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Evangelical Lutherans in Mission ( ELIM ) was a liberal caucus within the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod ( LCMS ).

It was formed in 1973 as an oppositional group of clergy following sweeping victories by Jacob Aall Ottesen Preus II ( J.

A. O. Preus II ) and the LCMS's conservative wing, known as Confessional Lutherans, at the synod's 1973 convention in New Orleans.

It was not considered a major issue in the LCMS when it began because it originally lacked significant lay support.

ELIM gained further momentum in the wake of the 1974 Seminex controversy at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

The organization dedicated a large portion of its resources to supporting the break-away Seminex institution.

Only after the Seminex controversy did ELIM begin to gain lay support.

However, immediately after the Seminex controversy both the Confessional Lutherans and the ELIM claimed they did not want a schism.

But after Preus was easily reelected as president of the LCMS in 1976 ELIM decided to split from the LCMS.