The AALC is a Lutheran body standing firm upon Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, counting every one of our congregations as precious, and proclaiming the Gospel to all nations.
Historical Continuity with the American Lutheran Church
Prior to 1988 there were three major Lutheran church bodies in America: Lutheran Church in America (LCA), Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LC-MS) and American Lutheran Church (ALC). On January 1, 1988 the LCA, the ALC and another smaller church body merged to form the largest Lutheran church body in America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Twelve ALC congregations chose not to enter into the ELCA merger and prior to the merger, on November 7, 1987, formed their own Lutheran church body, The American Association of Lutheran Churches (The AALC). The pastors and congregations held firmly that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and they saw the ELCA moving further away from that foundation. From 1987 to 2009, The AALC has grown from 12 congregations to over 60 congregations and formed their own seminary, American Lutheran Theological Seminary (ALTS),
which is now located on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Relationship with Other churches
For many decades, many of the Lutheran church bodies cooperated on social ministry ventures. In 1969 the LC-MS and the ALC declared formal Altar and Pulpit Fellowship, where members could commune at each other's altars and pastors could preach in each other's pulpits. However, problems soon developed; in December 1970 the ALC set aside the Scriptural understanding of the pastoral ministry by ordaining women as pastors. At that point the partnership between the ALC and the LC-MS began to disintegrate, until fellowship was broken in 1981.
With the formation of The AALC in 1987, however, there was renewed interest in reestablishing fellowship. In 1989 representatives from The AALC and the LC-MS began informal talks exploring the possibility of Altar and Pulpit Fellowship. In 2007 the two church bodies at their national conventions voted to formally declare that they were substantially in doctrinal agreement and established Altar and Pulpit Fellowship.
Today, The AALC continues in the proud conservative ALC tradition, open to receive confessional pastors and congregations that may desire to walk together with us.
