About Lutherans

Lutherans in the community

As Christians, our deepest need is to be part of a meaningful community where God's word is preached and taught.

Your local Lutheran church is such a community. As Christians, we need the church to receive God's word, the sacraments and the forgiveness of sins. The church also needs you because every member has gifts and talents to bring for the spreading of God's word and love to the community.

Living out our Christian life means living in fellowship with our church and community. It is being a disciple and actively learning what it is that God wants for our lives.

Being a Lutheran is not just being a member of a church but also being an active disciple in spreading God's love to all around us in our daily lives.

Lutherans in New Zealand

The Lutheran Church has been in New Zealand for over 150 years. We are a small church with congregations spread throughout New Zealand. In the 1800s, many arrived in New Zealand from Germany and Scandinavia. Many more arrived from Europe following World War II. Since the 1990s, there has been an influx of people from Africa, Asia and many other parts of the world.

Lutherans in the world

We believe that we are part of the whole Christian church, which is the body of Christ, and we value our ties with the wider church.

Lutheran churches are found throughout the world (about 80 million people), with the largest number of Lutherans living in the Scandinavian countries, Africa, Germany, USA, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Tanzania, India, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

The Lutheran Church of New Zealand (LCNZ) has a close relationship with the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA), of which we are part. We rely on the LCA for the training of our pastors at Australian Lutheran College in Adelaide.