About Us

Mission

We exist to glorify God by making and maturing disciples of Jesus Christ to minister to the world with the gospel by the Holy Spirit.

About Us

First Free is an Evangelical Free Church located in Maplewood, MN. Since 1886, we have been unashamedly committed to teaching and understanding the Bible. We gather on Sunday mornings for worship services and classes. During the week, we gather at church for studies and clubs available for all ages. Many groups also meet in their homes and serve out in our community. Click here for details on daily life at First Free. There are several pages about our church’s history in our Membership Packet. (Contact the Church Office for a copy.)

Our Core Values

Download Statement of Faith

  • Word-Centered: Jesus Christ reigns over His church through His Word. We are intentional in keeping the Bible central to all ministry and teaching.
  • Prayer: Conversation with God is integral to all we do. We demonstrate dependence on the Spirit of God by empowering His people for His work through prayer.
  • Worship: We praise God reverently in spirit and truth. All elements of our corporate worship are God-centered, Christ-focused and Spirit-filled.
  • Community: We connect and develop meaningful relationships with other believers by serving one another, growing as disciples, being accountable and functioning in unity.
  • Discipleship: We come alongside new and veteran believers by bolstering spiritual maturity, facilitating Jesus-rooted relationships and entrusting them with ministry responsibilities.
  • Stewardship: We are generous with all the Lord has provided – our time, our talents, our spiritual gifts and our material resources.
  • Local Outreach: We initiate community connection by meeting physical, spiritual and emotional needs in Maplewood and local suburbs.
  • Global Outreach: We are passionate about the Good News and mobilize our congregation to reach people of every tribe and nation. Many go on short-term trips each year.

Our Name

What does our church name mean? The word “evangelical” comes from the New Testament word euangelion which means “good news”. We frequently find this word translated in our Bibles as “Gospel”. Broadly speaking, an evangelical is one who commits to living and communicating the Good News: God sent a Savior in the person of Jesus Christ to rescue us from sinful alienation and restore relationship and communion with Him forever.

This means that we believe:

  • The veracity and authority of the Scriptures without error as God originally gave them.
  • The necessity of personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior for one’s salvation.
  • The urgency of seeking the conversion of spiritually rebellious and alienated men and women to Jesus Christ.

The word “free”, as it applies to churches, originally referred to being free from state control. When the movement of “free churches” began in Europe in the 1800s, any church that was not owned, operated and overseen by the official religion of that state was a free church. The Evangelical Free Church has roots in this movement from Scandinavian countries.