The

Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is an orthodox, traditional confessional Lutheran Christian denomination, denomination in the United States. With 1.7 million members as of 2022 it is the second-l ...

(LCMS) is organized into 35 districts, 33 of which are defined along geographic lines and two that are non-geographical. Each district has a president who oversees the congregations in his district, which are further subdivided into local circuits. The position of synod president is analogous to the role of bishop in many other church bodies. But the LCMS supports a synodical polity (political / governing organization), which combines the commonly used church body systems of

congregationalist polity Congregational polity, or congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or " autonomous". Its first articula ...

and

episcopal polity An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. The word "bishop" here is derived via the British Latin and Vulgar Latin term ''*ebiscopus''/''*biscopus'', . It is the ...

, as opposed to an exclusively episcopal polity / ierarchical governance (such as used in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

and even many other

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

churches, and some other

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

churches in North America and throughout the world). Each LCMS district chooses its own president from among the pastors of the district at its triennial convention. In many districts the district president occupies a full-time position, while in others he continues to serve as pastor in a local congregation or specialized ministry (hospitals, military chaplains, colleges / universities, social services agencies, etc.) The 35 district presidents plus the synod general president form the Council of Presidents (COP), one of whose duties is to place graduates from the two LCMS theological seminaries as pastors in congregations that have requested such a candidate. If a congregation desires an experienced pastor to fill a vacancy, the district president may suggest a list of possible candidates (gleaned from interactions with the COP as well as other sources), but the district president does not assign pastors in this case; the congregation extends a "call" directly to the pastor.

History

From its founding in 1847 until 1854, the LCMS held annual synod-wide conventions. However, given the rapid growth in the number of congregations and the large geographic area covered by the synod (from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in the west to western New York in the northeast, and from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in the northwest to

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in the south), a new synodical constitution was adopted in the latter year that split the synod into four geographical districts (Eastern, Western, Northern, and Central), each with its own annual convention and officers. The intent was to provide for more cooperation among congregations and pastors within the smaller geography grouping. It would also take over some of the responsibilities of the general synod and enable more ministry, service and outreach to be made. These original four districts were further divided in subsequent years, resulting in the current 33 geographical districts. The two non-geographical districts, the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and the SELC, are the result of smaller church bodies merging into the LCMS.

List of districts

The following is a chronological list of former and current districts of the LCMS. Former district names are in italics. and one congregation in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. , - , Florida-Georgia , , 1947/1948 , , Southern , , Consists of the states of Florida (except for the western

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

) and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. , - ,

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

, , 1948 , , Oregon and Washington , , Renamed. Consists of the states of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. , - ,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, , 1962/1963 , , Central , , Includes the state of

and most of western

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. , - , Minnesota North , , 1962/1963 , , Minnesota , , , - , Minnesota South , , 1962/1963 , , Minnesota , , , - ,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, , 1962/1963 , , Central , , Includes the states of

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

and the eastern part of

. , - ,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, , 1965/1966 , , Western , , , - ,

Mid-South Mid-South may refer to: Places * Mid-South (region), a region of the United States including portions of Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky * East South Central States, a region of the United States * Memphis metropolitan ar ...

, , 1965/1966 , , Western , , Includes the states of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and the southwestern part of Kentucky. , - ,

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, , 1970 , , Northern Nebraska , , Includes the state of

and the western Nebraska Panhandle, as well as one congregation in neighboring northwestern

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. , - , SELC , , 1971 , , Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches , , Originally the district contained the congregations of the

Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches The Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (SELC) was an American Lutheran denomination that existed from 1902 to 1971. It merged with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) in 1971 and now operates as the non-geographic SELC District of ...

, which merged into the LCMS in 1971 as a non-geographic district. , - ,

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, , 1971/1972 , , Atlantic , , , - ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, , 1971/1972 , , Atlantic , , , - , California–Nevada–Hawaii , , 1977 , , California and Nevada, , Renamed. Consists of the states of California (except for the southernmost eight counties),

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

(except for

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

), and Hawaii. , - ,

Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, , 1983 , , Colorado , , Renamed. Includes the states of

(except for one congregation in northwestern corner of the state that is in the Wyoming district),

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and also El Paso County in the far western corner of Texas. , - ,

Pacific Southwest The Pacific Southwest () is a region of the United States. In its broadest definition, it encompasses five states: California, Arizona, Hawaii, Utah, and part of Nevada. The region is one of cultural diversity seen all over. Several major urban a ...

, , 1989 , , Southern California , , Renamed. Includes the state of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, the southernmost eight counties of California, and

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada with 2,265,461 residents as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county is the location of the state's three largest cities, Las Vegas (t ...

References

* * *

External links

Districts of the LCMS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Districts of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod *