America). In 2007, Europe was added as a fifth region. In 2004 the name was changed to the Evangelical Friends Church, International (EFCI) and registered as a not-for-profit [501c3] organization in the state of Oregon. Distinctives The Evangelical Friends Church and other Friends Friends, especially in the United States, are divided today as a result of divisions that took place mostly in the 19th Century. The Evangelical branch is the one that is most similar to other evangelical Christian denominations and differs some from other branches of Quakerism. Churches Evangelical Friends may refer to a local congregation as a church, while some other Friends call it a monthly meeting. Programmed services EFCI holds programmed (i.e. planned) services, while many other Friends hold silent services in which people speak as they feel led by God. Programmed services may incorporate silent worship, but it is only one element in the larger service. Salvation A key doctrinal issue that sets Evangelical Friends apart from other Quakers is their view of salvation. Evangelical Friends believe that all people are in need of salvation, and that salvation comes to a person by putting his faith in Jesus Christ. Other Friends have a wide range of views on salvation, up to and including beliefs such as religious pluralism. Evangelical Friends support their views on the necessity of salvation as being more in line with the meaning of the Bible. Biblical authority Because of Evangelical Friends' origins within the Gurneyite faction during the 19th century series of schisms that divided the Society, some Evangelical Friends rely relatively less on the authority of the Inner Light and more on their belief in the authority of a literal reading of the Scripture. Allowance for water baptism and Communion Similar to other branches of Friends, the Evangelical Friends Church affirms baptism and Communion as spiritual realities. These realities are realized in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Unlike most of the other branches of Friends, the Evangelical Friends Church allows for individual freedom of conscience in regards to participating in water baptism or in offering and receiving Communion within their churches. The Evangelical Friends Church and other Evangelicals The issue that sets Evangelical Friends apart from other evangelical Christians is that they consider themselves part of the larger Friends movement. They also feel that their particular beliefs are consistent with the beliefs of the earliest Friends, such as George Fox