The starting point of this volume is that the LWF, the successor body to the short-lived Lutheran World Convention, was established on "four pillars" - rescue for the needy, common initiatives in mission, joint efforts in theology, and a common response to the ecumenical challenge.

The volume traces what has happened to this founding vision by means of penetrating surveys of eight themes of service, mission, theology, ecclesiology, ecumenics, inclusiveness, and political and social justice as they have unfolded in Federation history. Most fundamental, as the title of the book indicates, has been the maturing of the LWF's self-understanding from a "free association of Lutheran churches" to a "communion of churches.".

New theological, ecclesiological, missionary, and sociopolitical insights concerning global and ecumenical Lutheranism emerge as the twentieth-century history of the international communion of Lutheran churches is recounted, celebrated, and evaluated in From Federation to Communion. The volume includes a Handbook of the Lutheran World Federation, which reviews eight LWF assemblies and presents concise biographies of Federation presidents and general secretaries.