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Who We Are
- In Australia and New Zealand almost 250,000 people call themselves Lutherans. There are 648 congregations, 298 parishes, 533 pastors (including those who have retired) and 92 lay workers.
- Australian Lutheranism in the twenty first century reflects the multicultural nature of the Australian nation itself - with 22% of Australians being born in another country. Aussie Lutherans have their roots in every continent – from Argentina to China, from Sudan to Papua New Guinea, from Cambodia to Canada, and from Britain to South Africa.
- The Lutheran church has been in Australia and New Zealand for more than 150 years. In the 1830's small groups of European Lutherans emigrated in search of religious freedom. They settled mainly in rural areas in various parts of Australia.
- LCA membership decreased during World War 1 when the use of German was prohibited and many Germans were interned. Numbers increased again after World War 2 with the influx of northern European migrants.
- The Lutheran church is one of the world’s major Christian churches. It is the largest Protestant church. At the beginning of 2006 there were nearly 83 million Lutherans in the world.
- European Lutheran churches have 38.6 million members, a decrease since 1999. The populations of Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway have a high Lutheran concentration.
- The fastest growing Lutheran population is in Africa with more than 14 million members. Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi and Cameroon have substantial Lutheran memberships.
- The Lutheran church is the oldest Protestant church. It dates back to the Reformation in the sixteenth century when Martin Luther challenged some of the teachings and practices of the church of his day. Luther insisted that the Bible is the authority that decides what the church should teach and do.
- The name 'Lutheran' was given to people who believed that Martin Luther was right in his interpretation of the Bible.
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