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The International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC) is a growing network of national churches, united in Christ to glorify God by serving member federations, as they equip and develop healthy churches.
A further explanation of IFFEC can be found in the Preamble to our Constitution:
The International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC) is a fellowship of faith and service consisting of federations of free evangelical churches. The IFFEC originated in the great revivals in Europe and other parts of the world in the nineteenth century. There were state churches in most of these countries. All citizens were baptized into these churches as infants. Those converted through the revivals found it impossible to take the Lord’s Supper with a majority of unbelievers. They began to celebrate the Lord’s Supper at meetings restricted to believers. Eventually they founded local churches in which each member was accepted upon his voluntary application on the basis of personal faith in Jesus Christ. For these churches the Bible was the Word of God and the only and authentic basis for doctrine and conduct. Every church member was free to read the Bible individually and to interpret it “with a good conscience” under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Very soon fellowships on the national level were established among churches united by these convictions.
In Central Europe links with Christians of the same vision were established beyond national boundaries at an early stage. While the beginnings of IFFEC go back to 1834 and to Bern, Switzerland, in the course of subsequent developments, federations of such churches were founded in the north, the south and the south-east of Europe and later in the USA and Canada. In spite of geographical separation these federations established a working fellowship. IFFEC was officially founded in Bern in 1948. It was a characteristic feature of all federations involved to be active in foreign missions, resulting in the development of young churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Some of these churches would also join the fellowship.