Pennsylvania Ministerium (1747‑1962)
- First Lutheran church body in North America
- Founded by Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg (1711-1787) on August 26, 1748 in Philadelphia, PA
- Other Names:
- German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of North America (1748–1792)
- German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States (1792–1918)
- Merged into ULCA 1918
Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States of America (1820‑1918)
- Commonly known as the General Synod
- Established in 1820 in Hagerstown, MD
- Merged into ULCA in 1918
- Separations:
- United Synod of the South (1863)
- General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America (1866)
United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) (1918-1961)
- Established in 1918 in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation
- Merger of General Synod (est. 1820), General Council (est. 1867), and United Synod of the South (est. 1863)
- Merged into Lutheran Church in America in 1962
Lutheran Church in America (LCA) (1962-1987)
- Established in 1962 in Detroit, MI
- Merger of ULCA, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, American Evangelical Lutheran Church, AND Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Headquartered in New York City
- Separations: Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (1986)
- Merged into Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) (1987-present)
- Established on April 30, 1987 at Constituting Convention in Columbus, OH with operations beginning January 1, 1988
- Headquartered in Chicago, IL
- Merger of:
- Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ
- Lutheran Confessional Synod
- Alliance of Renewal Churches
- North American Lutheran Church
- Separations:
- Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ
- Lutheran Confessional Synod
- Alliance of Renewal Churches
- North American Lutheran Church
