About Us

A Brief History

The story of the Evangelical Free Church of Cheyenne, Wyoming actually begins in Greeley Colorado. The Rocky Mountain District of the EFCA supported the plans of the Mountain View EFC to guide an outreach effort in Cheyenne that began as early as March of 1978. Eventually a Bible study began among 5 couples who were interested in forming a church. That meeting, held on January 7, 1980 at the home of Mick and Sherri Merrill, is called the first formal meeting of the group that became the Evangelical Free Church of Cheyenne.

This group communicated through the Mountain View EFC their desire to organize an Evangelical Free Church. EFCA Superintendent Virgil Nyberg, Pastor Leroy Grimm of Ft. Collins, Pastor Mike Byrd of Greeley, and Pastor Dick Birr of the CMA church representing the Cheyenne evangelical community, met with the group on January 22 to plan the process that would lead to incorporation as an autonomous church in the Rocky Mountain District of the EFCA. Other churches in northern Colorado also encouraged the young group, which officially organized on March 22, 1980. At that meeting, the constitution was ratified and 10 charter members were received into membership of the new congregation by sharing testimonies of faith in Jesus Christ.

The first public worship service was held on April 13, 1980 at the YWCA playhouse at 10:30 a.m., with Rocky Mountain District Superintendent Virgil Nyberg preaching.

The initial Church Chairman, Mel Ellenwood, the Director of Youth for Christ in Cheyenne, represented this group at the Rocky Mountain District Conference on April 22-24, where the congregation was received into membership in the District. That act of receiving an autonomous church by a District organization granted membership in the national association of the Evangelical Free Church of America. Cheyenne officially had an Evangelical Free Church.

As the congregation grew, Dave Blossom was called to be the first pastor. He first preached in December of 1980 and was formally installed on May 10, 1981. The church additionally rented the "Carriage House" at 1721 Warren Avenue in June of 1982. Soon an opportunity came to purchase the former Covenant Church building at 1826 East 17th Street. That purchase was completed in 1983. Pastor Blossom resigned in August of that year, and Pastor Doug Morton was called on December 14th. He served through August of 1988 when he returned to ministry in California.

Pastor Vic Walter was called to be the 3rd pastor of the congregation on June 20, 1989 after serving as the EFCA District Superintendent in the Pacific Northwest. He served nearly 14 years, and the church saw many changes during that time. An additional worship service was added in 1990, and a third service added in 1993. Property was purchased at 7006 North College Drive and dedicated on November 1, 1992. The 10,000 square foot steel building on 15.5 acres was completed, and the first worship service held on October 1 of 1995. Brent Ewing served as a part-time associate and became the 1st full time associate, serving over a period of 4 years. He was followed by Troy Rininger, and then the church called Associate Pastor Dave Dennis who served full time for 8 years until August of 2004. Many other servants were mentored by Pastor Vic, serving in outreach, discipleship and education ministries and most entered into ministries in other places. The groundbreaking for the new youth building was held on October 15, 2000, and upon completion, the property and building improvements have taken their present form.

Pastor Walter announced his retirement from full time active pastoral ministry in January of 2004 and assumed an interim ministry in South Dakota. Dave Carlson was called to be the 4th senior pastor of the Cheyenne Evangelical Free Church, and began on September 5, 2004. Brian Gregg served as Equipping Pastor and then Community Pastor from December 2005 to March 2010. Jacob Merriman joined the team in February 2009 as Equipping Pastor.

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Our Vision, Mission and Core Values

As a congregation, we have been exploring what God has for us as a body of believers. To this end, we have adopted a simple vision statement to keep before us as a reminder of the church we are striving to be:

Our vision is to be a congregation Demonstrating Christ's Love.

Our mission is to Demonstrate Christ's Love as we live out our core values:

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Our Statement of Faith

The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:

  1. God - We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
  2. The Bible - We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
  3. The Human Condition - We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God's saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
  4. Jesus Christ - We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus— Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
  5. The Work of Christ - We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
  6. The Holy Spirit - We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
  7. The Church - We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
  8. Christian Living - We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God's Word, the Spirit's power, and fervent prayer in Christ's name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ's commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
  9. Christ's Return - We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
  10. Response and Eternal Destiny - We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
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