About Us
We are an Evangelical Free Church committed to centering lives around the good news of Christ, cultivating Christ-centered friendships, and serving/reaching the lost.
Core Value 1: The Gospel
Gospel, meaning, “Good News”, is the wonderful story of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. Our Savior lived a perfect life, took the punishment we deserved at the cross (Isaiah 53:6), and then was raised from the dead, providing forgiveness and a righteous standing before God for all who repent and place their faith in Him (Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1).
Many, however, consider the gospel as only useful to begin the Christian life, but the Apostle Paul wrote that he wanted to travel and preach the gospel to the Christians in Rome (Romans 1:15). More than that, the introductory parts (often the first half!) of the various New Testament letters which are written to Christians almost always run through the various aspects of the gospel.
So we see that beyond giving us eternal life, the good news is also necessary to give believers strength, renewed faith, and wisdom for everyday life. Therefore, at Edgewood, we think of the gospel as not only the door to the house of Christianity – but rather the whole house…not the ABCs, but the A – Z of our faith! And so, we are always coming back to this great good news in all we do and proclaim.
We are… “centering our lives around the empowering good news of Jesus Christ!”
Core Value 2: Community
Community is indispensable. All through the Scriptures, from Old to New Testament, God assumes that His people will live together in community (i.e., Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Hebrews 10:24, 25). It’s something that should be natural to us because we are made in the image of our Trinitarian God, and the three persons of the Trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) have been in joyous fellowship for all eternity.
It follows that “Lone-Ranger” Christianity is an oxymoron, unnatural to our very creation. Simply put, we need each other, first, to become whom God wants us to be (Proverbs 27:17). And just as importantly, the love which we show to one another is a key sign to a watching world that Christianity is true, and that Jesus is the Son of God (John 17:21).
Practically then, at Edgewood, we are… “participating in a group that cultivates Christ-centered friendships!”
Core Value 3: Mission
After His resurrection, Jesus gave his followers a purpose which filled their lives with meaning and joy: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21 ESV) Our Lord was sent by His Father, and now the Son…sends us! And on mission for Jesus, our identity is first and foremost servants, for we imitate the One who declared that he “came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 ESV).
In this, we too offer our lives to serve any and all, paying special attention to those whom he called “the least of these” (Matthew 25). We serve in deed, but we also remember that He said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10 ESV), and so we too serve as our Lord did, by word, in the proclamation of the Gospel. And through it all, we keep an eye on fellow believers, remembering the Apostle’s admonition, “through love, serve one another” (Galatians 5:13 ESV).
We are… “serving the least, reaching the lost, and loving one another!”
What we believe
The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions.
Meet our pastors
MEET OUR SENIOR PASTOR
ROGER KNOWLTON
Roger is our Senior Pastor and has a four word job description: To Preach, Pray, Lead and Love. He is responsible for overall church vision and sits on the board of elders, the leadership team of Edgewood.
Roger didn’t grow up in Wisconsin, but got here as soon as he could, coming to Edgewood in 1999. He has a B.S. from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana (where he met his sweetie – yay, Diane!), and received his Masters of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He previously served as Pastor of Single Adults on the staff of Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
He and Diane celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2022, and have three kids, Josh, Elisabeth and Annie. Roger loves to listen to audible books and walk on the boardwalk behind the Edgewood Waupun Campus.