Rev. Dr. Harrison is elected to a sixth term of office as President of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison has served as LCMS president since 2010.

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison is the president-elect of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for a sixth term of office, which runs from 2026 to 2029.

JUNE 24, 2026 LCMS.org

Presidential election process concludes

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, having received more than 50% of the votes cast, is the president-elect of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) for a sixth term of office, 2026–2029.

The election for the position of Synod president began last fall with an online nominating process, conducted by YesElections, that concluded Feb. 18, or five months prior to the start of the Synod convention, with a report to the secretary of the Synod. The resulting candidates for the office of president were the five ordained ministers who received the highest number of votes in the nominations process and who consented to serve if elected.

The voting began, according to Bylaw 3.12.2.4, starting June 6 (six weeks prior to the convention) via Internet balloting provided by YesElections. The 5,478 pastoral and lay voters validly registered by the congregations and parishes of the Synod (Bylaw 3.12.2.3) before the deadline (electronic registration by March 8) or their substitutes (as validly submitted before May 29) served as the voters for the election. The first and second rounds of voting were not conclusive, necessitating a third ballot.

In the third round of voting, a total of 5,038 votes were cast, constituting a vote percentage of 92.0% of the electorate. (The vote percentage was 85.4% in the first round and 88.4% in the second round.)

The result of the third ballot tallied and reported to the secretary of the Synod by YesElections is as follows:

Harrison was voted president-elect with 2,524 votes (50.1%);

The Rev. Dr. Joel D. Biermann received 2,414 votes (47.9%); and

The Rev. Benjamin T. Ball received 100 votes (2.0%).

Additional information about the election result will be published in the second issue of Today’s Business, which will be available at the beginning of the convention. For more information about the presidential election or candidates, see lcms.org/convention/elections.