Regardless of age, race, or status in life, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America welcome you to join this community of faith. If you're unfamiliar with the ELCA, some of what you learn may surprise you. The ELCA is an engaged, active body of people who put faith in God into action -- in millions of ways, all over the world.
Lutherans are Christians who accept the teachings of Martin Luther (1483 - 1546). Luther was a German theologian who realized that there were significant differences between what he read in the Bible and the practices of the Roman Catholic church at that time. On October 31, 1517, he posted a challenge on the door of Wittenberg University, titled "95 Theses" (to debate 95 theological issues). His hope was that the church would reform its practice and preaching to be more consistent with the Word of God as contained in the Bible.
What started as an academic debate escalated into a distinct separation between the Roman Catholic church of the time and those who accepted Luther's suggested reforms. "Lutheran" became the name of the group that agreed with Luther's convictions.
Today, nearly five centuries later, Lutherans still celebrate the Reformation on October 31 and still hold to the basic principles of Luther's theological teachings, such as Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone. These comprise the very essence of Lutheranism:
We are saved by the grace of God alone -- not by anything we do;
Our salvation is through faith alone -- we only need to trust God made known in Christ who promises us forgiveness, life and salvation; and
The Bible is the norm for faith and life -- the true standard by which teachings and doctrines are to be judged.
Over the years, different Lutheran church bodies have been established and organized to meet the needs of Lutherans in communities and nations all over the world. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the largest Lutheran group in North America, founded in 1988 when three North American Lutheran church bodies united: The American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America.
The NT-NL's territory includes Northern Louisiana including Monroe and Shreveport; Northern Texas generally north of a line from Marshall, Longview, Tyler, Rosebud, Bartlett (Temple area), Killeen, San Angelo, Midland/Odessa; and also Durant, Oklahoma and Clovis, New Mexico. There are over 35,000 members in the 115 congregations in our territory, with over 175 ordained ministers and 9 Associates in Ministry.
