In the mid 1960’s the ecumenical movement was sweeping Australia with an
emphasis on unity in organisation without unity in doctrine. A group of
conservative Lutherans stepped away from the Lutheran merger process to begin a
confessional Lutheran Church body in 1966. After five years the group
split over legalistic issues. Several faithful Lutheran pastors from North
America served the remnant for short periods of time, bringing encouragement and
strengthening of faith and practice. At the end of the 1980’s a graduate
from the ELS seminary, Daniel Schroeder arrived in Brisbane. Together with
key lay leaders he was able to gather the scattered remnant into a new synod
which resurrected the name of a conservative Australian Lutheran Church of the
nineteenth century, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia (ELSA).
Pastor Schroeder returned to the USA in 1994.
Questions of doctrine and practice have been a difficulty within the synod,
causing several divisions, but the synod has enjoyed accord, peace and complete
doctrinal agreement since 1999. The emphasis of the synod today is
evangelical outreach to the unchurched. The key programme of outreach of
the synod is a religious education programme that is presented to public school
students in grades 4-7. Approximately 350 children are enrolled in the
programme. The synod was blessed with a second worker for 2006 with the
arrival of WELS teacher Nicole Kemnitz serving as a volunteer ministry assistant
for a year.
The synod’s home congregation is located in the Fraser Coast city of
Maryborough Queensland with preaching stations in the Queensland capital city of
Brisbane and the Central Coast Sugar City Mackay.
