Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary is owned and operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota. Established in 1918, the ELS is comprised of about 130 congregations in 17 states, as well as foreign missions in Peru, Chile, India, Korea, Ukraine, Latvia, and Czech Republic. The ELS also owns and operates Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota. For more information about the ELS and her various activities, visit the websites of the ELS Board of Evangelism, Board for World Outreach, Thoughts of Faith Mission Society, and Historical Society.
The ELS is a member church of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, an international organization of Lutheran churches in over 20 countries. The members of the CELC believe, teach, and confess the same doctrine and are in full fellowship. This fellowship includes the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, our sister church in America, and the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church, our sister church in Germany.