on january 1, 1988, the lca ceased to exist when it, along with the american lutheran church and the association of evangelical lutheran churches, joined together to form the evangelical lutheran church in america (elca), today the largest lutheran church body in the united states. most of the united synod's churches were in virginia, north carolina, and south carolina, three states that remain the "heartland" for the elca in the southeastern u.s.