Origins and Wartime Setting

In early 1942, with World War II reshaping headlines and families, evangelical leaders sensed another conflict pressing close: the battle for truth, conscience, and the church’s public witness. Many had grown uneasy with broad religious coalitions that blurred the gospel, and they longed for a fellowship that would stand without apology for the authority of Scripture, the new birth, and the call to mission.

St. Louis, a bustling river-and-rail crossroads, offered a practical meeting place for pastors, missionaries, educators, and lay leaders traveling under wartime constraints. The Hotel Coronado became an unlikely “upper room,” where prayer and hard conversation met the urgency of the hour.

The Coronado Conference (April 7–9, 1942)

On April 7, Rev. J. Elwin Wright opened the three-day gathering with a summons to unity that did not require surrender. He warned that fear and compromise could quiet the church when the world most needed a clear trumpet, and he urged the delegates to contend for Christ “aggressively and unitedly.” Their resolve echoed: “Beloved…contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

The delegates faced real pressures—government policy, military mobilization, and competing religious voices—yet their tone was not merely defensive. They spoke of evangelism for the lost, of missions that would not be paused by war, and of chaplains who would carry hope to training camps, ships, and hospitals. Many understood that spiritual warfare stands behind visible turmoil: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood…against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

By the conference’s close, they organized a national fellowship, adopted a constitution, and pledged cooperation in evangelism, missions, chaplaincy, and the defense of religious liberty—for the sake of the churches and the lost. Wright became a key organizer, helping to knit together diverse denominations around shared convictions.

Legacy and Witness

The National Association of Evangelicals that emerged from the Coronado meeting sought to strengthen local churches, encourage faithful preaching, and protect the freedom to serve God without coercion. Its early years highlighted quiet heroism: pastors holding firm under social pressure, missionaries persevering amid global instability, and chaplains bringing Scripture and prayer to men facing death. The Coronado gathering endures as a witness that unity is strongest when anchored in truth, and that courage often looks like steady faithfulness.