Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies Records
Brief Description
Executive Directors' (Clyde Taylor, Wade Coggins, Paul McKaughan) files of the EFMA. The association of denominational and nondenominational foreign missions boards began as a commission of the National Association of Evangelicals to serve common interests of members in government relations (domestic and foreign); use of communication channels; cooperative purchasing/travel; and relations between each other. The collection is subdivided into thirteen parts: 1. Correspondence and General Files (arranged by year); 2. Five Missionary Martyrs Fund (established following their murders by the Auca Indians); 3. Latin American Survey (by country); 4. Meetings; 5. Publications; 6. Reference; 7. Protestants in Roman Catholic Countries (Colombia and Spain); 8. Countries; 9. Minutes; 10. Members' audits; 11. Universal Travel Service; 12. Audio tapes; 13. Video tapes. Evangelical leaders are among the correspondents in the collection. Regional and international meetings and numerous subjects related to missions are also documented.
Dates
- Created: 1937-1996
Creator
- Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies (2012-) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
EFMA retains copyright to its publications contained in this collection.
Organizational History and Biographies
Association of Evangelical denominational and nondenominational mission boards. EFAM began as a commission of the National Association of Evangelicals in 1943; incorporated autonomously in Washington, DC, in 1945. EFMA consisted of various mission boards and aimed to serve the common interests of members in government relations, cooperative purchasing and travel, inter-mission relations and fellowship. EFMA coordinated education/training opportunities, dissemination of information, research, and annual meetings and retreats.
EFMA History
Founded: 1945
Location of headquarters: Washington, DC. Also maintained a purchasing office in New York (later in Wheaton, Illinois) and travel office (Universal Travel Service) in Chicago
Directors:
- 1945-1974: Clyde W. Taylor, Executive Secretary
- 1975-1989: Wade T. Coggins, Executive Director
- 1990- : Paul McKaughan
Membership:
- 1949: Thirty-four member missions
- 1976: Seventy-two members with over 8,200 missionaries overseas
- 1981: Eighty-three agencies with over 10,000 missionaries in over 100 countries
- 1996: One hundred plus member agencies with over 11,000 missionaries serving throughout the world While the total number of members increased steadily, there were also mission boards which withdrew their membership
Significant events in organizational history:
- 1943: Began as a commission of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)
- 1944: Opened its own office, separate from that of the NAE, in Washington, DC
- 1945: Formally organized and incorporated, becoming an independent body although retaining its affiliation with the NAE as its missions arm
- 1962: Established with IFMA a joint office in Africa
- 1963: With IFMA established a joint commission, chartered in l964 as the Evangelical Missions Information Service (EMIS). EMIS took over the publication of Missionary News Service, and the various editions of Pulse (concerned primarily with geographical areas, e.g. Latin America Pulse, or Asia Pulse). EMIS began publication of Evangelical Missions Quarterly.
- ca. 1992: Renamed Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies
- 2007: Renamed to The Mission Exchange
- 2012: Merged with CrossGlobal Link (formerly IFMA) to form Missio Nexus
Ministry speciality or emphasis:
- Union of denominational and nondenominational foreign mission boards, differentiated from the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA, founded in 1917), whose membership was limited to mission societies without denominational affiliation and operated financially on the "faith-mission" basis
- Served the common interests of members in government relations, cooperative purchasing and travel, visa applications, inter-mission relations, and in spiritual fellowship and encouragement through conferences, consultations, conventions, and retreats
- Membership was contingent on the following factors: subscription to the EFMA statement of faith, a board of directors of at least five persons, a minimum of ten active missionaries, the regulation of missionaries by the board, and published annual financial statements
- Adopted the statement of faith was that used by the NAE, stressing the deity of Christ, the inspiration of Scripture, the work of the Holy Spirit and regeneration and sanctification of believers, and the spiritual unity of the Church
- Disseminated information via Missionary News Service (MNS) and EFMAgram
- Membership consisted of active organizations
- Accomplished much of its work through committees, which were formed on an ad hoc basis. With increased cooperation between EFMA and IFMA, several standing committees operated under the joint direction of the two associations, including: CAMEO (Committee to Assist Missionary Education Overseas, renamed Committee to Assist Ministry Education Overseas), Committee on Bible Translation Concerns, Evangelical China Committee, Evangelical Committee for Africa, Evangelical Committee for Asia, Evangelical Islamics Committee, Latin American Committee, and Personnel and Student Affairs Committee
- Sponsored relief efforts though the NAE's World Relief Commission
- Utilized the professional services of Organization Resources Counselors on matters of international finance and cost-of-living
Publications:
- Missionary News Service (MNS), a newsletter-format collection of news items, published twice monthly beginning in 1954, focusing exclusively on matters of current interest in the international missions context
- EFMAgram was distributed only to members to keep them advised on routine and practical matters
Alternative organizational names:
- 1945-1992: Evangelical Foreign Missions Association until 1992
- 1992-2007: Renamed Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies in order to include domestic missions into membership
- 2007-2011: Renamed The Mission Exchange
- 2012-ongoing: Merged with CrossGlobal (formerly IFMA) to form Missio Nexus
Other information:
- EFMA's main office customarily handled: relations with the US and foreign governments; practical matters such as passport and visa service, counseling on tax matters, advising on world financial conditions, etc.; missions policy; comity. The headquarters staff also coordinated specific research projects, an example of which was the 196l publication of an exhaustive survey of Latin American Protestant missions.
- EFMA primarily accomplished its tasks through the executive director's office, which handled the day-to-day affairs of the organization and kept abreast of happenings in the myriad of committees of its own founding and of co-authorization with the IFMA. A major factor in the cohesiveness of the organizational machinery was the relatively small number of people in leadership positions.
- Another aspect of EFMA's contribution was its organization of conventions, retreats, seminars, etc. The annual convention was held concurrently with the NAE convention, offering sessions on and occasion for discussion of issues of common concern. The Mission Executives Retreat, an annual event first held in 1953, was a "meeting of the minds" where specific topics of mission policy and operation were studied in depth by senior-level executives from EFMA missions. Beginning in 1955, the papers read at these meetings were published in the Mission Executives Retreat Report. EFMA also sponsored another yearly event, the Organization Resources Counselors Seminar. Beginning in the early 1970s, the seminar gave mission board personnel professional guidance on the use of their financial resources in a variety of international settings. EFMA periodically sponsored or co-sponsored Study Conferences, Think Conferences, etc.
Biography - Clyde W. Taylor
(see Taylor's biography in the Guide to Collection 597)
Biography - Wade T. Coggins
Full name: Wade Thomas Coggins
Birth date: December 12, 1924, in New Market, North Carolina
Family:
- Parents: Charles L. and Laura Hinshaw Coggins
- Marital Status: Married Jane Wells in 1945
- Children: Robert (born 1950) Education:
- 1945: Graduated with a diploma from the C&MA's Missionary Training Institute (also 1945)
- 1953-1955: Nyack Missionary College, B.S. degree
- 1965: University of Maryland, M.A.
- 1973: Nyack College, LL.D.
Career:
- 1946-1947: Pastored a church in Des Moines, Iowa
- 1947: Ordained by the Christian and Missionary Alliance
- 1947-1953: C&MA missionary in Colombia, serving as field director of a large rural district, working closely with a native Colombian evangelist among the Paez Indians, and later being associated with the Bethel Bible Institute, which trained young Colombians for the ministry. While there he witnessed the 1948 uprising in Colombia, where widespread political and religious violence accounted for two hundred thousand deaths. Coggins himself was attacked and severely beaten by natives of rural Argelia in southern Colombia in 1950.
- 1958: Worked on EFMA staff in various capacities
- 1964: Instrumental in founding Evangelical Missions Quarterly
- 1975: Appointed EFMA Executive Director
- 1981: Served on EMQ's editorial committee and was editor of Missionary New Service
Other significant information:
- He was the author of So That's What Missions Is All About (1975), and co- editor of four additional works: Protestant Missions in Latin America - A Statistical Survey (1961), Mobilizing for Saturation Evangelism (1970), Evangelical Missions Tomorrow (1977), and Christ and Caesar in Christian Missions (1979)
Full name: Paul E. McKaughan
Birth date: September 14, 1938, in Alhambra, California
Family:
- Marital Status: Married to Joanne Repetto
- Children: Don, Doug, Debbie (all born in Brazil)
Education:
- 1961: Graduated from Bethany Fellowship Bible Institute, Minneapolis, specializing in missions studies
- 1966-1967: Attended Fuller Seminary Institute of Church Growth
- 1981: Completed Management Course of the American Management Association
- 1994: Honorary Doctor of Divinity, Denver Seminary
- Also attended assorted courses and seminars in management
Career:
- 1961: Ordained by Bethany Church, Minneapolis
- 1962-1975: Missionary in Brazil
- 1962-?: First assignment to establish Bethany Fellowship Bible Institute's school and clinic in the Brazilian jungle
- Taught church growth and pastoral theology in Word of Life Seminary and Free Methodist Seminary in Sao Paolo, Brazil
- Lectured on church and time management, planning for change
- 1962: Directed Billy Graham's crusade in Brazil
- 1966-1967: Chaplain of Los Angeles Probation Authority while on furlough
- 1967: Joined Overseas Crusades as coordinator of planning
- 1971-1975: Consultant to churches and missions in strategic planning in Brazil
- 1974: Coordinated Brazilian delegation for 1974 Lausanne Congress
- 1975: Directed Billy Graham's Rio de Janeiro Crusade
- 1975-1976: Assistant to the President of Overseas Crusades and consultant to Mission to the World
- 1976: Member of Pacific Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of America
- 1977-1987: Coordinator and CEO of Mission to the World, foreign mission arm of Presbyterian Church in America; responsible for the oversight and funding of over four hundred missionaries in thirty-six countries
- 1980: Attended Consultation on World Evangelization in Pattaya, Thailand
- 1983: Attended Amsterdam '83 as a consultant
- 1986: Consultant to Amsterdam '86 program committee
- 1987-1989: Associate International Director and Chief Operating Officer for the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization
- Director of Ministries for the Lausanne Committee
- Coordinator for Lausanne II Congress in Manila
- 1990-2005: Executive Director of Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies
- 1992: Represented North America at the World Evangelical Fellowship's General Assembly
- Moderator of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Missions Council.
- Member of the American Management Association
- Member of World Future Society
- Member of World Evangelical Fellowship's Missions Council
- On Board of Directors of Evangelical Missions Information Service
- On Board of Directors of AD 2000
- Member of Mission America 2000
- Member of Ministerial Advisory Board of Reformed Seminary
- Fluent speaking, reading and writing in Portuguese
- Contributed chapters to several books on missions; co-authored Choosing a Future for U.S. Missions
Extent
225 boxes (16 record cartons, 209 document cases)
118.75 Linear Feet
8 other formats (Audio Tapes, Books, Negatives, Oversize Material, Pamphlets, Periodicals, Photographs, Video Tapes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement and Description
Series: Correspondence
Subseries: Annual correspondence files
Arrangement: Chronologically subdivided into thirty-four subseries according to years, initially in multiple years, but in most cases annually. Prior to the 1969 section, the time periods span two or more years. However, beginning with the 1969 section, the files are limited to one year, with only minimal overlap into the preceding or succeeding years. Only the final section, 1991-1995, returns to the multi-year format. The files created prior to 1977 are arranged alphabetically by folder title for each time period. Beginning with the 1977 material, however, the subseries are further subdivided by files relating to EFMA committees (including Africa, CAMEO, Evangelical Joint Accounting Committee, EMIS, Latin America, Missionary News Service, Organizational Resources Counselors, Personnel), organizations, administration, and meetings. Within each section the files are arranged alphabetically, with the one exception that the meetings files are arranged chronologically. The 1988 section inexplicably deviates from this pattern by returning to the earlier single alphabetical order throughout and intermingling committee, meeting, administration and organization files.
Date Range: 1944-1996
Volume: 60.7 linear feet
Boxes: 1-13, 19-63, 90-97, 99, 111-177
Geographic coverage: United States and international
Type of documents: Correspondence, memos, minutes, reports, event programs, statistics, message manuscripts, questionnaires, members’ certification of audits
Correspondents: Clyde Taylor, Wade Coggins, Paul McKaughan, Peter Beck, executives or representatives of mission agencies, prominent Evangelical figures, representatives of other organizations or government agencies which EFMA either contacted or heard from, or pastors and mission committee representatives of local congregations.
Notes: This series documents over fifty years of EFMA’s general administration (primarily of its three chief executives), recording the activity of its office and various committees, requests from its members, collection of dues from member agencies, providing current tax information and instructions, coordination of visa services, surveys of the membership, interaction with other organizations, EFMA’s annual convention held each Spring at the time of the National Association of Evangelicals annual meeting, EFMA’s Fall Retreat co-sponsored with the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA), and the many meetings in which the Executive Directors participated as a representative of the Association. The earlier years of the series contain a higher percentage of substantive correspondence, while those for the later years, although much thicker, are primarily reports, papers, and other massproduced items, and correspondence is largely confined to routine housekeeping. (One exception to this trend in boxes 1 through 19 is the Africa material, which has much correspondence in every file.) Many files were created as general housekeeping files, and these reflect a major portion of EFMA activity. The topics covered in most of these files are too varied to receive individual note, and in many cases, it is questionable whether this wide smattering of details is of significance bit by bit. Commonly recurring files include those titled: Board Minutes, Board of Directors, Bulletins, EFMA Board Meetings, EFMA (Spring) Convention, EFMAgram, Mailings to Member Boards, Miscellaneous, Mission Executives (Fall) Retreat, News Releases, and NAE; the most substantive of these are the Spring and Fall meetings files. The administration section of the 1991-1995 series includes subsection of alphabetically arranged general files (Folders 152-6 through 156-8), which seems to parallel the General Correspondence series of this collection compiled by Taylor and Coggins.
There are many Evangelical meetings, conventions and conferences documented in this series, most related to some aspect of missionary thought or practice. Some of these are focused on an area of the world such as the 1987 COMIBAM (or Congreso Misionero IberoAmericano) found in Folders 125-8 through 126-2 (seven folders) and several of the other subseries for the latter half of the 1980s), or the 1992 Conference on CIS (or Commonwealth of Independent States, formerly of the Soviet Union) in Folders 171-3 to 12. Other meetings emphasized a strategic approach as in the 1976 Tell Asia seminar (see Folder 111-8 and 208-1 in the General Correspondence). Still others addressed a missiological issue such as the 1989 Translation Conference (Folder 141-6) or International Conference on MKs (missionary kids; Folder 142-1, 2) or the Billy Graham Center’s 1987 Tentmaking Consultation (Folder 122-5). Other gatherings looked at a personnel or administrative need of member missions such as the 1987 Stress Management meeting (Folder 122-3) or the 1986 State Department briefing on International Terrorism (Folder 116-4); some meetings files contain message manuscripts from the event. Some files in the series relate to resources EFMA made available to its members for administration, such as consulting expertise of Organization Resources Counselors in seminars or publications, such as ORC’s manuscript Missionary Compensation: A Balance Sheet Approach in Folder 112-3. Researchers will greatly benefit from browsing through the detailed portion of the Box List (boxes 1 through 110) for a complete enumeration of these files. Among the organizations represented in the Organizations subseries of each annual series are those which EFMA was regularly interacting with, including the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) and World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF). Of the nine series, this is the most extensive and complex.
Exceptional items: EFMA's incorporation papers (Folder 1-5), documents related to the restructuring of EFMA bylaws in 196l (folder 4-26), and information about EFMA coop purchasing and discounts (Folder 2-43). Among the surveys conducted were those for annual statistical EFMA reporting, a 1992 survey to assess the impact of the weakened economy on member agencies, and a 1986 survey of EFMA members on missionary salaries. In some cases, the completed individual questionnaires are available in the file, while other folders contain only the resulting report with compiled data. The 1991-1995 subseries includes notebooks apparently kept by McKaughan to use in planning for or reporting at EFMA’s Spring and Fall meetings. Several of the subseries from the 1990s record the activity related to EFMA’s requirement that member missions have their financial records audited once a year. The files in these series don’t include the actual audits but rather statements certifying that an audit was conducted by an auditing firm; see the concluding series for a selection of EFMA members’ audits. The 19911995 series also includes documents (Folders 160-4 and 160-5) related to the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy scandal in 1995, as the EFMA office attempted to assess the impact of the Foundation’s collapse on its members and coordinate a subsequent response.
Subseries: General correspondence files
Arrangement: Alphabetical
Date Range: 1948-1988
Volume: 13.0 linear feet
Boxes: 188-209, 222-225
Geographic coverage: U.S. and international
Type of documents: Similar to the preceding subseries, also message manuscripts
Correspondents: Taylor, Coggins, mission agency representatives, US government contacts
Notes: Similar to the Reference Files series which follows later, this series serves as a reference file and spans a wide variety of organizations, persons, places, events, and themes. However, it appears to be more of a working series and internally oriented, not just documenting other agencies but including a record of EFMA’s interaction with them or on a particular issue. It is also similar to the Reference series, both in that it spans the Taylor and Coggins administrations of EFMA, and in the document types represented in its files. The extent of documentation for these files seems more substantive than that of the preceding series, although some files simply provide background information on the agency. A sampling of the organizations, persons, events and themes represented follows, illustrating the complex network EFMA operated in and diversity of issues and activities that intersected with EFMA’s service to its members; folder numbers are only provided where the name or subject heading provided below does not indicate where in the alphabetical ordering the file will be found; in some instances the word being used to alphabetize the file appears in all upper case type. Many issues are covered, including operation of the EFMA, visa situations in countries where member missions had staff, relationships between and cooperation among agencies, background information on social trends and political movements throughout the world, use of diplomatic influence, legal and financial obligations of member agencies, and trends throughout the world and in missions thinking with implications for missions practice.
Organizations: Association of Church Missions Committee or ACMC (folders 188-3,4,5), Association of Relief and Development Organizations or AERDO (folders 188-7,8), Billy Graham Center (folders 190-5,6), the Bangui Evangelical School of Theology or BEST (folders 189-10,11,12), Campus Crusade for Christ or CCC (folder 223-6), Comite Latino Americano Sobre Evangelismo or CLASE (folder 224-4), Congo Protestant Council (folder 193-12), Difusiones InterAmericanas (folder 194-6), EMIS (folders 198-11,12), Evangelical Fellowship of India (folder 199-1), Evangelical Men’s Fellowship (folder 199-4), Evangelical Missionary Association of Japan (folder 199-5), Evangelism-in-Depth’s In-Depth Evangelism (folder 225-2), Greater Mexican Missions (folder 200-4), Help for a Hungry World (folder 200-12) for which Clyde Taylor was a board member, Intercristo (folder 225-7), International Students Incorporated (folder 225-8) and its executive officer Bob Finley, Jaffray School of Missions at Nyack Missionary College (folder 225-9), Latin America Mission (folder 201-4) about the theological direction of the Latin American Seminary in Costa Rica), Link Care (folders 200-2, 201-7,8), Logos (folder 201-9 re Operation Mobilization, for which Coggins served as a member of the Logos Ship Replacement Committee), Missionary Communication Service for which Taylor was a board member (folder 201-13), Mexican Indian Mission (folder 202-1), Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology or NEGST (folder 202-2, Orient Crusades (folder 202-11, includes a 1957 principles and practices handbook), PACLA (folder 202-12), Project Look-Up (folder 203-6 on satellite communication), SHARE (folder 204-8), Charles Tripp in folder 208-7 (of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada) on the 1982 World Council of Churches Lima Agreement, UNELAM (folder 208-11) or Unidad Evangelica Latinoamericana or "Unity of Evangelicals in Latin America" concerning a continent-wide gathering of Protestants in the late 1960s, World Council of Churches Conference on "Salvation Today (folder 209-4)," World Evangelical Fellowship (in folder 209-5 about a financial appeal), and study documents for WEF’s International Missions Commission (folder 225-1).
EFMA committees: Accounting Task Force (folder 188-2), Africa (folders 189-1,2, 198-8,9,10, 222-3), Asia (folders 189-5 and 222-4), Business Administration (folder 223-4), China (folder 191-8), Comity (folder 193-10), [EFMA] Media Use (folder 197-4), Latin America (folder 201-3, Personnel & Student Affairs Committee (in folder 203-1, including a summer missionary survey), Student Affairs (folder 206-1).
People: Brojendra Nath Banerjee (folder 189-8) exploring becoming a legal representative for Evangelical ministries in India, researcher and statistician David Barrett (folder 190-1); Wycliffe missionary Chet Bitterman (folder 223-2) executed in Colombia; Antonio Caliandro of Ex-Priests’ Association of Italy and Evangelical Bible Institute of Italy (folder 223-5); Samuel Doctorian (folder 194-8), a Lebanese minister, whose controversial fund-raising activities in the United States and ministry with World Gospel Mission in Latin America required EFMA involvement; Alvin Martin, for whom EFMA was attempting to reverse a refused visa to Israel (folder 201-11); Wilton Nelson, who authored the article, "Separation and Cooperation Among Evangelicals in Latin America (folder 202-3);" Gordon Smith, a missionary in Vietnam (folder 204-12); Clyde Taylor at the time of his death (folder 207-12).
Countries, continents and regions: Africa (folder 188-5), Bangladesh (folder 188-9), China (folders 223-8,9,10), Colombia (folder 193-8), Cuba (folders 194-2,3), Ethiopia (folder 198-13), Greece (folder 200-5), Guatemala (folder 200-7) at the time of the 1976 earthquake, Haiti (folder 200-9), India (folders 225-3,4,5; folder 225-5 relates to the difficulty of obtaining visas and includes letters from Donald McGavran), Indonesia (folders 225-5,6), questionnaires on Japan (folder 225-10), Jerusalem (folder 201-1), Mexico (in folder 201-12, including an article about criticism of Billy Graham in a Mexico City newspaper), Nicaragua (folder 202-7,8), Rhodesia (folder 204-2, now Zimbabwe), Rosario (Argentina) Plan (folder 2043), Spanish (Spain) constitution (folder 205-8), Taiwan (folder 2068), Turkey (folder 2089), Uganda in folder 208-10 (and Festo Kivengere), Venezuela about visas (folder 208-12), Vietnam in folder 209-1 (re captive missionaries).
Events: The Asia Missions Association 1967 meeting which produced the Seoul Declaration on Christian Mission (folder 189-4; also see folder 204-7)), placing emphasis on Asian churches contributing to missionary efforts from Asia; the Catholic Inter-American Cooperation Program’s (CICOP) 1967 conference on "The Integration of Man and Society in Latin America: A Christian View," including manuscripts (folder 224-3) on various social and theological aspects of the issue, including a paper by Protestant liberation theologian Jose Miquez-Bonino; the Andean Consultation on Church Mission Relations, which produced the Bogata Statement (folder 223-3); III CELA or III Conferencia Evangelica Latinoamericana, 1969 (folder 223-7); COMIBAM (folder 193-9); documents from the 1962 Consultation on World Missions (folder 193-13) sponsored by the Presbyterian Church, US, including program book and workbook, committee reports and message manuscripts, among them those by Harold John Ockenga, Leslie Newbigin, and John A. Mackay; a ca. 1970 consultation (folder 200-3) to facilitate cooperation between Global Orphans (also see folder 180-13) and World Relief Commission to assist in providing relief to Biafra.
Themes: Accountability (folder 188-1), Bible translation (folders 190-2,3,4 and 222-5), claims of property in China (folder 223-9), Christian education in Africa (folder 222-6), church growth (folders 22313 and 224-1), missionaries and the CIA folder 224-2), closed countries (folder 2245), financial disclosure by members (folder 194-7), ecumenism recorded in articles and message texts (folder 195-3,4,5,6), emerging missions (folder 195-8), guidelines for joint committees on relationships with non-Evangelicals (folder 200-8), laymen (folder 201-5), prayer thrust (folder 203-4), primary health care (folder 203-5, particularly as a component of ministry), recruitment (folder 203-11), research (folder 203-12, including a report at the close of the Missions & Advanced Research and Communication Center’s first year and a proposal for implementing the PERT or Program Evaluation and Review Technique for strategic mission planning; retirement (folder 203-13, about a survey about retirement programs of member missions); review (folder 204-1 about a EFMA-IFMA task force proposal for member mission’s self-evaluation) and self-study (folder 204-4,5 with the corresponding instrument for conducting the evaluation); seminary extension or TEE (folder 2046); short terms (folder 204-10); social security regarding missionary status and EFMA guidance to member missions (folders 204-13,14,15 and 205-1 through 7); surveys on communications, missions fields, missionary living allowance and salaries (folders 206-2,3,4,5,6); taxes, including a questionnaire on tax practices, IRS practices and rulings, and tax requirements for member agencies and their missionaries (folders 206-9,10,11,12 and 207-1 through 11); tentmakers (folder 208-2); terrorism and CIA in folder 208-3 (includes documents on recommendations for developing evacuation plans); theological seminars in Latin America (folder 208-4); Third World missions (folder 208-6); transition from Coggins to the next executive director (folder 208-8); visas (folder 209-2); women in folder 209-6 (articles and a few letters related to the leadership role of women in missions and the a 1979 EFMA session on the topic); world hunger (folder 209-7).
EFMA: A portion of the series relates to the Association itself (filed under E), including annual statistics (folders 195-9, 196-1,2), constitution and by-laws (folder 196-4), newsletters (folder 196-7), documents about EFMA’s incorporation in Delaware (folder 196-5), discussions between EFMA and IFMA, its nondenominational counterpart (folder 196-8), a financial policies questionnaire (folder 196-9), a list of foundations (folder 196-10), the founding of EFMA (folder 197-1), investments (folder 197-2), medical statistics by country (folder 197-5), personnel (folders 197-8 through 197-20), purchasing (folders 197-21, 198-1,2), regional committees, and more. Folder 201-14 contains the 1967 Missions Study Conference Report of Findings. Several folders (folders 189-6, 201-2 and 202-4) document the exploration to establish offices (or liaisons) in Buenos Aires and New Dehli as extensions of the joint EFMA-IFMA committees for Latin America and Asia committees; in Latin America this was envisioned to parallel the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) in encouraging evangelism and fellowship, while in India it was intended to provide assistance in securing visas for missionaries. Folder 202-10 contains correspondence, questionnaires and compiled data from an Organization Resources Counselors (ORC) survey of EFMA members on missionary expenditures. Folder 20310) consists of manuscripts from the 1981 Fall retreat on "Reaching Our Generation." Statement on Cooperation in folder 205-9 (appears directed to an unidentified national church body) states EFMA intent to support and work alongside rather than abandon national church and mission leaders.
Other: The Business Administration Committee file (folder 223-4) contains a 1965 Methodist manuscript, "A Study in the Nature of Missionary Support." The biographical sketch file (folder 223-1) includes vitae for Ben Armstrong, Harold Lindsell, Richard Foulkes, Bob Cook, Larry Ward, Thomas Zimmerman and Jacques Blocher; also included is the press release announcing Billy Graham’s participation in the 1967 Urbana Student Missionary Conference. Folder 209-3 documents an article which appeared in the Washington Post on missionaries in Irian Jaya which drew criticism from EFMA, missionaries and others. Message manuscripts which were the basis for a book published in 1963 titled Facing Facts in Modern Missions: A Symposium comprise the contents of folder 199-6. Folders 199-7, 8 contain correspondence, receipts and disbursements ledger for the Five Missionary Martyrs Fund. Folder 200-1 relates to the Frankfurt Declaration, authored by Peter Beyerhaus as a response to the perceived changes in the World Council of Churches’ definition of evangelism.
A distinct subseries (folders 224-6,7,8,9 and 191-1 through 193-7, and 222-7) within the General Correspondence is a series of files of Wade Coggins. While much of the entire series contains folders or documents created or gathered during Coggins’ administration, almost all of these Coggins files have his name as part of the title. The subseries includes articles and speeches, files on organizations of which he was a board member or acted in an advisory capacity, or related to international trips he took.
Noteworthy: Documents in folder 189-3 record the dismissal of US embassy physicians Rex and Jeanne Blumhagen in Afghanistan for their support of attempts to reverse a State Department decision to withhold tuition allowances to families sending their children to Ahlman Academy, a Christian school. The Blumhagens and missionaries in Afghanistan worked with EFMA staff to influence US government procedures.
Series: Five Missionary Martyrs Fund
Arrangement: Chronological
Date Range: 1956-1972
Volume: 1.5 linear feet
Boxes: 13-14
Type of documents: Correspondence, financial records and reports
Correspondents: Trustees Clyde Taylor, V. Raymond Edman, and William K. Harrison, widows of the five missionaries killed, legal representatives, and donors
Notes: The materials in this series document the fund raising effort through correspondence over a sixteen year period. The program was "established to provide for the widows and fatherless children of the brave missionaries martyred in the jungles of Ecuador in January of 1956." Those killed by Auca Indians were James Elliot, Peter Fleming, T. Edward McCully, Nathaniel Saint, and Roger Youderian. Their widows (children) were: Elisabeth Elliot, later Mrs. Addison Leitch and Mrs. Lars Gren, (Valerie); Olive Fleming, later Mrs. Liefeld; Marilou McCully (Steven, Michael, and Matthew); Marjorie Saint, later Mrs. Abe Van Der Puy (Kathy, Steven, and Phillip); and Barbara Youderian (Beth Elaine and Jerry). The Fund was set up under the trusteeship of V. Raymond Edman, President of Wheaton College; Lt. Gen. William K. Harrison, Jr., of the U.S. Army; and Clyde W. Taylor. EFMA's involvement in the project resulted from Taylor's serving as a trustee of the project. The Fund was hastily set in motion under what was later shown to be shaky legality. Over $70,000 had been accumulated during a three year period before the funds were directed into the Auca Missionary Foundation. Three factors contributed to the confusion which resulted: the trustees' determination that they were obligated to retain control of the money; the widows' equal determination that they should have full authority to spend the funds as they saw fit; and the lawyers' opinion that nothing could be permanently settled until the youngest child married or reached twenty-one.
Exceptional items: Located in the General Correspondence series which follows are correspondence and a ledger of receipts and disbursements for the Fund in folder 199-7,8.
Series: Latin America Survey
Arrangement: Correspondence files arranged chronologically; country files are arranged alphabetically
Date Range: 1958-1962, primarily 1959-1960
Volume: 1.0 linear feet
Box: 15
Geographic coverage: Thirty-two countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean
Type of documents: Correspondence, notes, lists, statistics, maps and other documents gathered to conduct the survey
Correspondents: Clyde Taylor, Wade Coggins, and Avery Kendall of the EFMA office; J.O. Percy of IFMA, Howard Yoder of the National Council of Churches, and representatives of mission agencies which contributed to the survey
Notes: This series contains the raw data gathered on missionary activity in Latin America, including correspondence and separate files on thirty-two countries
Series: Meetings
Arrangement: Alphabetical
Date Range: 1955-1978
Volume: 2.5 linear feet
Boxes: 16, 17, 19
Geographic coverage: United States, Africa, South America
Type of documents: Correspondence, message manuscripts, planning documents, registration materials
Correspondents: Clyde Taylor, Wade Coggins
Subjects: Missions--Congresses, Missions--Study and teaching
Notes: This series consists predominantly of meetings in which the EFMA executive director participated, and was created from separate files loosely grouped together in the original accession. Most of the meetings documented in this series were held prior to 1977 and appear to correspond to the meeting section of each of the annual subseries from 1977 onward. Conversely, the meetings documented in this series are only a small portion of those documented in the collection, and the researcher should also review the Box List description of the meetings section of each annual subseries after 1976.
Series: Publications
Arrangement: Chronological
Date Range: 1951-1977
Volume: 2.0 linear feet
Boxes: 17-19
Type of documents: Newsletters, texts of Fall retreat proceedings and messages
Notes: The series of CEDEC Bulletins and Mission Executives Retreat Reports was created from the unfoldered reports, following their chronological sequence. In addition to the written retreat reports, audio taped recordings of sessions from 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982 and 1983 retreats are also available in the collection (Also see item descriptions for Audio Tapes).
Series: Reference Files
Arrangement: Subdivided into two further sections, each arranged alphabetically
Date Range: 1937-1987 and 1939-1989
Volume: 17.0 linear feet
Boxes: 63-84, 97, 177-187
Geographic coverage: U.S. and international
Type of documents: Varies widely from folder to folder, but may include inquiries regarding EFMA policies, requests for assistance with processing visa and passport applications, annual and other reports, correspondence, prayer and appeal letters, press releases, news clippings, and public relations materials.
Correspondents: Taylor and Coggins, mission agency representatives
Notes: This series consists almost entirely of files on organizations, but also includes a few for individuals and topics. The files combine to provide a widespread if not substantive picture of American Evangelicalism and its mission efforts. While many of the files contain only limited documentation on the respective organization, individual or topic, together they offer a glimpse of the many large and small organizations that EFMA was in contact with. Although subject access points are not provided for all of these, the complete list is nonetheless enumerated in the Box List at the conclusion of this guide. The second subseries, described only at the box level in the Box List, parallels the first; the files span the same time period but there is very little overlap of the organizations represented.
One of the services EFMA provided was as a reference for members, whether endorsing member agencies to churches, individuals or other agencies, and also handling inquiries about agencies or individuals. A few of the files document this process. The Underground Evangelism and Richard Wurmbrand files (folders 184-25,26,27, 185-1,2,3, and 187-4,5) record some of the story of the conflict within the organization and between Richard Wurmbrand and Joe Bass, illustrating EFMA’s response to inquiries about the conflict and handling communication from the involved parties. Those few cases in the second subseries where the files are titled with an individual’s name primarily relate to a person in need of assistance or who came to EFMA’s attention (such as John Bremen in Indonesia, see folder 178-2) due to inquiries about their character, behavior, mission structure, or fund-raising practices.
Exceptional items: Folder 187-3, labeled Dale Wu (a contact to John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church), contains manuscripts by Monroe Brewer on various aspects of the role of the local church in missions.
Series: Protestants in Roman Catholic Countries (Colombia and Spain)
Arrangement: Chronologically for each country
Date Range: 1947-1976
Volume: 4.0 linear feet
Boxes: 84-89, 97, 98
Type of documents: Correspondence, reports, petitions, clippings, and photographs
Correspondents: Clyde Taylor and Wade Coggins of the EFMA office; missionaries, representatives of mission agencies in the US and Canada, church leaders in Colombia and Spain, Evangelical leaders and journalists in the U.S., representatives of the US State Department, representatives of the Catholic Church in the US, US senators and congressmen, and ambassadors. Among those corresponding regarding Colombia are Robert Lazear of the Colombia Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, missionary Ernie Fowler, Lorentz D. Emery, David Howard of Latin America Mission, Stanley Rycroft of the Latin American Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, and James Goff of the Confederacion Evangelica de Colombia. Among those corresponding regarding Spain are Jack Dain, Samuel Vila, and Jose M. Martinez.
Subjects: Persecution--Colombia, Persecution--Spain, Church and state--Colombia, Church and state--Spain, Church and state--United States
Notes: This series provides extensive documentation of the circumstances in which Protestants were suffering in Colombia and Spain. The majority of the contents were created as reports to the NAE and EFMA, in order to broaden awareness in the United States of the widespread persecution of Protestants. As the contents make clear, the reporting served the dual purposes of stimulating prayer and applying pressure on the two countries through the US State Department. The clippings in the series have been removed when not attached to a document and filed separately.
Exceptional items: The contents of folder 87-13 document a campaign to enlist support of US Congressmen and Senators against the Colombian harassment of Protestants.
Series: Countries Files
Arrangement: Alphabetical by country name
Date Range: 1946-1985
Volume: 6.0 linear feet
Boxes: 99-110
Geographic coverage: International
Type of documents: Clippings, handwritten notes, telegrams, administrative correspondence, US congressional records, US State Department briefing documents, and correspondence documenting the difficulty of renewing visas for missionaries to return to certain countries
Correspondents: Clyde Taylor and Wade Coggins of the EFMA office, US State Department representatives, mission representatives and missionaries, including J. Christy Wilson in Afghanistan (folder 100-1) and Evangelical leaders like A. Jack Dain (folder 100-19)
Notes: This series covers a broad though often light coverage of national and religious conditions in various countries. Frequently the documentation relates to a national disaster or crisis, persecution of Christians (usually Protestants), an Evangelical fellowship or congress, or some other special condition. The clippings in the series have been removed when not attached to a document and filed separately.
Series: Minutes
Arrangement: Subdivided by board, combined, committees, other. Within each subseries the files are arranged chronologically.
Date Range: 1944-1990
Volume: 3.5 linear feet
Boxes: 209-215
Notes: This series consists of bound volumes of board minutes, committee minutes, etc., which record the decisions of EFMA’s board, conventions, and committees, the acceptance of new member agencies, financial reports, and other information relevant to EFMA deliberations. The board minutes (1944-1978) include those of its executive committee, reports to the board and other attachments. The combined minute volumes (1955-1984) include some of the board meeting minutes appearing in the previous subseries, convention minutes and committee reports at the conventions. One of these volumes is labeled "Secretaries’ minutes." The committees whose minutes are represented in the final subseries are: Africa (1962-1988), Asia (1975-1984), Bible Society (1969-1970), CAMEO (1963-1989), China (1976-1982), EMIS (1963-1990), Islamics (1972-1986), Latin America (1957-1990), Membership (1978-1981), ORC (Organization Resources Counselors, 1974-1984), and Personnel and Student Affairs (1968-1969).
Exceptional items: Included are minutes from NAE Missions Committee meetings prior to the incorporation of EFMA (folder 209-1).
Series: Member audits
Arrangement: 1985-1991, 1992-1994 subseries; alphabetical by agency within each
Date Range: 1985-1994
Volume: 1.5 linear feet
Boxes: 215-217
Type of documents: Annual audit statements
Notes: These copies of audits were submitted to EFMA by member missions. These do not exhaustively or even extensively represent EFMA’s membership of over one hundred agencies.
Series: Universal Travel Service (UTS)
Background: UTS was incorporated in 1949 as a general travel service agency "organized to especially serve Christians and Christian organizations." The National Association of Evangelicals and EFMA both endorsed UTS and authorized it as their "official travel agency." Menno Travel Service (MTS), for which there are several files in the series, was an agency also "serving missions, church and Christian service agencies," in which EFMA owned shares as a result of selling Security Travel Service (STS) to Menno in 1970. It is unclear at what point EFMA took on responsibility for UTS. However, in 1982 EFMA initiated procedures to sell UTS to Wheaton Heritage Travel, which was to manage the agency before the final sale was complete several years later; this arrangement deteriorated and the travel agency was sold to Menno in 1984.
Arrangement: Subdivided into two subseries (1948-1983, 1965-1989) correlating to the restructuring in 1981, although in no apparent order; each alphabetically ordered by processor
Date Range: 1948-1989
Volume: 2.5 linear feet
Boxes: 217-221
Type of documents: Correspondence, reports, financial records (audits, balance sheets), records of the pension fund for A.S. Bowker, ballots for board action, by-laws and articles of incorporation, legal papers, and other documents related to the operation and management of the business
Correspondents: Wade Coggins, Clyde Taylor, UTS executives including A. [Adda] S. Bowker (president from 1949-1975), Charles Carr (president 1975-1981), mission agencies’ representatives, UTS board members, representatives of Wheaton Heritage Travel and Menno Travel Service
Notes: This series covers the life span of UTS (1949-1984) and purchase by Menno Travel Service (MTS). The files, many labeled "Universal Travel Service," appear to have been come from various filing series. While there is intermittent record of the agency’s routine business, most of the series documents a transition of leadership in the mid-1970s, the decline of the service’s financial viability which climaxed in 1981, and its sale in 1984. Included are a record of the assessment of the extent of UTS debt and EFMA’s attempt to rescue the agency in 1981, as well as negotiations from 1982 to 1984 to sell the operation.
Series: Audio Tapes
Arrangement: EFMA-related meetings, unidentified meetings, miscellaneous
Date Range: 1975-1995
Volume: 340 cassette tapes
Notes: Described in the item records section of this guide, these tapes primarily cover EFMA’s Spring conventions and Fall Retreats, touching on a wide variety of subjects relevant for EFMA’s member missions and the missions’ community. Also included are a handful of recordings of sessions at non-EFMA meetings on subjects with relevance for missions and evangelism, and other tapes featuring speakers moving in EFMA circles, promoting organizations, or distributing missions news.
Series: Video Tapes
Date Range: Ca. 1985-1996
Volume: 16 VHS video tapes
Notes: Described in the item records section of this guide, these video tapes are primarily promotional or informational videos about Christian organizations or highlighting their programs. Only one video (V1) focuses on EFMA. The others address missions and evangelism, relief, Christian influence, and organizational leadership and development.
Topical Overview
Only boxes 1 through 19 are described extensively in the notes below with a topic focus on their contents. The addition to the collection in boxes 20 through 110 is only briefly and infrequently described. None of the additions in boxes 111 and following areincluded in this thematic description. The researcher will therefore benefit from studying these not only for their description of the contents of boxes 1 through 19, but also as suggestive of the topics that might be available in the rest of the collection. Since the Box List consists of individual folder titles, the researcher should consult the Box List of this guide, as the vast majority of folder titles listed there are adequately specific to identify their folders' contents. The collection contains material on the following themes:
Diplomatic Function
Nationalism, communism, etc.
Public Policy Issues
Interchurch relationships: conflict and cooperation
- Ecumenical movement
- Evangelical/Roman Catholic Relationships
- Other Relationships
- Africa
- Asia
- Latin America
Communications/Media
Conferences, consultations, etc.
Personnel
Correspondents
Foreign Language Materials
Miscellaneous
Subtopic: Diplomatic Functions
Materials in the collection document both EFMA's service to its members and the evangelical church in a diplomatic capacity, and political situations, both domestic and international, of concern to the evangelical church.
One of EFMA's aims was to maintain good relations between mission agencies and governments, at both the international and domestic levels. Following World War II, EFMA was called upon to act in a diplomatic capacity. Folders 1-19,24,35, 2-49,50,51, 4-21, and 10-1 deal with a variety of problems in Italy, especially the alleged persecution of Pentecostal missionaries by Italy's Roman Catholic government. Sources in Italy complained that relief supplies sent from the United States in the late 1940s were being distributed only to Catholics. The ensuing conflict brought heated correspondence on both sides of the issue, climaxing in the threat of a lawsuit by journalist Drew Pearson concerning allegations made against the integrity of the Friendship Food Train to Italy (see folders 1-24,50, and 2-49; the last folder contains an article by Pearson). Much of the correspondence on Italian matters came from Rev. Frank B. Gigliotti, NAE's ViceChairman of the Commission on Evangelical Action, and later National Commander of the Regular Veterans Association.
Additional documentation of the Italian situation is filed in the Country Series files. Among these are a petition to the US Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, regarding the closing of Churches of Christ in Italy (folder 104-6), a report, "Religious Intolerance in Italy" (folder 1046), and another report, "Italian Court Decision Upholds the Rights of Church of Christ in Italy."
Charges of persecution of Protestants by predominantly Catholic governments were also raised against Colombia and Spain. Extensive documentation for both situations (Colombia, 84-20 through 88-3; Spain, 88-4 through 89-11) is available in the form of reports from missionaries, photographs, correspondence to and from US government representatives, and press coverage. In the midst of this record, several items stand out: a summary report, "Religious Liberty in Colombia," which briefly overviews the historical context of the persecution (folder 86-10); census reports on Colombian Protestants (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969); clippings from Billy Graham's 1962 tour of South America, which included a stop in Colombia.
Other incidents which relate to alleged government persecution of missionaries include:
- Folder 1-24: The Hadjiantoniou case (Rev. G. A. Hadjiantoniou vs. the Greek government in the 1940s; the trouble between the Scandinavian Alliance Mission and the "Kyodan," a church union in Japan
- Folder 2-19 The Assemblies of God missionary troubles in Bulgaria, Italy, and Colombia
- Folder 2-35: The claims of persecution of Protestants in Mexico and legal status of missions in India
- Folder 8-38: A scathing message from the President of Burundi concerning "trouble" started by anyone, especially foreign missionaries, in his country
- Folder 9-28: Harassment of missionaries in Samoa.
- Folder 96-5 Persecution of evangelicals in Nicaragua.
As terrorism came into vogue as a method of solving problems, various EFMA reports and meetings began to discuss the issue: folders 10-14 and 12-12, both contain information on how to protect missions and missionaries from terrorism; folder 13-3 contains recommendations on evacuation (if necessary), avoidance of kidnaping, and information on CIA involvement with missionaries.
Also touched on are relief efforts and aid to refugees. Among these are: a file concerning poor treatment of Vietnamese refugees by their Danish hosts (folder 12-15); the Korean War (folder 2-37); and a memo on European War Relief (folder 1-49).
Subtopic: Nationalism, communism, etc.
International social movements are considered from various angles. Documents in folder 4-15 relate to a 1961 conference in Lima, Peru, where the impression was created that the World Council of Churches intended to use "rapid social change," if not revolution, for its own ends; also from the conference is the paper, "The Evangelical Churches in the Changing Situation in Latin America," which addressed "Yankee Imperialism" and its implications for missions in Latin America (folder 4-29), and material on a special set of meetings at which Castro and Cuba (folder 4-30, which also contains material on the Bolivian Revolution of 1922) were discussed.
An extreme impact of national rebellion on missionaries was illustrated during the rebellion of Congolese Simbas in 1964 and 1965. A number of missionaries were murdered, the most notable of which was medical missionary Paul Carlson, whose portrait was featured on the cover of Time magazine following his execution (folder 102-2).
The question of cultural pride in South American countries was the focus of a confidential report by William J. Kornfield in 1975 that stressed governmental attempts to "control religious missions that propose cultural change" by withholding visas (folder 11-19); in the same folder is more material by Kornfield about the "culture of conquest" or "donor culture" vs. indigenous culture. This was a topic discussed as early as 1947, preserved in an address, "Nationalism and Foreign Missionaries" (folder 1-13).
The fear of the spread of communism, throughout the United States and around the world, generated a wide variety of thought and interaction. Folder 2-37, contains interesting material about the upsurge of American anticommunism. Folder 4-11, contains official memos on communism, China, and the Bricker Amendment (which sought to impose controls on the power of the President to negotiate treaties); the 196l EFMA convention was the scene of addresses re communism (folder 4-17); this file also has two data sheets recording convention audience response to an anticommunism, antistudentdemonstration movie.
Other items of relevance to the study of communism include: a 1955 convention address, "Communism: A Missionary Problem" (folder 3-13); a 1959 address on communism in general (folder 49); a letter from Palestine during the Jewish takeover in 1948 (folder 145) and information about Palestine, 1949 (folder 210); a letter from the NAE to Secretary of State Dean Acheson, opposing diplomatic recognition of Franco's Spain (folder 2-3); "displaced persons" files (folders 1-4, 2-4, and 2-11); West Pakistan's relations with England (folder 4-31); documents illustrating the fear of the spread of communism from Cuba (folder 7-4, including a pamphlet entitled "Christiano: Que del Comunismo?"); material on communism in Peru (folder 106-15), and, more broadly, a report, "Communist Propaganda Activities in Latin America in 1961" (folder 105-9); and a 1959 report authored by the US Congress's Committee on Un-American Activities, "Communist Persecution of Churches in Red China and Northern Korea" (folder 101-1).
Subtopic: Public Policy Issues
Domestic politics and social concern also played an important role in EFMA activity and considerations. A few samples:
- Folder 1-6: Material from 1945 on "Citizens United for Religious Emancipation".
- Folder 2-8: A list of Congressmen's religions, ca. 1950.
- Folder 4-5: Documents from the 1960 EFMA convention's consideration of teaching the Ten Commandments in public school, with arguments pro and con.
- Folder 4-6: Proposal to the New York Social Welfare Department to establish the Evangelical and Child Family Welfare Service in 1958.
- Folder 5-17: NAE resolutions of the early 1960s, including a call for "Religion in National Life".
- Folder 6-7: A paper, "Religion and Human Rights" by Arthur Goldberg.
- Folder 6-36: Address at the 1967 Mission Executives Retreat on the biblical basis for social concern.
Subtopic: Interchurch relations/Ecumenism: conflict and cooperation
Interchurch relations were an important aspect of EFMA endeavor. The majority of material on conflict between Christian bodies centers on the struggles evangelicals had with liberal Protestants and Roman Catholics. These conflicts are documented in both mission field settings and at the executive levels of organizations.
Ecumenical movement. An interesting set of letters from Bob Jones, Sr., and Bob Jones, Jr., in 1950 (folder 2-23) provides a perspective of the fundamentalist-modernist controversy, which itself intensified evangelical wariness of the ecumenical movement. Friction between the evangelicals and the National Council of Churches (NCC) and World Council of Churches (WCC) is evident in many files. Evangelical distrust of the WCC and NCC was based on their emphasis on unity at the expense of doctrine. A few highlights:
- Folder 3-27: Correspondence on the feasibility of an evangelical counterpart to the NCC's Christian World Facts.
- Folder 4-13,14: A pamphlet by Clyde Taylor, entitled, "Ecumenical Strategy in Foreign Missions: The story of what goes on behind ecumenical words and phrases."
- Folder 4-l5: Report containing an evaluation of the WCC's attitude toward revolutionary movements.
- Folder 6-7,8,9: Clyde Taylor's speaking engagement files with material about difficulties between the NAE and the WCC, especially concerning a consultation to be held at Malone College in 1964.
- Folder 6-10,11: Documents on the World Evangelical Fellowship's battle against ecumenism throughout the world.
- Folder 7-5: James DeForest Murch's paper, "The NCC: A Critique".
- Folder 826,29: Questionnaires and interpreted results on the issue of how evangelicals were dealing with "ecumenical pressures".
- Folder 11-19: A report on the ecumenical question, "Cooperation: An Obstacle to Church Growth in Latin America?"
- Folder 13-23: Documents delineating the variations between viewpoints of the WCC and the World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF).
Other files illustrate evangelicals' concern about ecumenism in various locations. Folder 4-2 discusses Latin American ecumenism. Folder 4-14 contains a letter about ecumenism's threat to Angolan Protestantism. Folder 7-29 concerns "New Life for All," an ecumenical experiment in Nigeria among missions representing Anglicans, Assemblies of God churches, Methodists, Churches of Christ, and Baptists missions.
Of special note is a series of files on Zaire (folders 16-5,6,7,8,9), which trace the history of Zaire's ecumenism, against the backdrop of the nation's stormy political history between 19641974 and its move toward nationalizing the church in Zaire. Among the events, people, and topics covered are:
- Folder 16-5: The political turmoil and the death of Paul Earle Carlson, a medical missionary killed in 1964 at Stanleyville in a rebel massacre.
- Folder 16-6: Rev. John B. Bokeleale (also referred to by the Christian name Jean), a key force behind the movement toward a national, united, Protestant Congo Church. This folder contains information of the 1970 birth of the Church of Christ in the Congo, a union of 4l churches and 47 missions, and the simultaneous death of the Congo Protestant Council.
- Folder 16-7: The suppression of all dissenting Protestant churches by the Zaire government. Correspondence discusses a British Baptist evangelist, Pastor Makanzu, won over to the ecumenical cause, reportedly by availability of funds. There is also a letter from Christians in the Equatorial Province to Bokeleale, denouncing his theological and political stances.
- Folder 16-8: Portrays the ecumenists' side of the controversy, showing relations of the Church of Christ in the Congo with Congolese Protestant churches and with foreign missions. This folder also contains information about Bokeleale's visit to the United States and his reception by liberal Christians.
- Folder 16-9: Portrays the evangelical stance, particularly through the correspondence of Willys K. Braun, (a Christian and Missionary Alliance missionary, executive in the Office of Worldwide Evangelism in Depth (OWED), and executive in Christ Pour Tous (selfbilled as a "Campagne Nationale D'Evangelisation au Congo"). This file covers the early enthusiasm for and support of Pastor Makanzu, and outlines the stress between OWED and the theologically evangelical but politically ecumenical group, New Life for All (see also folder 7-29).
Evangelical/Roman Catholic Relationships. The heated conflict over public policy issues between antagonistic evangelical and Roman Catholic factions is well documented. Folder 29 relates to a congressional bill concerning aid to schools, and the attempt of some evangelicals to limit such aid exclusively to public schools.
Documentation of the efforts of Protestants and Other Americans United (POAU) include results of the 1948 North Dakota congressional elections (folder 2-1) and letters (folders 2-65,47) written denouncing President Truman's appointment of an ambassador to the Vatican; the file also touches on the issue of taxexempt status for Roman Catholic schools. A catchall file (folder 4-11) contains material on the parochial school aid question, the Vatican ambassador, and the entire churchstate issue. Additional church-state relationship material is available in folder 4-17 and 5-2, and on tape in recordings from the 1978 Mission Executives Retreat, the theme of which was the churchstate issue (T1 through 8).
Pope Paul VI's visit to the United States in 1965 brought angry correspondence (folder 7-8) from some evangelicals. Particularly interesting are the replies from major networks' executives (NBC, CBS, and ABC) to the charges that the Pope's visit was accorded too much coverage.
The relationships between Protestants and Catholics in various countries is documented in numerous files. The researcher should consult those country files, both in the Protestants in Catholic Countries series and the Countries Files series, where a Catholic majority is more likely to have an adverse effect on a Protestant minority (i.e., the Philippines, folder 107-1).
Other relationships. There is relatively little in the collection about trouble between evangelical bodies in mission situations. Of the few:
- Folder 5-20: Trouble between the United Brethren in Christ and the Wesleyan Methodist missions in Honduras.
- Folder 9-36: Interchurch troubles in Uganda.
- Folder 12-7: The Assemblies of God losing out to a Congregational plan to gain a state franchise on missionary activity in the Marshall Islands.
On the domestic front, a few files touch on conflict within the conservative wing of the American church, particularly with the International Council of Christian Churches (ICCC) and American Council of Christian Churches (ACCC). Material on the ACCC can be found in folders 224 and 23l. Carl McIntire states in a lengthy letter (folder 2-l7) why the ICCC and ACCC could not deal with the NAE.
Subtopic: Geographic emphasis
The descriptions which follow highlight some of the files that refer specifically to the EFMA and its work as it related to certain geographic areas of the globe: Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Africa. The earliest EFMA files are almost devoid of material concerning Africa. Three items of interest from these early years are a 1943 edition of the constitution of the Congo Protestant Council (folder 1-14); a 1948 London conference, called by the British government, which emphasized missions in Africa (folder 1-47); and Vice President Richard M. Nixon's 1957 report, "The Emergence of Africa," filed along with several Department of State brochures and pamphlets on Africa (folder 4-9).
The strongest expression of EFMA concern and activity in Africa (reflected in its records) is seen in its establishment of the Evangelical Committee for Africa in 1962, from which developed the Africa Evangelical Office (AEO) in Nairobi, from which emerged the Association of Evangelicals of Africa and Madagascar (AEAM) in 1966. Ken Downing, on loan from Africa Inland Mission, was chosen to direct the AEO. His correspondence can be found in most folders dealing with Africa (see the guide Box List). Eric Maillefer (pronounced Myfair) and his wife Lydia arrived in Nairobi in 1965 to assist in the work of the AEO. As with Downing, Maillefer's correspondence is found in most files concerning Africa after 1965. With the formation of AEAM, Downing served as its director until his resignation in 1971 (folders 7-16, 8-2,19). The AEAM continued under the direction of General Secretary Byang Kato, a native African. Kato's brief career with AEAM, ending with his accidental drowning in 1975, is documented in folders 11-12,22, 12-11,33.
A number of files include a rich source of information on the AEO and AEAM, the contacts Downing had throughout Africa, and the social and political status of the continent's many countries. Among the highlights:
- Folder 5-11: Material about the establishment of the office, the work done to begin various evangelical fellowships in Africa, the support of educational institutions, especially a college in Zaire, and racial tensions in a predominantly black continent. Information about an All African Christian Youth Assembly; a 1963 report on a visit to Burundi and the Congo concerning the Congo Protestant Council (which became defunct in 1970); and a 1962 confidential report from Ken Downing sketching out his contacts with evangelical groups in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, the Congo, and Burundi.
- Folder 5-21: Political commentary on Ivory Coast and Cameroon in the mid 1960s, and considerable correspondence with Africa Inland Mission.
- Folder 6-22: Materials on the difficulty of organizing evangelicals in Africa, the fear of ecumenism, and trouble with the Methodist Church in the Ivory Coast. Also in this folder is a letter explaining why the African Evangelical Office was now the Africa Evangelical Office: to nationals, the term "African" implied race, not location.
- Folder 11-12: Material on a Tyndale House Foundation grant to AEAM.
- Folders 11-22, 12-11: Documents on the founding of the Bangui Evangelical School of Theology (BEST) under Kato's leadership. Also see folders 189-10, 11, 12.
- 12-33: Two letters from Kato: "Black Theology and African Theology;" "The So-Called Ambassador of World Peace," a tirade against Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the World Wide Church of God and editor of the magazine, Plain Truth. Obituaries of Kato and an anonymous letter of character assassination against Eric Maillefer, James Halbert, and Roger E. Coon, all AEAM personnel.
Folder 6-1 has a quantity of material on the organization of the Congo Protestant Council, and other material that touches on a broad spectrum of activity: the launching of the All Africa Conference of Churches; TEAM involvement in Africa; tensions between evangelical fellowships and the WCC; an embezzler known as Mr. Pindi; the general state of the church in the Congo; the Ivory Coast Fellowship; an AEO visit to South Africa, Rhodesia, and Nyasaland in 1963; and a letter from David E. Climenhaga, bishop of the Rhodesia Brethren in Christ Church, re a proposed evangelical fellowship here, separate from the WCC.
One impact of the African continent's political and social turmoil on missionaries was illustrated during the rebellion of Congolese Simbas in 1964 and 1965. A number of missionaries were murdered, the most notable of which was medical missionary Paul Carlson, whose portrait was featured on the cover of Time magazine following his execution (folder 102-2).
Deserving of highlights are these items found in folders that in general concern Africa:
- Folder 7-2: Papers presented at the 1966 Nairobi Conference on the general theme of African evangelism.
- Folder 7-16: Material on the Second Africa Evangelical Conference in 1969.
- Folder 9-6: Papers regarding ecclesiastical woes in Zaire.
- Folder 10-27: Considerable material on African missions.
Asia. EFMA materials dealing with the Asia vary considerably in quality over time, with much of the most interesting material in the early files. Records dating from the first phase of involvement with China touch on:
- Folders 1-13,14: Meetings in 1945 at the EFMA convention concerning post-war opening of China missions.
- Folders 1-22, 2-12: South China Boat Mission.
- Folder 1-32: Voice of China, a radio network under the direction of Robert Bruce Hammond.
- Folders 2-2,3: The closing of missions in and after 1949.
- Folder 2-20: Bethel Mission of California, some of whose mission stations managed to continue after 1949 with indigenous leadership.
Two files focus on Taiwan. Folder 3-31 contains material on tensions between Catholics and Protestants in Taiwan. Folder 10-39 holds a hymnal with Chinese characters and a paper by Thomas Wang, "Mobilization and Evangelism of the Chinese Churches." Folder 2-5 has information about the Evangelical Fellowship of Hong Kong.
Folder 35-10 contains a geographically broad report, "Random Observations of Missionary Work Among Chinese in the Diaspora."
There are several files that center attention on Japan. Folder 1-24 has statement about missionary policy on Japan, written at the close of World War II when that field was expected to reopen. Folder 2-6 has correspondence from Pocket Testament League field secretary Timothy Pietsch concerning an interview he had with General Douglas MacArthur. Folder 1-14 contains material on the return of missionaries to Japan in 1947. Post war radio mission enterprise in Japan is depicted in folders 2-7 and 2-30; see especially the constitution of Japanese Christian Broadcast Company in 2-7. Files containing Japanese material in general are 1-46, 2-28, and 2-45. Examples of Japanese literature are found in 1-46. A short but important report presented to the 1952 EFMA convention on Shintoism in Japan, is in folder 3-6. Two folders have material on Japan dating from a later period: folder 6-10 contains mid-1960s correspondence of the Japan Council of Evangelical Missions; folder 9-24 has a 1973 report of the Assemblies of God's Far East Mission Work. Also of interest is criticism of evangelistic crusades led in Japan by Bob Pierce (folder 105-5).
An overview of the situation in Bangladesh is available in folder 23-1. Folder 69-24 contains a training manual for evangelism in the Soviet Union.
Folder 107-1 includes an interesting item, a thesis, Survey of Pagan Tribes in the Philippines and on Missionary Efforts Toward Their Evangelization.
Latin America. By far in the area for which the EFMA records have the most data in its first nineteen boxes is Latin America. Of vital interest is the 1959-1961 "Latin America Survey," the findings of which were published under the title Protestant Missions in Latin America: A Statistical Survey. Box 15 contains the raw data gathered for the project, including correspondence, notes, and separate files on thirty-two countries (see Contain List). These country files include data sheets submitted by every mission board operating in that country, giving size, budget, etc. of individual mission stations. Several folders include maps of the areas, which are more fully described under the Location Record for Oversized Material. Of special note is a series of pamphlets published by the Assemblies of God describing its missions in each of the Latin American countries. More information on the project, especially the records of merchandising the finished product, can be found in the general files, folders 4-22,23, 5-18,19.
The general files contain much information about specific problems and events in Latin America. Once again are case studies of persecution of missionaries. Among these are:
- Folder 2-35: A case in Mexico.
- Folder 2-38: The arrest of Edmund Outhouse in Bogota, Colombia, and the capture of his mission station by the army for use as a garrison and ammunition storehouse.
- Folder 2-54: Description of the circumstances of Hanah Lowe, a missionary whose indiscrete but inadvertent involvement in Colombian and Venezuelan domestic politics put her own life in jeopardy.
- Folders 2-55,57: Information on specific troubles in Colombia. Also see the Protestants in Roman Catholic Countries series, which includes extensive documentation on the persecution of Protestants in Colombia. (See the description of the material in the Diplomatic Functions section of these notes.)
- Folder 96-5: Persecution of evangelicals in Nicaragua.
Much Latin American material is found in folders concerning several conferences, consultations, and meetings. One such file is folder 3-33, which includes correspondence, reports, statistics, and papers presented on mission work, political commentary, and the threat of church nationalization. A 1959 communications congress held in Cali, Colombia, by Literatura Evangelica para America Latina (LEAL, folder 4-8) included a lengthy report, "The Challenge of Gospel Broadcasting in Latin America." Folder 16-2, concerning the same conference, has material about many types of media: radio, television, press, phonograph, etc. The Second Latin American Conference, held in 196l and 1962 at Lima and Huampani, Peru, is covered by material in several folders (folders 4-2,15). Folders 4-29,30 contain substantial material on all facets of the Conference, including correspondence, newspaper publicity, Spanish literature (especially Rodeheaver Hall Mack Co. promotional literature) and texts of papers delivered. Folders 16-15 and 16-16 also deal wholly with that conference. A Third Latin American Congress (folder 7-21) was held in 1969.
In 1970, a Latin American Consultation was held at Elburn, Illinois. Folder 8-12 contains manuscript notes from the sessions; feedback from participants on the effect of the consultation; and critical reviews of William Read, Victor Montresso and Harmon Johnson's Latin American Church Growth. A separate Haitian Consultation was also held in 1970, on the strength of the argument that Haiti, while geographically a part of Latin America, was culturally segregated from the rest of the hemisphere. The last of the Latin American conferences in this collection was the 1976 Quito Consultation, called in order to obtain from a "small, but significant cross section" of evangelical churches and missions (pastors, denominational/para church leaders, etc., from Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Argentina, and Peru) the Latin American perspective on church mission relations. Included in the file (folder 13-17) along with the usual correspondence and papers, is a Spanish hymnal, and evangelistic tracts and brochures. Of special interest are cartoonist's sketches of participants, including Wade Coggins, IFMA's Jack Frizen, and EMIS's Vergil Gerber.
One potpourri file (folder 11-19) deserves consideration for its Latin American contents. Included in it is the William Kornfield report "for those involved in programs of mission strategy overseas" about South America and his belief that its governments were beginning to view foreign missionaries as threats to national, indigenous culture. Also in the file are two other reports, one on hurricane Fifi's spree in Honduras, 1975; and on the ecumenical problem, "Cooperation: An Obstacle to Church Growth in Latin America?" Folder 13-4 includes a paper, "Protestant Belief Systems in Three Latin American Countries: A Preliminary Report of an Empirical Analysis." The three countries were Argentina, Peru, and Mexico.
Description of the data on Latin America in the collection is incomplete without mention of the numerous files of CLASE (Consulta Latino Americana Sobre Evangelismo) and ECLA (Evangelical Committee on Latin America): folders 4-2,15, 5-3 through 5-10, 5-12, 5-25 through 5-27, 6-20, 6-25, 7-21, 9-1, 10-28, 11-18, and 13-1. These contain extensive material in Spanish (see especially folders 5-3 through 5-9). An example of what these files contain is illustrated by folder 6-20: a letter from Eugene Wittig about violence done to a mission school in Colorado, Colombia (see also photos of the school); an incomplete run of the Spanish "Boletin Informativo"; a paper, "The Position of the Gospel Mission of South America on CLASE"; and material on LEAL and DIA (Diffusiones Inter Americanas), the latter a communications organization.
Subtopic: Communications and Media
A major EFMA concern was that of communications, principally as it related to the spreading of the Gospel, reflecting both a concern for principles of communication and the related technology.
Literature was one focus of this concern. Much of what the EFMA did in this regard was through the Evangelical Literature Overseas (ELO) and its leaders Harold B. Street, Peter Gunther, and later James L. Johnson (folders 3-16, 3-17, 3-31, 4-7, 4-19, 4-20, 6-30, 9-42, 10-34, and 12-37). Issues touched on in these files include: the discussion about Wheaton College's possible establishment of a writing major geared to mission needs (folder 3-31); the financial operations of ELO (folder 10-34); the possibility of ELO becoming an EFMA/IFMA joint committee (folder 10-34). Other literature related materials:
- Folder 4-20: An ELO field worker's reports on the current (1962) state of affairs in the use of literature in Italy, Europe, Great Britain, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Lebanon, Greece, Turkey, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Ceylon, and India.
- Folder 6-30: Information about a literature conference for French speaking Africa.
Other materials on ministry through literature are available in folders 1-40,41,42, 2-26, and 3-2. Most convention files (see Box List, "EFMA Convention...") contain reports from the EFMA Literature Committee. Examples of pieces of literature are included in some files: Spanish (folders 1-33, 2-68, 3-20, and 5-9); Japanese (folder 1-46); and French (folder 8-11). The ECLA files, especially folder 9-1, also contain literature concerns.
There is considerable material in the collection on electronic communications, specifically radio. Random highlights include:
- Folders 1-21, 2-14: Documents on early activity of station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador.
- Folder 1-31: General information on radio outreach to the world and specific material on the 1946 Congressional bill HR5117 (S63) about the "coercive practices affecting broadcasting," and the licensing of stations in light of this bill.
- Folders 2-7,30: Documents on early radio work in Japan.
- Folder 2-40: Material on World Radio Missionary Fellowship, 1950.
- Folder 2-48: Correspondence with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
- Folder 4-8: Paper, "The Challenge of Gospel Broadcasting in Latin America".
- Folder 9-44: The testimony of Far East Broadcasting Company executive director Eugene R. Bertermann to a Senate subcommittee about a copyright bill in 1973.
Researchers should also note the NRB (National Religious Broadcasters) files in both the annual subseries and the Reference Files series.
The NAE developed its own radio program in 196l, "Bridges to Understanding," which featured spots about foreign missions around the globe. Folder 4-27 contains correspondence and scripts for the show, aired by NBC. Folder 4-26 concerns another radio show, "The Church at Work."
Two files reflect EFMA involvement in the film industry and the use of motion pictures to promote mission interest. Folder 2-58 concerns the film company Missions Visualized. Folder 7-3 documents the production, financing, and marketing of the film Anything Can Happen, including brochures, publicity, and shooting script excerpts.
Another aspect of EFMA's involvement in communication was through its own publications. Evangelical Missions Information Service (EMIS) assumed responsibility for this after its founding in 1963 (folders 7-23, 9-1,4,5,38, 10-31, 11-19, 12-38). EMIS publications for which some aspect is documented in the collection are: Missionary News Service, as a clearing house for evangelical mission news on a worldwide scope (early issues are noted on the Location List for periodicals); Pulse, a digest of mission news tailored to specific geographical areas (folder 7-21 contains random issues, and folder 9-38 has issues of Asia Pulse, Muslim World Pulse, and Africa Pulse); and Evangelical Mission Quarterly (EMQ, folder 11-25). Folder 9-5 includes a copy of Wheaton College Graduate Communications Department paper, "A Study of Subscribers to Evangelical Missions Quarterly."
The collection also has extensive files of two other publications: CEDEC Bulletins, and "Mission Executives Retreat Report". The series of CEDEC Bulletins (folders 17-12 and 17-13), issued by the news service of the Evangelical Confederation of Colombia from its Barranquilla, Colombia, office, covers a twelve year period (1951-1962). Some issues are in English, while others are in Spanish. Covered in the publication are a myriad of topics of interest to South American evangelicals, including tensions between Catholics and Protestants, and Billy Graham's 1962 appearance in Colombia. The "Mission Executives Retreat Reports" (Boxes 18 and 19) from 1955 to 1977 (lacking 1973 when none was issued, and 1976) contain exactly what its title claims: papers presented at retreats, committee reports, etc. The themes of individual retreats reflect the concerns of mission executives from their experience in the mission world.
Much of the communications-related material in the collection is found in files about individual conferences. Among the more significant of these was:
- Folders 4-8, 16-2: The 1959 Latin American Congress on Communication (Cali, Colombia), which dealt with radio, television, phonograph, and the press.
- Folders 4-30, 16-15: The 1962 Latin American Congress on Communication (Huampani, Peru).
- Folder 9-35: Joint "Communications Meeting" between the NAE, International Christian Broadcasters, and National Religious Broadcasters in 1973. The meeting was intended to coordinate religious broadcasting administration and to "establish harmonious and effective coordination and cooperation."
- Folder 10-40: NRB 1974 convention, for which speakers included Eugene Bertermann, Rex Humbard, Corrie ten Boom, and then Vice President Gerald R. Ford.
Other conference files with communication-related material include the 1955 World Conference on Missionary Radio (folder 17-11), the 1957 Panamerican Christian Network Conference (folder 17-2), and the 1971 Africa wide Christian Communications Conference (folder 16-1).
Subtopic: Conferences, consultations, etc.
A central activity of EFMA and its executives is the sponsoring of or participation in conferences, consultations, seminars, and meetings. Some of these have already been identified: Second Latin American Conference (Lima, Peru), 196l; Third Latin American Conference, 1969; a Communications Conference (Cali, Colombia), 1959; a Second Communications Conference (Huampani, Peru), 1962; the Quito Consultation, 1976; and CLASE (Consulta Latino Americana Sobre Evangelismo).
Major meetings coordinated by EFMA each year were its annual convention and the Mission Executives Retreat. Both of these events are well documented throughout the collection. The researcher should consult the Box List under the folder headings, "EFMA Convention" and "Mission Executives Retreat" in the appropriate year's files. These files are largely correspondence regarding routine details such as reservations and general housekeeping measures. However, meeting minutes, texts of addresses and papers, reports, etc. can also be found in the folders. The "meat" of the Mission Executives Retreats is in boxes 18 and 19, which contains the published reports between 1955 and 1977. Audio tapes of addresses at the 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982, and 1983 meetings are described in further detail in the Location Record for audio tapes.
In 1967 EFMA sponsored a "Think Conference," with its stated purpose: "to determine the best way of evaluating the effectiveness of evangelical mission programs, to identify necessary changes in existing programs, to recommend action, and to outline steps for implementation." Correspondence, addresses, minutes, etc. about this Conference are available in folders 7-12, 17-4 through 17-6, and folder 208-5 in the General Correspondence.
The 1971 Mission Executives Retreat was expanded into a series of meetings at Green Lake, Wisconsin. Materials on these meetings, known by the title, "Missions in Creative Tension" or "Green Lake '71" are found in folders 11-34 and 19-6.
In 1973 EFMA co sponsored (with the IFMA and the Association of Evangelical Professors of Missions [AEPM]) a "Study Conference" which sought to answer the questions: How can North American agencies aid Third World national churches in evangelistic work, and encourage them to send their own missionaries? How can North American missionaries help? How can evangelical relations be secured and bettered area wide, nation wide, and world wide? Folders 10-16 through 10-19 contain the records of this conference. The work of another EFMA/IFMA/AEPM Retreat in 1976 (folders 12-44 through 12-46) was documented in a book (see especially folder 12-45), containing all the papers presented, titled Evangelical Missions Tomorrow.
Files for EFMA sponsored meetings may include participant lists, reports and papers, program books and the handwritten notes of the Executive Director.Over the years, the EFMA participated in various other conferences sponsored by other bodies. Folder 6-23 concerns the 1966 Congress on the Church's Worldwide Mission, held in Wheaton, Illinois. It includes drafts of session papers, press releases, statement of purpose, delegate lists, statistics on world population, and perhaps most importantly, early drafts and revisions of the Wheaton Declaration which was the foundational document produced by the Congress. Folders 6-24, 16-11, and 16-12 also concern the Congress, and folder 11-34 includes questionnaires completed by participants in the Congress. Folder 16-10 contains records of the Congress Continuing Committee, instituted to extend the impact of the Congress.
EFMA's participation in the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization (ICOWE) held in Lausanne, Switzerland (folder 10-36) is documented through Wade Coggins' manuscript notes from the sessions, which offer a firsthand reflection on the Congress, and a manuscript, "What's Behind the Idea of a Missionary Moratorium."
A few of the others documented in the collection:
- Folder 7-16: An Africa Evangelical Conference.
- Folders 7-18,19,20 and 8-7: Church Growth Seminars.
- Folder 8-33: A seminar on Christian Responsible Parenthood.
- Folder 8-34: The conference, Towards a World Wide Evangelical Fellowship in Mission.
- Folder 9-7: Explo '72.
- Folder 10-26: A Columbia (South Carolina) Consultation held at Columbia Bible College, which stressed the value of mutual assistance in regard to mission goals and methods.
- Folder 17-3: A 1976 Theology of Missions Consultation discussed the charismatic movement, the relationship between missions and political upheaval, ecumenism, dialogue with Catholics, theology of church growth, and contextualization.
- Folder 17-7: The 1976 Urbana Conference, which included Billy Graham's address, "Responding to God's Glory."
Numerous other meetings, described in the Box List, are also documented in the collection.
Subtopic: Personnel
The Personnel and Student Affairs Committee was an EFMA standing committee beginning in 1974 (folders 11-2, 12-4, and 13-15). This committee, under Virgil Newbrander's leadership was involved in missionary evaluation through psychological tests, etc. Personnel selection was always a prime focus of the EFMA, as evidenced by the files and cases involving individual missionaries or employees. Folder 8 18 contains the records of a Personnel Seminar, highlighting the scientific methods outlined for selection, screening and administration of employees. Evaluation of personnel was one of the topics of the 1977 Missions Executives Retreat (See the Audio Tape item descriptions for T9 through 14. Also see the folder 39-36, which includes a copy of its candidate assessment form.
Subtopic: Correspondents
The collection's eclectic coverage of evangelical concerns naturally produced correspondence with many major figures from within and outside the evangelical world. A few samples with their subject are:
- Folder 1-5: Letters from George Wilson, later with the BGEA.
- Folders 1-23, 4-2, 5-1: Letters from Billy Graham (in 1946 about a scheduled visit to England on Youth for Christ business, and in 1964 about a "world wide conference on evangelism" which he wanted to see held in Rome).
- Folder 1-23: Clyde Taylors's letter to President Truman asking for support on the Supplies Relief Bill.
- Folders 2-6,48: Coespondence with and about General Douglas MacArthur.
- Folder 2-17: A letter from Rev. Carl McIntire; information about his opposition to the NAE in Africa is in folder 5-2.
- Folder 4-3: An invitation (presumably declined) to President Eisenhower to speak to the 1958 EFMA Convention.
- Folders 6-26,29: John C. Broger, director of Armed Forces Information and Education, received the NAE "Layman of the Year" award in 1968.
- Folder 6-29: Materials about Senator Mark Hatfield's address to the 1968 Convention. Taylor's letter to J. Edgar Hoover.
Box 1:
- Ackerle, Roy, Evangelical Literature Commission
- Adams, Kenneth R., Christian Literature Crusade (CLC)
- Bishop, Crawford M., Tokyo Foreign Missionaries
- Correll, Sidney, Committee on Latin American Literature
- Decker, Rutherford L., President, NAE
- DeKorne, John C., Christian Reformed Board of For. Missions
- Duerksen, Edward H., The King's Ambassadors
- Edman, V. Raymond, President, Wheaton College
- Hammond, Robert Bruce, Voice of China
- Hedrick, Henry E., NAE, Southwest Area
- Hoff, Irving G., Bible House of Los Angeles
- Innes, T. Christie, American Tract Society
- Jones, C. Warren, Church of the Nazarene
- Luckman, James O.A., Gordon College
- McGavock, James W., Baptist Publishing House
- Murch, James DeForest
- Parker, Robert, Far Eastern Gospel Crusade (FEGC)
- Perkin, Noel, Assemblies of God
- Peteson, Paul B., Russian and Eastern European Mission
- Ridderhof, Joy, Gospel Recordings
- Spratt, William H. Lee, Minnesota NAE
- Swanson, J.F., Scandinavian Alliance Mission (later TEAM)
- Truxton, James C., Christian Aviation Missionary Fellowship
- VanKampen, Robert, Hitchcock Publishing
- Wagner, Henry, Christian & Missionary Alliance (C&MA)
- Warner, George R., National Holiness Mission Society
Box 2:
- Archer, Glenn L., Protestants and Other Americans United (POAU)
- Armstrong, Philip E., FEGC
- Bentley, Clara L., Foreign Mission Conference of N. America
- Bishop, Crawford M., Tokyo Foreign Missionaries
- Bolten, John, Boston corporate executive
- Buker, Raymond, Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society (CBFMS)
- Dale, James G., Mexican Indian Mission
- Dean, Horace, National Spiritual Awakening Movement: World Assembly of Evangelicals
- DeKorne, John C., Christian Reformed Board of For. Missions
- Eckel, W.A., Tokyo Foreign Missionaries
- Foster, Robert A., Radio communication; Evangelical Missions Association of Japan
- Frizen, Edwin L.,Jr., FEGC
- Henry, Carl F.H., Fuller Theological Seminary
- Isbill, O. Ralph, Open Bible Standard Missions
- Johnson, David H., The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM)
- Jones, Clarence W., HCJB radio; FMA Special Methods Committee
- Laug, G.W., TEAM
- Ross, Emory, Foreign Missions Conference of N. America
- Rycroft, W. Stanley, Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.
- Wagner, Henry, C&MA; EFMA Committee on Evangelical Missionary Literature
- Warner, George R., National Holiness Mission Society
- Williams, Carl Ormand, National Education Association
Box 3:
- Baker, Milton, CBFMS
- Burnett, C.C., Chairman, NAE Program, 1954
- Evans, Robert P., Greater Europe Mission (GEM)
- Fenton, Horace L., Jr., Latin America Mission (LAM)
- Gerber, Virgil, CBFMS; Literature Evangelica para America Latina (LEAL)
- Gunther, Peter F., Evangelical Literature Overseas (ELO)
- Jones, Clarence W., World Radio Missionary Fellowship
- Pache, Rene, Institut Emmaus (Lausanne, Switzerland)
- Percy, J.O. (Jack), IFMA
- Perkin, Noel, Assemblies of God
- Roberts, W. Dayton, LEAL
- Sanny, Lorne C., Navigators
- Street, Harold B., ELO
- Taylor, Kenneth N., Moody Press
- Tenney, Merrill C., Wheaton College
- Thompson, R.E., Missionary Internship
- Vaus, Jim, Missionary Communication Service, Inc.
Box 4:
- Armstrong, Philip E., FEGC
- Baker, Milton, CBFMS
- Bertermann, Eugene R., National Religious Broadcasters (NRB)
- Bowker, A.S., President, Universal Travel Service
- Dain, A. Jack, Church Missionary Society of Australia
- Ford, George L., Executive Director, NAE
- Gerber, Vergil, LEAL
- Gill, Donald H., NAE Office of Public Affairs
- Gillam, Bill, OMS
- Gunther, Peter F., ELO; Moody Literature Mission
- Jacques, Edwin E., CBFMS
- Knighton, J. Raymond, Christian Medical Society
- Newbrander, Virgil R., FEGC
- Percy, J.O., IFMA
- Perkin, Noel, Assemblies of God
- Pierce, Bob, President, World Vision International
- Remington, Robert A., Cadena Cultural Panamericana
- Sargent, Rod, Navigators
- Small, G. Allen, Director, EFMA Purchasing Office, New York
- Smith, Arthur, World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF)
- Street, Harold B., ELO
- Taylor, Kenneth N., ELO
- Van Der Puy, Abe C., World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc.
- Ward, Larry, Director, World Vision, Inc.
Box 5:
- Adams, Kenneth R., CLC
- Arana, Arturo, CLASE
- Baker, Milton G., CBFMS
- Baker, R.H., Sr., Africa Inland Mission (AIM)
- Barnett, Erik S., Field Director, AIM
- Bowman, Robert H., President, Far East Broadcasting Company
- Brushwyler, Vincent, CBFMS
- Climenhaga, Arthur M., Executive Director, NAE
- Climenhaga, David E., Bishop, Rhodesia Brethren in Christ Church
- Cornell, David L., Worldwide Evangelization Crusade (WEC)
- Downing, Kenneth, AIM; Africa Evangelical Office (AEO)
- Fenton, Horace L., Jr., LAM
- Harrison, Stuart, CLASE
- Hostetter, Henry N., Brethren in Christ World Missions
- Kirby, Gilbert W., WEF
- Langford, Sidney, AIM
- Lores, Ruben, CLASE
- McBavran, Donald, Institute of Church Growth
- McKnight, Thomas Copeland, Christian Amendment Movement
- Mortenson, Vernon, TEAM
- Remington, Robert A., II Congreso de Comunicaciones Evangelicas
- Savage, John, WEF
- Vangioni, Fernando V., CLASE
- Warner, George R., World Gospel Mission
- Wati, I. Ben, Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI)
- Westlund, Lester P., Evangelical Free Church Foreign Mission Board
- Wilson, Grady, BGEA
- Woods, C. Stacey, International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES)
Box 6:
- Cattell, Everett L., President, WEF
- Climenhaga, David E., Bishop, Brethren in Christ Church, Rhodesia
- Crouch, W.G., Field Director, Sudan Interior Mission (SIM)
- Cummings, Norman L., Home Director, Overseas Crusades Inc.
- Downing, Kenneth L., AEO, EFMA
- Fenton, Horace L.,Jr., LAM
- Gerber, Vergil, Executive Director, ECLA
- Hostetter, Henry N., Brethren in Christ World Missions
- Kirby, Gilbert W., WEF, London
- Langford, Sidney, AIM
- Lores, Ruben, CLASE
- Maillefer, Eric, AEO, EFMA
- Nixon, Anna, EFI
- Smith, Oswald J., People's Church, Toronto, Ontario
- Wati, I. Ben, EFI
Box 7:
- Baker, Milton G., CBFMS
- Cummings, Norman L., Overseas Crusades, Inc.
- Downing, Kenneth L., AIM; AEO
- Duewel, Wesley, Vice President, OMS
- Frizen, Edwin L.,Jr., IFMA
- Gerber, Vergil, ECLA; Evangelical Missions Information Service (EMIS)
- Hay, Ian M., N. American Director, SIM
- Kirby, Gilbert W., WEF, London
- McCullough, Joseph, Bolivian Indian Mission
- Maillefer, Eric, AEO
- Van Der Puy, Abe. C., President, HCJB radio
- Wick, Stanley, Quichua Bible Institute, Guatemala
- Woods, C. Stacey, IFES
Box 8:
- Baker, Milton G., CBFMS; Co chairman, CAMEO
- Buker, Raymond B., Coordinator, CAMEO
- Downing, Kenneth L., AEO
- Fenton, Horace L., LAM
- Florence, H. Raymond, Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), Director
- Frizen, Edwin L., Jr., IFMA
- Gerber, Vergil, ECLA
- Jacques, Edwin E., CBFMS
- Kingsriter, Delmar, Association of Evangelicals of Africa and Madagascar (AEAM)
- Klein, George C., C&MA; Chairman, EFMA African Committee
- Maillefer, Eric, AEAM
- Newbrander, Virgil R., FEGC; EFMA Personnel and Student Affairs Committee
- Peterson, Paul B., Eastern European Mission
- Wagner, C. Peter, Fuller Theological Seminary
Box 9:
- Adams, Kenneth R., International Secretary, Christian Literature Crusade
- Armstrong, Philip E., FEGC
- Baker, Milton G., CBFMS; CAMEO
- Bertermann, Eugene R., FEBC
- Buker, Raymond B., Coordinator, CAMEO
- Finley, Allen B., Christian Nationals' Evangelism Commission, Incorporated (CNEC)
- Florence, H. Raymond, Director, CEF
- Frizen, Edwin L.,Jr., IFMA
- Gerber, Vergil, ECLA
- Hasselblad, Oliver W., American Leprosy Missions Inc.
- Johnson, James L., ELO
- Kato, Byang H., General Secretary, AEAM
- Odunaike, Samuel, President, AEAM
Box 10:
- Armstrong, Ben, NRB
- Baker, Milton G., CAMEO; CBFMS
- Dain, Arthur John, International Congress on World Evangelization (ICOWE, Lausanne)
- Dayton, Edward R., Missions Advanced Research and Communication Center (MARC)
- Frizen, Edwin L.,Jr., IFMA
- Gerber, Vergil, ECLA; EMIS
- Gigliotti, Frank B., Evangelical Action Committee
- Hagen, Johannes, New Life for All
- Hoke, Donald E., ICOWE
- Johnson, James L., ELO
- Kato, Byang H., AEAM
- Maillefer, Eric, AEAM
- Mans, Joseph S., New Life for All
- Wati, I. Ben, EFI
Box 11:
- Baker, Milton G., CAMEO
- Frizen, Edwin L.,Jr., IFMA
- Gerber, Vergil, ECLA: EMIS
- Graffam, Everett S., World Relief Commission (WRC)
- Halbert, James, AEAM
- Hay, Ian M., SIM
- Kato, Byang H., AEAM
- Risley, Clate A., President, Worldwide Christian Education Ministries
Box 12:
- Adams, Kenneth R., CLC
- Baker, Milton G., CAMEO
- Bjork, Dale, Co chairman, CAMEO
- Coon, Roger E., AEAM
- Frizen, Edwin L.,Jr., IFMA
- Gerber, Vergil, EMIS
- Johnson, James L., ELO
- McGavran, Donald, Regent College; Fuller Seminary
- Maillefer, Eric, AEAM
- Wati, I. Ben, EFI
- Webster, Warren, CBFMS
Box 13:
- Amerding, Hudson T., President, Wheaton College
- Baker, Milton G., CAMEO
- Cummings, Norman L., Overseas Crusades Inc.
- Dayton, Edward R., MARC
- Duewel, Wesley L., President, OMS International
- Ford, Leighton, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA)
- Frizen, Edwin L.,Jr., IFMA
- Gerber, Vergil, EMIS
- Graffam, Everett S., WRC
- Kim, Billy, Christian Service, Inc.
- McGilchrist, Donald, Navigators
- Palau, Luis, Overseas Crusades, Inc.
- Philgreen, Irving, Short Terms Abroad
- Savage, Peter, International Coordinator, Fraternidad Teologica Latinoamericana
- Scott, Waldron, WEF
- Thiessen, Abe G., International Christian Broadcasters
- Thompson, J. Allen, West Indies Mission, Inc.
Subtopic: Foreign Language Documents
While the vast majority of the collection's documents are in English, a few of the files contain documents in Spanish (folders 1-33, 2-68, 3-20, 5-3 through 5-9, folders 32-3,4,5, folder 49-2, folder 52-10, folders 84-20 through 89-11, folders 97-16 through 98-22, folder 102-5, and folders 106-1,2,14,15), Portuguese (folders 44-3, 97-5 and 107-3), Japanese (folder 1 46), and French (folder 8 11). Folders 17-12 and 13 contain issues of CEDEC Bulletins, some of which are in Spanish.
Subtopic: Miscellaneous
As an association of mission agencies, the EFMA necessarily dealt with a wide scope of missions and missionaries on unique matters. The Assemblies of God was a frequent correspondent about many individual situations its missionaries encountered (folders 1-19, 1-24, 2-19, 3-37, 8-32, 9-24 and 12-7). Of special interest are these incidents: the nationalization of the Mexican church (folder 3-37); missionaries in Iran with legal problems (folder 8-32); and the Congregational Church's receiving a permit for mission activity from the Marshall Islands' "Institute for Cultural Affairs" (folder 12-7).
The following highlights the more interesting "miscellaneous" missions:
The EFMA records are also a rich source for information about other organizations. Among them:
World Relief Commission, whose documents include information from diverse areas such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, South Vietnam, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, and Chad (folders 11-8, 12-18, 13-24).
Organization Resources Counselors, consultants offering professional advice on world finance, dispensed information to EFMA members on their utilization of funds (folders 8-16, 8-30, 9-14, 10-13, 10-14, 10-42, 11-1, 12-3, 13-11, 13-12 and 13-13).
Information by or about the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA) is dispersed throughout the collection, principally in files which concerned the IFMA as well as the EFMA, such as Evangelical Missions Information Service or a regional committee. A merger of IFMA and EFMA was considered in correspondence between Clyde Taylor and Harmon S. Nixon in 1947 (folder 1-23). Cooperation between the two is discussed in folder 2-28. Also see folder 3-32 for IFMA material.
Some of the most intriguing items and topics, sampled below, are buried in files without any notice on folder headings, etc.
The collection contains some information on missionary use of aviation, ranging from files with aviation information (folder 1-12) to letters from James Truxton and others concerning Christian Airmen's Missionary Fellowship's philosophy and in house problems. Folder 1 26 contains a 1946 report titled, "Missionary Aviation Why and How."
Other bits and pieces include: screening of missionary personnel (folder 3-24); discussion on proper salaries and allowances for missionaries (folder 3-37); the Biblical authority for missions (folder 4-12); missionary education and missionaries' children's education folder 4-9); discussion on whether the NAE should declare policy on moral or ethical issues (folder 4-11); Selective Service classification of missionaries (folder 6-33); tax information for missionaries (folder 8-13); Philippine social security obligations (folder 9-44); and general surveys of missions around the world (folders 1-28 and 4-4).
Provenance
Created or gathered by Evangelical Foreign Missions Association until they were received by the Billy Graham Center Archives, 1980-1999.
Accruals
Accession: 80-99
Accessions: 83-84, 85-73, 85-172, 86-126, 87-30, 87-54, 87-100, 87-102, 88-5, 88-42, 88 118, 88-123, 88-124
Accessions: 83-7, 89-2, 89-90, 89-127, 90-15, 90-20, 91-4, 92-106, 94-42, 95-92, 96-52, 97-23, 97-35, 98-15, 99-12
Accession: 85-172
- Anti-communist movements.
- Association of Church Missions Committees.
- Association of Evangelicals of Africa and Madagascar.
- Catholic Church -- Colombia.
- Catholic Church -- Italy.
- Catholic Church -- Relations -- Protestant churches.
- Catholic Church -- Spain.
- Catholic Church -- United States.
- Charismatic movement.
- Children of missionaries.
- Chinese -- Missions.
- Christian education.
- Christian leadership.
- Christian literature -- Publishing.
- Christian martyrs.
- Christianity and culture.
- Christianity and other religions.
- Church and social problems.
- Church and state -- Colombia.
- Church and state -- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Church and state -- Italy.
- Church and state -- Spain.
- Church and state -- United States.
- Church growth.
- Cities and towns.
- Coggins, Wade T.
- College students in missionary work.
- Committee to Assist Missionary Education Overseas.
- Communication.
- Communism -- China.
- Congo (Democratic Republic) -- History -- Civil War, 1960-1965.
- Corporations, Religious -- Taxation.
- Counseling.
- Ecumenical movement.
- Evangelical Committee on Latin America.
- Evangelical Literature Overseas.
- Evangelical Missions Information Service.
- Evangelicalism -- Africa.
- Evangelicalism -- Asia.
- Evangelicalism -- Central America.
- Evangelicalism -- Latin America.
- Evangelicalism -- North America.
- Evangelicalism -- Relations -- Catholic Church.
- Evangelicalism -- South America.
- Evangelicalism -- United States.
- Evangelistic work -- Africa.
- Evangelistic work -- Asia.
- Evangelistic work -- Central America.
- Evangelistic work -- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Evangelistic work -- Congresses.
- Evangelistic work -- Europe.
- Evangelistic work -- Philosophy.
- Evangelistic work -- South America.
- Evans, Robert P., 1918-2011.
- Frizen, E. L.
- Fund raising.
- Fundamentalism.
- Great Britain -- Colonies -- Africa.
- Great Britain -- Colonies -- Asia.
- Indigenous church administration.
- Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association of North America.
- Interdenominational cooperation -- United States.
- International Congress on World Evangelization.
- International relief.
- Islam -- Relations -- Christianity.
- Jones, Bob, 1883-1968.
- Jones, Bob, 1911-1997.
- Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.
- Liberalism (Religion)
- Management.
- Mass media in missionary work.
- McKaughan, Paul.
- Missionaries -- Training of.
- Missionaries -- Appointment, call, and election.
- Missionaries -- Leaves and furloughs.
- Missionaries -- Salaries, etc.
- Missionaries' spouses.
- Missionaries, Resignation of.
- Missions -- Administration.
- Missions -- Africa.
- Missions -- Asia.
- Missions -- Biblical teaching.
- Missions -- Central America.
- Missions -- China.
- Missions -- Congo (Democratic Republic).
- Missions -- Congresses.
- Missions -- Educational work.
- Missions -- Europe.
- Missions -- Finance.
- Missions -- Interdenominational cooperation.
- Missions -- North America.
- Missions -- South America.
- Missions -- Study and teaching.
- Missions -- Theory.
- Missions to Muslims.
- Missions, Medical.
- National Association of Evangelicals.
- Nationalism.
- Organizational change.
- Pentecostalism.
- Persecution -- Colombia.
- Persecution -- Italy.
- Persecution -- Spain.
- Personnel management.
- Radio in missionary work.
- Religions -- Study and teaching.
- Religious institutions.
- Short-term missions.
- Taylor, Clyde W. (Clyde Willis), 1904-1988.
- Terrorism.
- Theology -- Study and teaching.
- United Mission to Nepal.
- United States -- Foreign Relations -- Colombia.
- United States -- Foreign relations -- Italy.
- United States -- Foreign relations -- Spain.
- Wheaton '83: An International Evangelical Conference on the Nature and Mission of the Church.
- Women in missionary work.
- World Council of Churches.
- World Evangelical Fellowship.
Creator
- Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies (2012-) (Organization)
- Title
- Collection 165 Records of Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository