India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) is a confessional Lutheran church spread over the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Southern Karnataka, parts of Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai in India. The IELC is a Christ centered church faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.
The individual congregations are the primary units of IELC. The members of each congregation gather in fellowship and worshipping the Triune God. Pastors shepherd the congregations through preaching and teaching the Word, administering the Sacraments and comforting the sick. They are also involved in the social ministry within the congregation and among community around it. Human care is also an integral part of the IELC.
The vision of IELC is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ through the Congregations and the various social service units among the different ethnic groups of India by word and deed.
IELC has a membership of 56000 with 412 congregations and 34 preaching stations. There are 240 pastors and 42 church workers. The church’s seminary is the Concordia Theological Seminary at Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. IELC has sixty one elementary and middle schools, twelve high schools, eight schools for the handicapped, four child development centers, two girls boarding homes and three boys boarding homes. IELC also has three hospitals, one nursing school and a printing press and a training institute.
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