Lutheran Denominations: A Guide to America’s Top 10

Though the origin of the Lutheran tradition is in the Reformation of sixteenth century Europe, Lutherans today are found worldwide. Beginning as a church reform movement under the leadership of Martin Luther in Germany and spreading to other European lands, Lutheranism is today best understood as a family of diverse though related denominational bodies. Though sharing a common heritage and possessing many similarities, these bodies each have distinct histories, practices, and emphases, and all of them claim to be faithful expressions of the Lutheran tradition.

This article will discuss briefly the various Lutheran denominations in the United States in descending order of size by number of congregations, and concludes with some reflection on the state of American and global Lutheranism. Though there are certainly other, smaller Lutheran groups in the United States, the following list considers only the largest.

1. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)

The largest Lutheran body in the United States is known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Organized in 1987, the ELCA was a merger of three predecessor bodies. Two of these were formed from mergers of their own predecessors in the 1960s: the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and the American Lutheran Church (TALC). The third contributor to the ELCA was the much smaller Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC), which separated from the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS, discussed below) in 1976. The LCA was a product of mergers that united older German immigrant congregations with a large Swedish Lutheran body, with smaller numbers of Finnish, Danish, Icelandic, and Slovak congregations included, as well. TALC was a product of mergers that united later German immigrant congregations with a larger Norwegian body and a much smaller Danish group.

At its beginning, the ELCA had roughly 5.2 million members and 11 thousand congregations. Controversies in the ELCA over the years, especially regarding the requirements for an ecumenical relationship with the Episcopal Church USA and the issue of the acceptance of homosexual activity, led to the departure of many members and congregations. From these controversies, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC, discussed below) was organized in 2001, and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC, discussed below) was organized in 2010.

As its predecessor bodies did as of 1970, the ELCA permits the ordination of women as pastors, has focused on ecumenical relationships with like-minded Protestant church bodies, and is often described as “liberal” in its understanding of faith and social values.

As of 2025, it reports roughly 2.8 million members in over 8 thousand congregations.

2. Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS)

The second largest Lutheran body in the United States is the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). As its name suggests, its origin and current headquarters are in the state of Missouri, though its congregations are found across the country.

The LCMS began with the Saxon German immigration of the early nineteenth century, which settled in Perry County, Missouri. Organized officially in 1847, it has had a continuous history since its founding, avoiding mergers with other groups. The LCMS did, however, join a cooperative federation of like-minded Lutherans known as the Synodical Conference in 1872, which dissolved in the early 1960s. Over time, two smaller groups of Slovak and Finnish Lutherans were absorbed into the LCMS.

Those who founded the LCMS expressed concern for maintaining a distinct Lutheran witness in the face of pressure to conform to non-Lutheran perspectives. They permit only the ordination of men, and though there is some diversity among the LCMS in practice, they are generally considered conservative in their doctrine, requiring what they regard as complete doctrinal agreement for “altar and pulpit fellowship,” meaning the exchange of pastors and the sharing of Holy Communion. They regard themselves as strongly rooted in the “inerrancy” of the Bible and in the theology of the Lutheran confessional writings of the Book of Concord of 1580.

As of 2025, the LCMS reports around 2 million members in roughly 6 thousand congregations.

3. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)

Depending on one’s perspective, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) is either the “biggest of the small” or the “smallest of the big” Lutheran denominations in the United States.

The roots of the WELS, like the LCMS, are in German immigration of the early nineteenth century, with special strength in the state of Wisconsin. The WELS reports, however, congregations in nearly all fifty US states. Originally founded in 1850, the Michigan and Minnesota Synods joined with the Wisconsin Synod in 1892.

As with the LCMS, the WELS was for much of its history a member of the group called the Synodical Conference, founded in 1872. The WELS eventually broke fellowship with the LCMS over certain points of doctrine and what they perceived as encroaching liberal tendencies in that body. Therefore, the WELS is generally considered more conservative than the LCMS, requiring complete doctrinal agreement not only for the sharing of pastors and Holy Communion, but also for joint prayer with other Christians. The WELS also prohibits the suffrage of women in congregational decisions.

The WELS is currently in fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS, discussed below). As of 2025, it reports around 375 thousand members in roughly 1,200 congregations.

4. Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC)

A sizeable group with a more recent origin is Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), founded in 2001 by twenty-five congregations from the ELCA.

In 1999, the ELCA adopted an ecumenical agreement with the Episcopal Church USA, which required the ELCA to conform to the ordination standards of the Anglican Communion for the interchange of clergy. Within the ELCA, a group called the Word Alone Network opposed this move, viewing it as a violation of the Lutheran confessional writings. Some members of the Word Alone Network formed LCMC as an alternative organization.

From the beginning, LCMC has understood itself as “post-denominational” and an “association” of congregations rather than a traditional denomination. As an association, LCMC generally eschews the concept of church hierarchy and does not make pronouncements on behalf of its member congregations. It did, however, produce an “admonition” stating that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Comprised mostly of small, rural congregations and a few megachurches, LCMC is more socially and theologically conservative than the ELCA, though it differs in character from the LCMS. It permits the ordination of women and contains a strong presence of “evangelical renewal,” which is focused on “contemporary style” worship practices.

LCMC has grown gradually since its founding, but much of its membership was added after the ELCA in 2009 changed its policy concerning pastors in same-sex relationships. LCMC has also started many mission congregations. LCMC reports as of 2025 roughly eight hundred congregations in the United States with around three hundred thousand members. It also has many international congregations, around a hundred of which are dually affiliated with the North American Lutheran Church (NALC, discussed below).

5. North American Lutheran Church (NALC)

Another group that emerged from a schism with the ELCA is the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The ELCA’s 2009 decision to change its policy concerning pastors in same-sex relationships—but, more significantly, underlying concerns about biblical and theological authority and general dissatisfaction with the ELCA’s atmosphere—prompted the creation of the NALC.

Yet unlike those who founded LCMC nearly ten years earlier, those that formed the NALC desired a more traditionally structured denomination rather than an association of congregations. NALC congregations also, in general, exhibit more liturgical formality than is found in LCMC. However, over a hundred congregations of the NALC have dual affiliation with LCMC.

The NALC exists as a more theologically and socially conservative expression of the ecumenical Lutheran tradition than is found in the ELCA, yet in contrast to the tradition of the former Synodical Conference bodies such as the LCMS and WELS. Committed to its understanding of biblical, creedal, and confessional faithfulness, it also exhibits cautious cooperation with non-Lutherans such as Anglicans, Methodists, and others from the Reformed tradition. The NALC permits the ordination of women and, though not officially in fellowship with the LCMS, has a history of positive conversations with the LCMS over issues of common interest.

As of 2025, it reports around 530 congregations and 175 thousand members in the US and Canada.

This Month's Free Book Is Yours for the Reading. Click to get it now.

6. Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC)

For many years, before the emergence of LCMC and the NALC, the distinction of the fourth largest Lutheran denomination in the US fell to the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC).

The roots of the AFLC are in the complicated history of Norwegian American Lutheranism. In 1890, a merger of three Norwegian American Lutheran groups produced the United Norwegian Lutheran Church (UNLC). In the interest of compromise between the two largest of the merging groups, the UNLC decided that Augsburg Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota (from “The Conference”), would be the seminary of the new organization, and St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota (from “The Anti-Missourian Brotherhood”), would be the college of the new organization. This was unsatisfactory to many who came from The Conference, who desired a unified college and seminary program, and in 1897 they broke from the UNLC to form the Lutheran Free Church (LFC).

The LFC existed independently for many years, but eventually took part in merger negotiations that led to the formation of The American Lutheran Church (TALC) in 1960. When the LFC finally succeeded in mustering enough votes to enter the TALC in 1963, around 20 percent of its congregations refused to join the merger, and they formed the AFLC as an alternative.

Today, they value their heritage in the Scandinavian Lutheran revival tradition, tend toward liturgical simplicity in worship, and are theologically and socially conservative. They do not permit the ordination of women.

As of 2025, they report around 43 thousand members in roughly 270 congregations.

7. Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS)

Like the AFLC, the small Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) also has its roots in Norwegian American Lutheranism, though it comes from a much different part of that ethnic heritage.

Leading up to 1917, three Norwegian American Lutheran bodies began merger negotiations that led to the formation of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA) that year—the four-hundredth anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation that began in 1517 with Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses. In 1918, a small group of pastors and elements of various congregations from one of the merging bodies, called the “Norwegian Synod,” rejected the theological compromise on the issue of predestination or “election,” which made the merger possible.

This group, often known as the “Little Norwegians” to distinguish it from the much larger NLCA, is now known as the ELS, and considers itself to be the genuine continuation of the “Norwegian Synod” tradition. It is in fellowship with the WELS, sharing its general outlook while also carrying forward its own Norwegian heritage. Therefore, with the LCMS and the WELS, the ELS is one of the current groups that comes from the Synodical Conference heritage of 1872.

As of 2025, it reports around 19 thousand members in roughly 130 congregations.

8. Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (CLBA)

Another small group of Norwegian heritage is the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (CLBA). The CLBA was formed in the year 1900 by congregations that came mostly from the United Norwegian Lutheran Church (UNLC).

Like the AFLC, it has roots in the Norwegian Haugean revival tradition. They were concerned for the existence of nominal membership and sought to maintain “pure” congregations through the implementation of church discipline.

They have remained a small though active group, placing emphasis on foreign mission. Theologically and socially conservative, the CLBA also emphasizes liturgical informality.

As of 2025, they report around 24 thousand members in roughly 120 congregations.

9. Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC)

The Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) was founded in 1960 by congregations primarily from the WELS. Those who formed the CLC felt that the WELS and ELS did not follow scriptural principles in severing ties with the LCMS over what they considered violation of rules of church fellowship on the part of the LCMS. Therefore, the creation of the CLC in 1960 is connected to the eventual dissolution of the Synodical Conference of 1872 later that decade.

The CLC strives to uphold the principles of the Synodical Conference, placing emphasis on biblical “inerrancy,” Scripture as the basis of doctrine, and the Lutheran confessional writings of 1580 as an accurate presentation of what Scripture teaches.

It operates a high school, college, and seminary in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It reports around 9 thousand members in roughly 80 congregations.

10. American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC)

Prior to the organization of the ELCA in 1987, a group of around a hundred congregations, mostly from The American Lutheran Church (TALC), declined to join the new organization over concerns of biblical and theological faithfulness. They are known as the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC).

This group has remained small throughout its existence and currently shares a fellowship arrangement with the LCMS, allowing for interchange of pastors and joint sharing of Holy Communion. It seeks to carry forward what it understands to be the more conservative element of TALC and shares most of the perspectives of the LCMS.

As of 2025, it reports around 65 congregations and 16 thousand members.

The state of Lutheranism today

Though often described as a confusing “alphabet soup,” the existence of these various denominations demonstrates the diversity of the Lutheran tradition in terms of ethnic heritage, type of piety, worship style, interpretation of the Bible, and ecumenical relations with other church bodies, both Lutheran and non-Lutheran.

Despite the differences in American Lutheranism expressed by these denominations, the one thing they all have in common is decline. Since the 1960s, fueled by various factors, not the least of which is the declining birthrate among Lutherans, American Lutheran church bodies have been gradually hemorrhaging members.

This contrasts with many Lutheran church bodies in other parts of the world, which have seen significant growth in recent decades. Lutheran church bodies such as the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) are now the two largest Lutheran church bodies in the world. Planted in the nineteenth century and supported by Lutheran missionaries from Europe and America, Lutherans in the global south of Africa, Asia, and South America are now the dominant force numerically in world Lutheranism.