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03/26/2008
FOR YOUR
INFORMATION -
Fascinating Facts
brought to you by the ELCA
Department for Research and Evaluation
Factoids about the ELCA
 On April 2000, there were two active ELCA pastors who were 84
years old.
 The pastor who has been in the same call the longest has served
the same congregation for 50 years (called on June 1, 1950 as a first call). The
pastor will be 80 years old in July 2000.
 The ordained woman who has been in the same call the longest has
served in that call for 30 years (since November 1, 1970).
 56.9% of ordained women with calls are serving in congregations.
83.0% of ordained men with calls are serving in congregations.
 The active pastor ordained the longest has been ordained 53
years (ordained May 20, 1942).
 The oldest ELCA congregation was founded in 1649.
 The largest congregation had 13,235 baptized members.
 The fastest growing congregation grew 594 baptized members
between 1997 and 1998.
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Quick Facts
About the ELCA |
The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America resulted from a union of three North American
Lutheran church bodies: The American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical
Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America.
The three
churches agreed to unite in 1982. They formed a 70-member Commission for a New Lutheran
Church, which planned the merger. The plan was approved by church conventions in 1986, and
the ELCA constituting convention was held April 30-May 3, 1987, with the church actually
beginning operations on January 1, 1988.
The ELCA
meets in assembly every two years; at its 1995 Churchwide Assembly it elected its second
bishop, The Rev. H. George Anderson, who will retire after the 2001 Churchwide Assembly.
MEMBERS:
 | Baptized
Members: 5,149,668, down 28,557 from previous year |
| Communing
and Contributing Members: 2,457,252
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| Members
of Color or Whose Primary Language is Other Than English: 127,217 (2.4%). Included are
African-Americans, 50,834; Latinos, 35,314; Asians and Pacific Islanders, 22,569; American
Indian and Alaska Native People, 7,351; other, 11,149 |
| Average
Worship Attendance Each Week: 1,567,755
(30.4 percent). |
| Congregations:
10,851 |
| Synods:
65 in nine geographic regions |
LEADERS:
| Clergy:
17,611 (2,358 female; 435 people of color) |
| Associates
in Ministry: 1,188 (933 female, 255 male; 11 people of color) |
| Diaconal
Ministers: 36 |
| Deaconesses:
77 |
| Missionaries:
330 adult missionaries and over 100 volunteers in over 45 countries |
| Campus
Pastors and Ministries: 144
ordained and lay professionals as well as 25 part-time staff serving more than 200 state
and private colleges and universities |
| Federal
Chaplains: Approximately 900 (145 active duty armed forces, 248 reservists, 400
retired military, 40 Veterans Affairs, 48 Civil Air Patrol, 8 Federal Bureau of Prisons).
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| Chaplaincy,
Counseling and Clinical Education: Approximately 850 ordained and lay rostered people
serving in 13 specialized ministries such as correctioal, health care, substance abuse,
police, etc. |
INSTITUTIONS:
| Theological
Seminaries and Deaconess Community: 8
seminaries, 1 deaconess community |
| Colleges
and Universities: 28
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| Schools:
28 high schools, 265 elementary schools, 1,910 early childhood programs |
| Social
Service Institutions: 255
parent corporations with many more subsidiaries |
| Camps
and Retreat Centers: 145,
serving 450,000 yearly (summer programs 175,000, retreats and conferences 275,000) |
FINANCES:
| ELCA
Churchwide Current Fund Budget: 2000,
$83,375,000; 2001, $83,490,000. 1999 income exceeded expenditures by nearly $2.1
million before Church Council Designated Funds. Income for 1999: $82.7 million, up
from $81.7 million in 1998. |
| ELCA
World Hunger Fund: Contributions in 1999 (25th anniversary): $16.0 million
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| Total
Income of Congregations:
$2,261,204,350 in 1999 |
| Average
Giving Per Confirmed Member: $474.66
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(Statistics as
of December 31, 1999)
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