Churchwide Assembly

Save the Date! The next churchwide assembly is scheduled for Aug. 7-11, 2028, in Des Moines, Iowa. 

The churchwide assembly is the primary decision-making body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and serves as a process of communal spiritual discernment. When the assembly convenes, voting members gather with confidence in God’s grace around word and water, wine and bread, to carry out the work of the whole church.

Over the course of the assembly, members hear reports and review the work of churchwide officers, leaders and ministries. They receive and consider proposals from synod assemblies, elect officers and board members as specified by the constitution and bylaws, and establish churchwide ELCA policy. Together they also worship, adopt a budget and conduct other business essential to the life of this church.

The assembly is more than a legislative event — it is a time of worship, reflection, discernment and faithful action. Rooted in the gospel and guided by the Spirit, the churchwide assembly is where this church gathers as one body to listen deeply, deliberate faithfully and decide how best to live into God’s mission in the world.