist Church, and theUnited Brethren in Christ movement in Pennsylvania, spearheaded by preachers such as William Otterbein andMartin Boehm.
The early Methodists in England and later North America declared that men can be saved from sin, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, and that this experience must be followed by a life of dedication and holiness, or "sanctification."
Meanwhile, the work of the United Brethren in Christ grew rapidly after its first Conference was held inYork County, Pennsylvania, in 1789. These brethren believed that God is a God of order, and that where there is no order and no church discipline, the spirit of love and charity will be lost. This stream of Protestantism found much in common with the early American Methodists—a relationship that would eventually lead up to the formation of theEvangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) in 1946.
At its annual session in 1967, the Pacific Northwest Conference of the EUB Church voted by a two-thirds majority to secede from its parent body and continue to operate as a separate denomination. The action was taken in anticipation of the EUB's upcoming merger with theMethodist Church (USA). Dissenters differed with an increasinglyModernist trend in American Methodism over Biblical authority, "the social gospel," and the doctrine ofEntire Sanctification.
The EUB Book of Discipline (the controlling document of church governance) made no provision for the secession of local congregations or regional conferences, and the denomination did not recognize the validity of the Pacific Northwest Conference's action (or similar votes taken at congregational meetings). The merger between the EUB and The Methodist Church was effected in April 1968, forming theUnited Methodist Church. This action took title to all assets and properties formerly belonging to the Pacific Northwest Conference, including its local churches and organizations.
On June 4, 1968, in Portland, Oregon, forty-six congregations and about eighty ministers met in a session to organize a separate denomination known as the Evangelical Church of North America (ECNA). Before the end of June 1968, laity and ministers fromNorth Dakota andMontana, representing more than twenty additional congregations, had joined.
In 1969, the Evangelical Church entered into a financial settlement agreement with the Methodists whereby the new denomination gained title to some of the facilities of the former EUB Church, including most of the secessionist congregations' property.
That same year, theHoliness Methodist Church united with the Evangelical Church, bringing along a mission field inBolivia. In 1975, theWesleyan Covenant Church, became part of the Evangelical Church, along with its missionary work inMexico andBrownsville, Texas, and its work among theNavajo Indians inNew Mexico. At some point theEvangelical Church in Canada was formed as a conference of the ECNA, but by 1993 it separated and merged into theEvangelical Missionary Church of Canada (EMCC).[2]
A mention was made at the 2006 General Conference of theEvangelical Methodist Church (EMC) of talks of a possible merger with the ECNA. By 2014, the denominations were sharing a common ministry training school.[3]
The Evangelical Church is stronglyWesleyan-Arminian, emphasizingfree will overdeterminism and salvation through a two separate and instantaneous acts ofGrace,justification andsanctification, attained throughFaith resulting inrepentance. This, together withBiblical inerrancy and belief in a direct command of God to universallyevangelize, are common to the various bodies which comprise theHoliness movement. The Church has an official Statement of Faith, which is based on that of the Methodism inherited from the EUB, but which has been revised to make these emphases of doctrine more specific andEvangelical.
The polity of the Evangelical Church can be described ascongregational-connectional. Like other denominations in the Methodist tradition, the principal governing body of the Evangelical Church is a general conference, with delegates from each of six regional conferences. The regional conferences meet annually with delegates from each of the local congregations within their respective territories. The Church does not have bishops, but is led by Conference Superintendents and a General Superintendent, who are elected to fixed terms, and who all have pastoral and administrative responsibilities.
The Evangelical Church is a member of the Christian Holiness Association and theNational Association of Evangelicals. The Evangelical Church is a missionary oriented church averaging at least one adult missionary per local church. The three major organizations supported, beyond the Evangelical Church Missions department, areOMS International,World Gospel Mission andWycliffe Bible Translators. In addition, Evangelical Church members serve through a score of other interdenominational missions organizations.
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