Social Ministry Organizations

When people are facing a crisis in life, a personal or family need or are at their most vulnerable, we respond with care and compassion, ready to serve and love our neighbor. We believe Christ has freed us to embrace and care for people of all ages in any situation or context.

As members of the ELCA, we can only do this work and offer ourselves in service because we are joined with a large network of partners, organizations and denominations who have a common vision of caring for people in need wherever they are — Lutheran Services in America.

The ELCA and 300 health and human service organizations participate in an alliance known as Lutheran Services in America, which serves more than 6 million people each year in the United States and the Caribbean. That’s one in 50 Americans every year. As part of this alliance and mission, we support more than 285 social ministry organizations affiliated with the ELCA.

We are called to do God’s work in a complex world. The services and organizations available are as diverse as the needs of the people and communities they serve: health and human care, alcohol and drug treatment, disaster response, counseling, employment assistance, housing for those who are homeless, adoption and foster care, developmental disability services, pregnancy counseling, senior adult care, child abuse prevention and others.

To learn more about social ministry organizations the ELCA works with and the communities they serve, visit Lutheran Services in America.

You can find Lutheran Social Services and other social ministry organizations in your area by going to the Lutheran Services in America member directory or by searching for specific services or locations.