The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) was a U.S. church body that existed from 1976 through the end of 1987. Its forerunner was Evangelical Lutherans in Mission (ELIM), a moderate caucus within the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) that opposed the Missouri Synod's more conservative turn in the early 1970s.

Formation

The AELC formed when approximately 250 dissident congregations splintered off from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) in 1976. For a fuller account of the AELC's birth, see wikipedia article on Seminex. Shortly after its inception, the AELC departed from LCMS practice on ordination and and voted to allow women to serve in the ministry.

Merger

In 1982, the AELC began merger talks with the much larger Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and American Lutheran Church (ALC). On January 1, 1988, the three formally amalgamated to become the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA is today the largest and most liberal Lutheran church body in the United States.