The East Freetown Congregational-Christian Church is a gathering of people who emphasize music, prayer, and Bible-based preaching as part of their worship life together. The congregation is bound by a covenant and is considered "non-credal". That means there is no declared statement which is used as a filter of membership. The congregation has not been part of any other denomination or structure since its gathering in 1831. From its inception in the New England Christian Connexion movement of the 18th-19th century, the congregation has maintained five tenets of that movement:
1. the Lordship of Jesus Christ as the sole head of the church;
2. the use of no other name than "Christian";
3. the canonical Scriptures as the only rule of faith and practice;
4. individual duty of the interpretation of the Scriptures;
5. Christian character as a test of fellowship.
The church took on the additional title "Congregational" in 1931 as a recognition of the historical roots of its polity, and as part of an emerging spirit of communion among Reformed tradition American churches.