In the 1940’s Chicago area believers became increasingly aware of and concerned for the many neglected and dependent children in the city. A group of people began to meet to discuss the establishment of an agency to address these needs. Reverend and Mrs. Sholund, of Winnetka Bible Church, Mr. Penner of the National Association of Evangelicals, and Dr. Harold Lundquist, met and decided to take action. Around the same time, two significant events spurred them on to open an evangelical agency in the Chicago area. The first event was a foster child being removed from the home they were placed in because the case worker felt the child “would have too many strikes against them” due to the evangelical home environment. The second event occurred April of 1945 when an abandoned baby was found at the door of a Moody Bible Institute dormitory.

The Evangelical Welfare Agency (EWA) was established in 1950. Rev. Milford Sholund was the first Executive Director and Della Cain was the first case worker. The first office was located at 542 S. Dearborn St. in Chicago. In 1959 EWA became Evangelical Child Welfare Agency (ECWA), and in 1974, was renamed Evangelical Child and Family Agency (ECFA), as it is still known today. In 1981, after 31 years of rented facilities, ECFA moved from their downtown location, though an office building was maintained at 188 W. Randolph, to their own building at 1530 N. Main Street,Wheaton, IL, where the office still exists.

A women’s Auxiliary was formed under the sponsorship of Mrs. Dorothy Kelley who also began working at EWA in 1951. This women’s Auxiliary played an integral part in the growth of EWA. The almost 2000 women who were part of the Auxiliary supplied clothing and other supplies to the agency and raised funds to support the agency.

In October of 1962 the Auxiliary saved enough S & H green stamps (987 books) to purchase a brand-new Chevy II. If you never heard of S & H Green Stamps, I encourage you to check it out on Google. There is more history to share with you, but I will end this for now with these encouraging words: ECFA began as a ministry to honor and serve our Lord Jesus Christ. It remains that to this day. We covet your prayers as we continue to serve clients as the “Hands and Feet of Jesus”.