Lutheran Council in the USA. Office of Research, Planning, and Development.

The Lutheran Council in the USA (LCUSA) was founded in 1967 as an inter-Lutheran agency of The American Lutheran Church (TALC), the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (SELC)(which became an LCMS nongeographic district in 1970), and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) joined LCUSA in 1978 and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America became a member in 1982. LCUSA coordinated the work of the participating church bodies in mission planning; ministry to students, immigrants, and other groups; theological education, dialogues, and studies; service to military personnel; public relations; and government liaison activities. The Office of Research, Planning and Development was established in 1973 to provide staff.

Services to the newly established Committee for Planning and Development, facilitate mission planning meetings across the U.S., and provide a Research and Information Center which conducted basic research and information services for staff, participating church bodies, and the public. (Prior to 1973, information center activities had been performed by an Office of Research, Statistics, and Archives. In 1980, the Office was discontinued. Planning activities were assumed by a planning staff position and library work by the LCUSA Records and Information Center. In 1987, it was terminated with the founding of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).