Free and United celebrates fifty years of international friendship and collabora-tion. It is an engaging story of Christian churches drawn together across bound aries in faith, fellowship, and mutual assistance. From early beginnings in northern and central Europe to the official founding of IFFEC in 1948, to a contemporary network that reaches across four continents, the bonds and tensions of freedom and unity are explored in the experience of church bodies and the individuals who lead them. Unity is challenged by political division as World War II disrupts intra-European relationships. Freedom is curtailed by post-war Communist regimes unfriendly to Christianity. Theological differences test bonds of mission and companionship. Through it all, a committed group of Christian leaders succeeds in forging an international federation that not only endures but grows in both size and service.

As president emeritus of the International Federation, the author presents the story with the vivid thoroughness of a first-hand participant. Clearly written and appealing to anyone with an interest in the international dimensions of the Christian Church, Free and United will be of special use to historians and church leaders. Its extensive resources include

Chronology of the international movement among free evangelical churches from the early nineteenth century to the present

Information on national church bodies belonging to the International Federation

Theological schools maintained by member denominations Structure and constitution of IFFEC, with rosters of officers

Photographs of international activities and leaders over seven decades

Born in Göteborg, Sweden, Helge Walter Persson grew up in Svenska Missionsförbundet, the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden, After a term of mission work in the Belgian Congo in the 1950s, Persson served the Mission Covenant Church as secretary of Christian education, secretary of misty Pr of the church from 1983 to his retirement in 1903. His commitment to ecumenical work has led to national ad interma tional leadership positions, including roles with the World Council of Churches and the Nordic Mission Council Persson served as the president of IFFEC from 1985 to 1994. He and his wife, Gunne have three grown soms and eleven grandchildren