Lutheran
Our Neighbor’s Faith
From an Augsburg Fortress publication by the same name, not an official document.
Pastor Doug Givan, St. Andrew’s and Faith Lutheran churches
Lutherans! What are we to say about those Lutherans! Ironically, Martin Luther himself only wanted to reform the church. He did not want a separate denomination of Christians, much less one that bears his name!
*We are part of the ELCA-Evangelical Lutheran Church in America officially formed on January 1, 1988, and as of last year we are some 3 million baptized members in 8,724 congregations! We are headquartered in Chicago and comprised of 65 Synods (from the Greek meaning “assembly” or “meeting”) around the country. We are part of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod.
**The next largest Lutheran denomination is Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, about 2 million members and some 6,000 congregations founded in 1947. They have a strong mass media presence producing “The Lutheran Hour” broadcast on television and syndicated programming.
***The next major Lutheran denominations are Wisconsin-Synod and the North American Lutheran Church which is the newest branch of Lutheranism. They were formed in 2010 in Columbus, Ohio after the human sexuality decision by the ELCA. They are about 400 congregations and see themselves as the theological center of Lutheranism between the ELCA and the LCMS!
**For more information please visit ELCA.org or Google the other entities directly!