Evangelical Friends Church International (EFCI) is a branch of Quaker yearly meetings (regional associations) located around the world. Timeline 1947 - The Association of Evangelical Friends 1965 - The Evangelical Friends Alliance 1989 - Evangelical Friends, International 2004 - Evangelical Friends Church, International (update to name) History Orthodox Friends The Religious Society of Friends debated a number of issues in the early 19th Century that led the various Friends Meetings to develop separate fellowships. The first major division dealt with Scriptural authority, among other issues. "Orthodox Quakers" emphasized Biblical sources while "Hicksite" and his followers believed the inward light was more important than scriptural authority. The Evangelical Friends Church, International grew out of the Orthodox branch that held to the primacy of scriptural authority. Gurneyite Friends The next major controversy led to separation in the Orthodox branch. "Gurneyite" Friends, were deeply influenced by the evangelical movement (as were other Protestant denominations of the era), especially the ideas of John Wesley. John Wilbur led a group known as "Wilburites" or "Conservative Friends", who preferred a quietist approach and disavowed Biblical inerrancy as understood by the evangelical group. Ohio Yearly Meeting The Ohio Yearly Meeting was originally based in Mt. Pleasant, OH. Following the separation over evangelical teachings, there were two Ohio Yearly Meetings: "Wilburite" and "Gurneyite". The "Gurneyite" group relocated to Damascus, OH in 1917, becoming Ohio Yearly Meeting (Damascus). Later, they relocated again, this time to Canton, OH. In 1965 the Ohio Yearly Meeting (Damascus) joined the Evangelical Friends Alliance. In 1971 Ohio Yearly Meeting (Damascus) became Evangelical Friends Church - Eastern Region. Five Year Meeting Most of the Gurneyite Friends formed the Five Years Meeting (renamed Friends United Meeting in 1965) as an association of yearly meetings following the adoption of the Richmond Declaration in 1877. After World War I, the modernist-fundamentalist debate began to divide the Five Years Meeting. In 1926, Oregon Yearly Meeting (now Northwest Yearly Meeting) withdrew from the organization. They were joined in their departure by several other yearly meetings and scattered monthly meetings in the coming years. Evangelical Friends come together In 1947, the Association of Evangelical Friends was formed, with triennial meetings which lasted until 1970. In turn, this led to the formation of the Evangelical Friends Alliance (EFA) in 1965. In 1989 the EFA was superseded by the Evangelical Friends International (EFI), covering four geographic regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North