J.G. Princell: A Father of the Early Free Church

This month, we are celebrating the 140th anniversary of the October 1884 Free Church meeting, considered the founding of the Swedish Free Church, a precursor to the Evangelical Free Church of America.  

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Though the meeting minutes give no indication of a formal vote, and though there had been several other significant meetings of Swedish pastors and leaders previously, many of the early Free Church leaders recognized the October meeting in 1884 as the one where God was did a unique thing, leading to widely dispersed churches that chose to work together interdependently, while avoiding the idea of a “denomination.”   

Over the years, some have suggested that J.G. Princell was the “father” or even the “founder.” Without a doubt his influence was felt at that meeting in 1884 and over the years before and after the meeting until his death in 1915. 

A trained theologian and experienced pastor, he was also author of several books, publisher of a theological paper for several years and editor of the Chicago-Bladet, the unofficial organ of the Swedish Free Churches in those years. For the last ten years of his life, he was the professor and teacher at the Swedish Bible Institute, where he mentored and trained scores of the early, influential pastors of the association. 

In the context of the 140th anniversary, it was Princell and two others who formed the planning committee for the 1884 conference. Unlike today’s conferences, this event was five days of open dialogue on many topics, all relating to the pastors’ local congregations, how they related to God and how they should be led and edified.  

The concluding results affirmed how congregations consisted of believers in a given place, working for the salvation of the unsaved and emphasizing unity while cooperating with other congregations. They took some first steps toward sending a missionary and spoke clearly to some of the social concerns of the day. 

For a deeper dive on Princell see Princell, J.G. We praise God for men like him who had the theological depth to influence our movement and the vision to lead it.