The ELFK maintained strong relations with the LCMS until 1987, when fellowship was suspended on account of the LCMS's refusal to break fellowship with the less-conservative West German-based Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church.

The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church teaches that the Bible is the only authoritative source for doctrine.

It subscribes to the Lutheran Confessions (the Book of Concord, 1580) as accurate presentations of what Scripture teaches, that Jesus is the center of Scripture and the only way to eternal salvation, and that the Holy Spirit uses the gospel alone in Word and Sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion) to bring people to faith in Jesus as Savior and keep them in that faith, strengthening them in their daily life of sanctification.

The publisher regularly prints the monthly newsletters of the ELFK, the “Lutherische Gemeindebriefe”.

They also publish the quarterly of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, “Theologische Handreichung und Information”, and a devotion book, “Gott ist für uns.”[2]