County of church: Franklin County
Location of church 8th St. & Burnside St., Washington
Phone: (636) 432-5052
Pastor: Rev. George Dohm
Never knew this church existed, even with the many days spent in this town. I was Googling the two Lutheran Churches, when I noticed it on the map.
I traveled there on my trip to photo the two Lutheran churches, and found it quiet.
I looked for someone to talk to about the church (a car was in the lot), but no answer to my knock, so ... only info. is the quoted stuff.
"On June 8, 2014 a group of 102 gathered at our current facility on Eighth Street in Washington. At that time, we were simply a body of believers, one family, but without a church name, bank account, or chairs! Well, we had chairs, but they were borrowed. God was at work at New Life Church from the very beginning and we have been blessed to be on this journey! Under the Lord's guidance, many things fell into place in the first few months at New Life Church. We saw much giving from our church family...of time, of talents, and of financial gifts. We were able to purchase (or received donations of) most of the necessary items for our worship services (chairs included!) and for the business of operating a church. On September 7, 2014, a celebratory Launch Sunday was held. After a summer of laying the framework and working out the kinks, the church was ready for a public launch. In addition, New Life Church has entered into the courtship phase of association with the Evangelical Free Church of America, which aligns most closely with our beliefs and mission as a church." ~ New Life Church
Evangelical Free Church of America
"The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is a Christian denomination in the evangelical Protestant tradition. The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association.
"The Swedish Evangelical Free Church formed as the Swedish Evangelical Free Mission in Boone, Iowa, in October 1884. Several churches that had been members of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Ansgar Synod and the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Synod, along with some independent congregations, were instrumental in organizing this voluntary fellowship. In the same year, two Norwegian-Danish groups in Boston, Massachusetts, and Tacoma, Washington, began to fellowship together. By 1912, they had formed the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association. The Swedish and Norwegian-Danish bodies united in June 1950 at a merger conference held at the Medicine Lake Conference Grounds near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The two bodies represented 275 local congregations at the time of the merger.
"The EFCA shares some early ties with those who formed the Swedish Evangelical Covenant Church. It has been a member of the National Association of Evangelicals since 1943, the year after that organization was formed
"In its Statement of Faith, the Evangelical Free Church of America affirms the authority and inerrancy of the Bible; the Trinity; atonement through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ; original sin; Christ as head of the church and the local church's right to self government; the personal and imminent return of Christ; the bodily resurrection of the dead; and the two ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper.
"The EFCA passed a substantial revision to its Statement of Faith on June 26, 2008, the first revision since the Statement was first adopted in 1950. This revision was proposed in order “to update archaic language, to clarify some theological ambiguities, to seek greater theological precision, to address new issues, to have a SoF that would be better suited to be used as a teaching tool in our churches.” Specific beliefs based on biblical interpretation can vary somewhat due to the congregational governance system that gives autonomy to individual local EFCA churches.
"The EFCA does not ordain women. The church describes its stance on homosexuality and same-sex marriage as "welcoming but not affirming," stating that the church "will not credential one who engages in homosexual conduct or one who does not believe that homosexual behavior is sinful, even though remaining celibate." ~ Wikipedia