About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)

​The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with about 4 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations across the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

​The ELCA is a result of a merger among The American Lutheran Church (ALC), the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) (which had earlier withdrawn from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod after 1975). The three churches agreed to unite in 1982. They formed a 70-member Commission for a New Lutheran Church, which planned the merger.

We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. For us, as the ELCA, this faith comes through the good news of Jesus Christ and gives us the freedom and the courage to wonder, discover and boldly participate in what God is up to in the world. 

We are a church that is always being made new, and at the same time, is deeply rooted in Scripture, Lutheran theology and Lutheran confessions. We are also rooted in the vibrant, diverse communities and rich histories of our congregations. It’s through these roots that the Holy Spirit guides and nourishes us so that we can be a church that is both resilient and always new. 

We welcome you to join this community of faith — the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America — regardless of your age, race, gender, life experience, complexities and questions. You have a unique story that can only add to the richness of the larger story that makes up the ELCA. There is a place for you with us!

About the Rocky Mountain Synod (RMS)

​The word synod comes from a Greek word meaning "to travel a common road––to walk together." The congregations, the people, and the ministries in our expansive geographical region of the Rocky Mountains––this is synod. We walk a common road–– together––as the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The Rocky Mountain Synod is one of 65 synods in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (link is external) (ELCA). It is the largest synod, geographically, in the lower 48. The synod is further divided into ten conferences. The Rocky Mountain Synod territory reaches from Wyoming to the north, Utah to the west, Colorado to the east, and New Mexico to the south, with the unique addition of El Paso, Texas, along the southern border. Our 163 congregations are as unique as our landscapes. From fertile farmlands and desert plateaus to craggy mountain peaks and green quiet meadows, from bustling cities to expansive ranchlands, the Good News is proclaimed in every setting.

About 2/3 of Rocky Mountain Synod congregations are in Colorado, with the highest concentration along the Front Range from Fort Collins to Pueblo. The remaining 1/3 of our congregations are located in the other four states.

The Office of the Bishop 
The Rev. James Gonia serves the Rocky Mountain Synod as its bishop. The Office of the Bishop is located in unincorporated Adams County, just north of Denver, at the site of a congregation that closed five years ago.

Bishop Jim Gonia was elected to a six-year term at the 2012 Synod Assembly in Colorado Springs, Colorado on April 28, 2012. He was installed as bishop of the Rocky Mountain Synod September 23, 2012, at Bethany Lutheran Church in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. Having served as a missionary in Madagascar, as a parish pastor, and in ELCA Churchwide ministries, Bishop Gonia brings an expansive view of what it means to be the church. Most recently, he has championed this theme: “We are Church: Better Together!”

The Synod Council
The Synod Council serves as the board of directors and as the interim legislative authority between meetings of the Synod Assembly.  It may make decisions between meetings of the Synod Assembly.