 The 1979, 1982 and 1985 Youth Gatherings were a ministry of the American Lutheran Church.The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies, including the American Lutheran Church.From 2000 to 2006, a different format was tried in which the gathering was held for two weeks with certain churches coming to the convention one week and the other churches coming to it the second week.