OuR Beliefs
Affirmation
of Faith (Faith Statements)
Fervent Convictions
Counsel on Contemporary
Issues
Friends
Values
Accountability
Questions
Historical Introduction
The Friends Church began in England in the mid-seventeenth
century and spread within a few decades throughout the British
colonies that bordered the Atlantic Ocean. As an extension of
the Protestant Reformation, Friends emphasized a direct, personal
encounter with Christ, typified in the experience of its most
prominent and enduring leader, George Fox.
Founder George Fox
Born in 1624, Fox participated regularly in the Church of England
with his parents until the age of nineteen. During these years
he observed an empty formalism and a dead religion that failed
to quench his spiritual thirst. He also became deeply disturbed
and depressed over the presence of sin in his own heart. Fox
wandered from place to place, seeking help from various people
and also from reading his Bible.
Finally, in 1647, when his hope was nearly gone, Fox found the
answer to his spiritual restlessness through a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ that made his heart "leap for joy."
Through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he discovered that
Jesus is a living Savior who overcame temptation, sin, and Satan,
and that through Christ's power and grace, so could he.
A Growing Movement
Fox was not alone. Scores of others in England had experienced
the same spiritual longings. As he began to talk and preach
about his new-found faith in Christ, Fox encountered many eager
listeners and sometimes attracted great crowds that quickly
turned into a growing movement. Within ten years, from about
1650 to 1660, the Friends grew to an estimated 50,000 followers.
During this period, they were the fastest growing religious
group of any kind in the English-speaking world.
An early distinctive of Friends was their emphasis on evangelism
and missions. Fox explained that God had called him to "turn
people from darkness to light, that they might receive Christ
Jesus," and he encouraged other Friends to join him in
this great cause. Both men and women traveled as missionaries
throughout England, among the British colonies, and to various
other nations. They preached the gospel to anyone who would
listen and, at times, even to those who refused. Obviously,
it was both an evangelical and an evangelistic movement.
Early Names
This Friends movement held a number of names in the early years.
Prompted undoubtedly by their evangelistic efforts, one of their
early labels was "Publishers of Truth." They not only
printed and distributed thousands of tracts, they also "published
glad tidings" – telling people far and near about
the truth of the gospel message. Another early name was "Children
of Light" (referring to the light of Christ in the gospel
of John). A derogatory nickname that they received from outsiders
was "Quakers," a label that many ended up embracing
as a term of endearment. The official name that they finally
chose for themselves, however, remains in place today. The term
Friends is taken from Jesus' own words.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his
life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know
his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends for
everything that I learned from my father I have made known to
you (John 15:13-15).
Welcoming Persecution
Not only were Friends a rapidly growing movement in the seventeenth
century, they also carried the distinction of suffering more
persecution than other English Protestant groups. In general,
they refused to run away from persecution, and sometimes they
seemed to run toward it, as if the threat of maltreatment
sounded a trumpet call to advance to the spiritual battle line.
Rather than hiding underground, Friends insisted on meeting
openly in their usual places, and accepted arrest, fines, imprisonment,
and even death as a part of their testimony and calling. Between
1660 and 1689, an estimated fifteen thousand Friends went to
prison in England, of whom four hundred and fifty paid for their
convictions with their lives.
By 1661 in America, authorities had already whipped, branded,
imprisoned and deported a number of Friends missionaries, while
four of them—William Robinson, Marmaduke Stephenson, William
Ledra, and Mary Dyer—concluded their ministries at the
end of a noose in Boston. Persecution was an ever-present threat
for Friends, if not a reality, until the Act of Toleration passed
in 1689, ensuring some of the religious freedoms that we still
enjoy.
Attractive Testimonies
From an early period, Friends became known for various "testimonies"
or beliefs evidenced in their behaviors, demonstrating to the
world their priorities and matters of conscience. One testimony
emphasized honesty, plain speech, and the consequent rejection
of all swearing and oath taking. They took seriously Jesus'
instruction to let your "yes be yes, and your no, no."
As a result, they concluded that if they swore that they were
telling the truth, even in a court of law, it implied that they
might be lying if they did not swear. They gained a
reputation that their word was as good as their bond.
Another early testimony for Friends emphasized the importance
of peace. They maintained convictions against violence, war,
and abuse of all kinds, and that God had called believers to
live in peace with everyone. Friends traditionally stressed
simplicity of life and equality among all peoples. These concerns
could be seen in their plain clothing (dressing alike as common
folk), their respect and care for Native Americans, and their
significant leadership role as abolitionists. As a general rule,
Friends freed their slaves long before the Civil War and some
served as the chief conductors of the Underground Railroad.
Early Organization
The Friends' first efforts at organization led to the development
of local churches, or Meetings, which combined to form
larger regional gatherings for worship and business, convening
monthly, quarterly, and yearly. This system allowed for a formalized
reporting structure, group decision making by coming to unity
in obedience to the Holy Spirit, church and ministerial accountability,
and the development of approved leadership. British Friends
started to meet annually in 1671, the same year that the first
large regional grouping or Yearly Meeting of Friends in America
became organized in New England. Early leaders were known as
elders, overseers, or ministers. With an understanding that
God alone ordains, Friends recognized those individuals whom
God had chosen by "recording" them as ministers, a
practice continued today. Friends also acknowledged the role
of women in ministry from an early period, affirming many who
served as missionaries, ministers, and leaders as called by
God. The first paid pastors for Friends began to serve in America
in the 1870s.
Influence in America
The message of Friends spread throughout colonial America as
the result of missionary efforts that began in 1656 with the
ministries of Mary Fisher and Ann Austin, climaxing in 1672
with the visit of George Fox and other key leaders. Friends
lived in almost every colony but were prominent in a few, especially
in Rhode Island, the Jerseys, and the Carolinas where some of
their members served as governors, legislators, judges, and
in other positions of influence. In 1682, King Charles II gave
a large grant of land in America to a prominent Friend, William
Penn, as repayment for a debt owed to his father. The region
was named "Penn's Woods" (or "Pennsylvania")
in honor of William's father, and Friends exercised a controlling
political influence there until the 1750s.
Nineteenth Century Divisions
Although Friends have always desired to maintain unity, some
sharp divisions occurred in the nineteenth century. In 1827,
a split took place over theological issues. One branch, the
Hicksites followed the teachings of Elias Hicks, a
New York farmer/preacher who espoused false doctrines, discounting
important Christian beliefs such as the authority of Scripture,
the virgin birth and the atoning blood of Christ. In contrast
to Hicks, Orthodox Friends held to the kinds of evangelical
Christian beliefs discussed later in this section of Faith
and Practice. Joseph John Gurney, one of the most influential
of the evangelical leaders, emphasized the importance of Bible
study and contributed to evangelistic efforts among Friends.
In 1845, another rift opened among Orthodox Friends in America,
this time over matters of tradition. Some followed the lead
of John Wilbur and wanted to maintain traditional Quaker practices
in speech, dress, and ministry, the Wilburites. However, others
continured the continuing impulse of Gurney and became influenced
eventually by the Holiness revivals that swept across America,
especially in the West.
Umbrella Groups Today
The divisions in the nineteenth century led to several, mutually
exclusive groupings of Friends which exist to this day. The
Friends General Conference represents the most liberal theological
group of Friends and they are the visible remnant of Hicks'
beliefs. Some of them would not even claim to be Christian.
The Conservative Friends are the direct theological descendants
of John Wilbur. These groups reside mostly in the Midwest and
eastern United States. Another group, the Friends United Meeting,
founded in 1902, is an organization that attempts to appeal
to a variety of Christian Quaker expressions.
Evangelical Friends Church Southwest is a member of the fourth
group, Evangelical Friends International, which began in the
early 1960s. EFI aims to make more and better disciples for
Jesus through church planting and active missions efforts throughout
the world. Today, EFI includes over 1,000 local churches in
twenty countries, while Friends of all types live in forty-six
countries on six continents.
Local Origins
The first Friends in California came with scores of others as
a part of the "gold rush" of 1849. With the advent
of the transcontinental railroad in 1867, more Friends moved
west, carrying with them the spirit of the holiness revivals
occurring at that time in their previous churches. Evangelical
Friends Church Southwest began officially in 1895 as an outgrowth
of Iowa Yearly Meeting. The original name of "California
Yearly Meeting of Friends Church" was changed in 1986 to
Friends Church Southwest Yearly Meeting to reflect the growing
geographic region of our denominational group. Friends in the
Southwest include local churches in California, Arizona, Nevada,
and Utah. From the outset, Southwest Friends emphasized the
dual priorities of evangelism and education. By 1900, they had
started eleven new churches, two new mission fields in Alaska
and Central America, and the "Training School for Christian
Workers" which later became Azusa Pacific University. These
continuing concerns are reflected today in four Faith Boards——New
Church Development, Missions, Friends Center at Azusa Pacific
University, and Quaker Meadow Camp started in 1939 to "win
and train youth and adults for Christ." The current name,
Evangelical Friends Church Southwest, was adopted in 2001.
Faith and Practice
As early as the seventeenth century, Friends maintained guidelines
for their religious practices and concerns in official lists.
By the eighteenth century, after collecting, adding to, and
amending these writings, Friends began to publish them in books
of Discipline. Combined with statements about history
and theological beliefs, these publications became known eventually
as Faith and Practice books, one of which you are now
reading. The purpose of this book is to provide current, new
and potential members an overview of the basic beliefs and organization
around which we unite. We invite you to join us in the continuing
history and vision of Evangelical Friends Church Southwest.
