German Evangelical Synod of North America.—On Oct. 15, 1840, six German missionaries of Illinois and Missouri met at Gravois settlement in Missouri and there formed the German Evangelical association of the West. Many of the ministers of this organization had been ordained in the Evangelical church of Germany and sent to the United States by missionary societies of the Fatherland, and in many cases a large number of the church members had belonged to the United Evangelical church in Germany before coming to America. The movement, which gave rise to this association in Missouri, was felt in other parts of the country, and other unions were organized which joined with the Western association. The most important of these were The German Evangelical association of Ohio, established in 1858; the German United Evangelical synod of the East, organized in 1860; the Evangelical synod of the Northwest, started in 1872; and the United Evangelical synod of the East, established the same year. In 1866 the name of the organization was changed to the Evangelical Synod of the West, and in 1877 to the German Evangelical Synod of North America.

The church is divided into seventeen districts, each district having charge of local affairs, and its officers responsible to the general synod, which meets every four years, being composed of ministerial, lay and teaching delegates elected by the district meetings.

During the two decades, from 1880 to 1900, the church made rapid progress, for in the latter year the synod had 922 ministers in the United States; 1,153 congregations and a membership of 203,574.

The movement of Evangelical unions in Kansas began in the early '60s, an Evangelical association having been formed at Humboldt, Allen county, in 1860, with a preacher named Dubbs as the first pastor. This was followed in 1861 by the Evangelical association of Leavenworth.

The Marysville, Marshall county, German Evangelical association was organized in 1868 by A. Bathe, who in 1870 established the German Evangelical church at Stozenbach. In Douglas county, St. Paul's German Evangelical church was organized at Eudora in 1869, by B. C. Hans. with 15 members, and he became the first minister. A German Evangelical association was organized at Hiawatha, Brown county, in April, 1881, by Philip Fricker. The Evangelical association at Jewell City was organized in the spring of 1872 by L. Wegner, the first pastor. In July, 1882, a German Evangelical association was perfected at Emporia with 11 members, by C. F. Erffmeyer, and the same year an Evangelical association was organized at Wyandotte, now Kansas City, Kan. Today the German Evangelical Synod of North America ranks tenth of all denominations in Kansas with a membership of 3,617.