Hope Evangelical Free Church

Our History

Hope Evangelical Free Church was the fruit of a church plant.  A new church was needed at the time when we had outgrown the church facility located at 756 Union Street in the North Beach-Chinatown area.  In 1996, under the leadership of Pastor Wing So, senior pastor of the San Francisco Evangelical Free Church, a church plant committee was formed in the summer of 1997.   The church planting committee was chaired by Peter Fong with Carrie Ling, Kenny Wong, John Chia, and Pastor Steve Lo as members.  The committee met and planned for about 10 months and at the same time, Pastor Sonny Wan was called to be the adult pastor to lead this new church plant.  In early 1999, a church site was located in the Sunset District of San Francisco.  On March 7^th, 1999 the first English service was held at the Community Church of the Brethren located at the corner of Noriega Street and 34^th Avenue in the Sunset District of San Francisco.  In the beginning the services were attended by brothers and sisters of the San Francisco Evangelical Free Church and the Community Church of the Brethren.  In October of 2000, Hope Evangelical Free Church was found and the church board was elected and the organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of California.  All this time we were renting the facility from the Church of the Brethren.  In March of 2005, the district office of the Community Church of the Brethren listed the facility for sale.  In April of the same year, an offer was presented and the purchase price was $3.6 million.  Brothers and sisters got together and started to pray for the future of our church.  Under the leadership of Pastor Vicky Chia and our board members we started to raise funds in an attempt to exercise our first right of refusal.  Praise God for He answered prayers!  By mid-May, a total of $4 million was raised and we were able to buy the facility.  We thank God each and every day for He is good and His love endures forever.

Evangelical Free Church of America

The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of some 1,500 autonomous and interdependent churches and church plants united by a mutual commitment to serve our Lord Jesus Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Word of God. We are committed to cooperate with one another in ministry and fellowship as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission which Christ has entrusted to His Church. The growing ministry of the EFCA currently extends to some 50 countries of the world.

The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of some 1,500 autonomous and interdependent churches and church plants united by a mutual commitment to serve our Lord Jesus Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Word of God. We are committed to cooperate with one another in ministry and fellowship as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission which Christ has entrusted to His Church. The growing ministry of the currently extends to some 50 countries of the world.

The terms "Evangelical" and "Free" in our society have come to mean different things to different people. Though they may seem outdated to some, or watered down to others, we invite you to read the definitions below to get a glimpse of why they are foundational to us as a denomination. Though they may be older terms, they are as relevant today as when they were chosen by our EFCA forefathers.