The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) has announced Rev. Carlton P. Harris as its nominee to serve as the denomination's next president. The recommendation follows what church leaders described as significant prayer and a rigorous search, and it carries the unanimous support of the EFCA Board of Directors. Harris's name will now go before credentialed delegates for election at the EFCA One conference in 2027.
Harris is already a familiar and trusted figure across the denomination. He has served as acting president since early 2024, when the board released Kevin Kompelien from his role so he could become the 17th president of Trinity International University. Before that, Harris was executive vice president of national ministries, a post he joined in 2021 following a search conducted by NL Moore and Associates.
The board described a formally targeted search that began in September 2025, during which Harris completed a full application and sat for in-person interviews with both the search committee and the board of directors. The committee retained the national search firm Carter Baldwin to develop an executive profile. Under the EFCA's bylaws, the president is elected by a three-quarters vote of conference delegates. In its recommendation letter, the board wrote of its “full confidence that Carlton Harris is the man God has called to serve the EFCA as its President.”
Source: Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) — efca.org/presidential-nominee
