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Denominations - Protestant

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

Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church symbol

Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church

Lutheran, Evangelical

  • Date Founded:  1782
  • Membership/Number of Clergy:  N/A
  • Headquarters:  PO Box 5184, West Columbia, South Carolina
  • Schools & Seminaries:  Concordia Evangelical Protestant Seminary grants BA degrees and further graduate courses.
  • Publications:  EP Magazine 
  • Website:  https://www.gcepc.us/
  • Social Media:  Facebook
  • Core Beliefs: 
  • The Holy Scriptures, in the original tongues, are the inspired and inerrant word of God;
  •  In one God, eternal and self-existent, Creator and Ruler of the universe, and manifested through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We are Trinitarian.
  • That Jesus Christ is truly divine and truly human having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary;
  • That Jesus Christ died on the cross and shed His blood as a Sacrifice for our sins; He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High;
  • That humankind was created in the image of God, but fell into sin causing separation from God;
  • That salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all; and those who repent and believe on Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life and become the children of God;
  • That the water baptism identifies us with the death and burial of Christ and that we should arise to walk in the newness of life;
  • In the ministry of the Holy Spirit to glorify Christ, to convict, to enable the believer to live a godly life and to empower the Church to carry the gospel into all the world;
  • In the personal and visible return of Jesus Christ for His Church;
  • In the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved and everlasting separation from God of all those who reject Jesus Christ.
  • The church ordains both men and women.

Short History: 

Founded as a German-speaking church outside Pittsburgh, PA.  United with German Lutherans in 1812 and took the name German Evangelical Protestant Church.  It was a loosely organized church, fearful of central organization, until 1885 when the new denominational structure was installed and the church became the German Evangelical Protestant Church of North America.  The word German was dropped in 1912. 

In 1924 the denomination united with the Congregational Christian Church and the combined denomination merged with the National Council of Congregational Churches in 1925, but stayed as a distinct Conference.  "Due to changes taking place within many churches regarding scripture and social change a small group of Evangelical Protestant Christians re-organized in 1999 as a Church to restore the EPC as the General Conference of Evangelical Protestant Churches (GCEPC) in 2000. We incorporated in 2001 and became known denominationally as the Evangelical Protestant Church (GCEPC). In 2002 we added Lutheran to our name with the caveat that those who desire to do so may continue using Evangelical Protestant Church."

Local Churches:  None.

Church Locator: There is no church finder on the website and there do not appear to be any churches in Louisville.