Mentor to the First EFCA President

In 1894, the young E.A. Hallen joined forces with Louis Olson, an older itinerant evangelist who served for two years as Halleen’s mentor. Although E.A. Halleen became the first president of the EFCA in 1950, having served previously for twenty-eight years as president of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church, much less is known about his mentor, Louis Olson (1849-1928). He wrote: “An older and experienced itinerant preacher took me along on his travels.” Halleen described Olson as a “remarkable man” and “not a little dramatic.”

Olson was a “great soul winner” and “unmarried, and singularly gifted.” He was born in Karlanda parish in Sweden. He immigrated to America in 1873 and settled in Minneapolis. Four year later, he was “saved by the Lord” and soon become active with “the Free Friends.” Olson traveled “out into the field to preach the word of God, the gospel of Jesus, to the settlers in Minnesota and Wisconsin.” He remained an itinerant evangelist for thirty-eight years. 

Halleen recalled Olson’s zeal for the salvation of souls and his dramatic style of preaching. On one occasion, they were holding meetings in a schoolhouse in western Minnesota. He wrote: “It was a Good Friday service. Every available seat was occupied. Mr. Olson, my companion, preached on Christ crucified for our sins. The glory of the sufferings of our Lord was touched upon in a most unique way. The speaker was illustrating the act of nailing the Savior to the cross. Then the power fell. With deep groanings, the speaker sagged to the floor. He remained in that position for the remaining part of the service. For the space of an hour he kept the audience spellbound. He brought the hearers so close to the cross that every person felt as if he were transported to the place and time of the crucifixion. It was a most painful scene. With every sentence uttered the pain increased until audible groanings were heard all over the room.” 

When the sermon ended, listeners sat with their heads bowed, sobbing for half an hour. Halleen recalled, “As a direct result of this service every unconverted person present accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior.” 

In these days of revival, Louis Olson was a faithful witness to the gospel and a mentor who made a lasting impression on E. A. Halleen and the burgeoning Evangelical Free Church of America. 

^{Header photo: A young E.A. Halleen (left) and his mentor Louis Olson (Right) standing next to each other.}