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Denominations - Protestant

Short profiles of selected Christian denominations in the U.S.

Association of Free Lutheran Congregations

  • Date Founded:  1962
  • Membership/Number of Clergy/Number of churches:  44,473/277/280 as of 2009
  • Headquarters:  3110 East Medicine Lake Blvd., Plymouth, MN  55441
  • Schools & Seminaries:  Associate Free Lutheran Bible School & Seminary
  • Publications:  The Lutheran Ambassador
  • Website:  https://www.aflc.org
  • Core Beliefs: "the local congregation is the right form of God’s kingdom on earth, and no power but God’s Word and Spirit may dictate to it."  Worship services should be simple in form and center around the preaching.

    • Recognizes the Bible as the inspired and inerrant authority in all matters of faith and life

    • Recognizes that the teaching and preaching of God’s Word is the main task of the Church, to be conducted in such a way that the saints are built up and unbelievers see their need for salvation

    • Believes that the congregation is the right form of the Kingdom of God on earth, with no authority above it but the Word and the Spirit of God

    • Believes that Christian unity is a spiritual concept, not a man-made organization such as the World Council of Churches or the National Council of Churches

    • Believes that Christians are called to be a salt and light, separated from the ways of the world, and that this difference is to be reflected in the life of the congregation as well as in the institutions of the church body.

    • See more detail at https://www.aflc.org/about-us/what-we-believe/

Short History:  Founded by 42 conservative Lutheran Free Church congregations that resisted merger with the American Lutheran Church. 

Local Churches:  The closest church is St. Mark's Free Lutheran Church,1301 Prospect St., Indianapolis, IN 46203.  Churches are mostly in PA, the upper Midwest, Plains states, and the West Coast.  A church finder can be found at https://www.aflc.org/churches/