International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches

International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches
AbbreviationIFFEC
ClassificationEvangelical Christianity
(Pietistic and Radical Pietistic)
Region33 countries
HeadquartersWitten, Germany
Origin1948
Members700,000
Official websiteiffec.org

International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC) is an international federation of evangelical free churches that trace their roots to the Radical Pietist movement (which split off/diverged from Pietistic Lutheranism). The member federations predominantly originate from Europe and the Americas.

History

The history of the Federation has roots in a 19th century European pietist movement.[1] IFFEC was founded in Bern, Switzerland, in 1948 by unions of free evangelical churches from various countries.[2]

Statistics

According to a census published by the association in 2023, it had 31 national member associations, with 700,000 members in 33 countries.[3]

The two largest member federations are the Evangelical Covenant Church and the Evangelical Free Church of America in the United States. The two largest European federations are in Sweden and Germany. The two largest federations in Asia are both in India, Evangelical Free Church of India,[4] Hindustani Covenant Church.[5]

Beliefs

The Federation has a confession of faith based on the beliefs of the Believers' Church.[6]

References

  1. ^ J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1417
  2. ^ J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedia of American Religions, Gale, USA, 2003, p. 389
  3. ^ IFFEC, MEMBER FEDERATIONS, iffec.org, Germany, retrieved May 5, 2023
  4. ^ Studio, Alienleaf. "Evangelical Free Church of India".
  5. ^ "Hindustani Covenant Church".
  6. ^ IFFEC, CONSTITUTION, iffec.org, Germany, retrieved May 8, 2021