The Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in 1902 in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, with ten pastors and fifteen congregations. The first President was Rev. Daniel Laucek. The Slovak Synod was accepted into the Synodical Conference in 1908 under President Jan Pelikan.In 1959, due to the diminishing use of the Slovak language and identity, the Synod changed its name to the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches. The Synod merged with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in 1971, becoming a non-geographical district, now known as the SELC District.

Today the SELC spans the eastern half of the continent, with congregations in the United States and Canada. The SELC focuses on mission outreach here in the US and abroad. It has no full-time officers; all pastoral officers of the District remain in the parish, where they continue to serve the Lord as ministers of Word and Sacrament to His people.