Who We Are

The Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a gathering of people created by God in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, called and sent to bear witness to God’s creative, redeeming, and sanctifying activity in the world. Our mission is simple: Make Christ Known.

The synod is comprised of 168 individual congregations with a total combined membership of more than 101,000 people. As part of the ELCA, we are:

• Members of the fourth largest Protestant denomination in the United States
• Among more than five million people who belong to more than 10,800 congregations in the United States and the Caribbean
• Part of a church body with more than 270 agencies and institutions that are the second largest provider of human services of any non-governmental social services agency
• Part of a church body that maintains 28 church-related colleges and universities, enrolling more than 53,000 students each year
• Part of a church that provides eight seminaries across the country for the training of pastors and other church workers
• Helping to support 400 missionaries in 45 countries around the world
• Reaching thousands of men, women, and children by providing more than $12 million annually in hunger funds, both internationally and at home.