The EFCA explicitly treats predestination and election as a matter of secondary doctrinal freedom — an issue on which genuine Christians may disagree without compromising their standing in the denomination or their evangelical faith. The EFCA Statement of Faith (2008) is deliberately worded to be compatible with both Calvinist (Reformed) and Arminian theological frameworks.

This position reflects the EFCA's founding philosophy: to identify a 'minimal but sufficient' set of essential doctrines around which evangelical Christians can unite, while allowing freedom on secondary matters. The EFCA's statement on election affirms that God elects believers 'to salvation' without specifying whether this election is unconditional (Calvinist) or conditioned on foreknown faith (Arminian). Both views have representation in EFCA churches and seminaries.

The EFCA's theological diversity on predestination is managed through a culture of theological charity — the expectation that Christians will handle their differences on secondary matters with grace and mutual respect. The denomination's partnership with Bethel Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School produces ministers across the Calvinist-Arminian spectrum, and EFCA church planting produces churches with various theological profiles on this question.