page_title: Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ / History
caption_attribution_description: English: View from the west of the Lighthouse Lutheran Church (LCMC), located at 510 Third Avenue in Freedom, Pennsylvania, United States. Built in 1954, it was formerly the community's Methodist church.
context_page_description: Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ is an association of Lutheran congregations in the United States. It describes itself as an affiliation of autonomous Lutheran churches and not a denomination. It began in 2001 in response to some liberal views of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. LCMC is characterized by the stances it takes on Lutheran polity, biblical authority, and human sexuality. The group describes itself as "centrist" or "mainstream", noting that it stands between the more liberal ELCA and the more conservative Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and other Lutheran church bodies in North America.
context_section_description: LCMC was started by the WordAlone Network as an alternative for local churches who no longer felt that they could remain in the ELCA and work to reform it. In 2001 the organization began with 31 congregations as charter members. As of July 2016 membership was reported as 934 congregations, including 734 US congregations in 41 states, the U.S. Territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, as well as over 100 congregations in 17 other countries (including Belarus, Cambodia, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Russia, and Vietnam). LCMC is now the fourth largest Lutheran group in the United States, after the ELCA, LCMS, and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).
caption: Lighthouse Lutheran Church, a member congregation in Freedom, Pennsylvania
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