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ü Independent – WFCF is not under supervision of any denomination in Lithuania or abroad. Financially WFCF is self-supportive thanks to tithes and offerings of our church members ü Evangelical – we believe in inerrancy and divine inspiration of the Bible, which we hold to be the authoritative and final Word of God ü Charismatic – we believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have not ceased, and we can practice them
ü To worship Christ by proclaiming the gospel and teaching the believers to live according to the word of God ü To uphold and cherish Christian values in our society ü To do the works of charity To be a community that nurtures three dimensions of Christian spirituality, namely contemplative, cognitive and charitable. ü Contemplative spirituality underscores personal experience of and relationship with God ü Cognitive spirituality emphasizes the knowledge of Scriptures, renewal of the mind according to God’s word and theological education ü Charitable spirituality draws attention to the needs of the poor and outcasts and strives to alleviate their sufferings
The Word of Faith Church came into existence October 2nd, 1988 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Around 20 Christians from different churches, namely Pentecostals, Baptists and Catholic-charismatics) gathered together with the vision of planting a new evangelical church, in which the gospel would be preached in Lithuanian (at the time there were practically no Lithuanian speaking evangelical churches). From the beginning our goal was to reach the unbelievers and unchurched rather than the believers from other churches. We experienced the authentic move of the Holy Spirit and the revival which resulted in hundreds of saved souls. In the span of several years hundreds of people mainly with non-religious backgrounds joined the church. Of course, the fall of the iron curtain and political changes contributed much to the rapid church growth. Yet, the sincere search for personal relationship with God and passion in proclaiming the message of salvation to the unreached were no less important in bringing the gospel to the people. New churches were born in almost all major cities of Lithuania. Thus, The Word of Faith Christian Fellowship was born, which today unites as many as 33 churches in our nation. The Fruits of Our Ministry God has graciously given us the privilege to pioneer many branches of ministry and to be trailblazers for many Christians and churches after the long period of stagnation due to repressions and persecutions of Christians under the communistic regime. Here are just a few fruits of our ministry.
In 1991, when we began publishing Christian newspaper in the Lithuanian language, The Word of Faith Publishing was founded. Today, The Shepherd has grown to be a 16 pages bimonthly newspaper, own of its kind among the Protestant churches. In 1992 Pastor Giedrius Saulytis was captivated by the message of the first Lithuanian book, written by Martynas Mazvydas, the father of our written word. He saw that the message, written in 1547, contained prophetic implications for the history and fate of our nation. As the result, The Word of Faith Publishing released the first book ever written in Lithuanian in updated and modern language. Since then nearly seventy Christian books have been published. Among them there are such titles as Martin Luther’s The Liberty of a Christian. Of course, our most notable work in this field was the release of the Lithuanian Bible in one volume. It has to be mentioned that up till 1996 there were no Lithuanian Bibles in one book that could be read in modern language. Having acquired the permission to edit the translation prepared by a Lithuanian Methodist pastor, we published the first edition. It turned to be the first edition of the whole Bible published after the Second World War in Lithuania. Two more editions of it have been released since.
In 1993 our church founded The Word of Faith Christian School, which today is the only private Protestant school in Lithuania, licensed by the Ministry of Education with the status of the main school (i.e. ten–year secondary school in Lithuania). At present the school has 73 students and the staff of 18 teachers. More... Another field of successful ministry is a weekly half an hour TV program “The Cornerstone”. Pastor Giedrius Saulytis has founded it in 1996. In September 2005 we will celebrate the 400th edition of the program! It is broadcasted on many stations and covers nearly two thirds of Lithuania’s geographical map. The program consists of two parts, one of which is dedicated to the preaching of the gospel, and the second to the discussion of current issues from Christian perspective. The program is ecumenical in its character and often hosts pastors and ministers from diverse denominations. The Cornerstone has been faithfully laying the foundations for and defending Christian values in our post-soviet society. More... Finally, the charitable ministry of The Word of Faith Christian Fellowship has to be briefly mentioned. Although the laws do not allow non-Catholic chaplains to minister in the army and prisons, since 1991 the pastors and ministers of WFCF have been regularly visiting many prisons as well as shelters for former convicts. For many years we provided food and clothing to the people living in rubbish dumps. Nursing homes and some hospitals have been on the list of those whom we provide charitable help. At least three rehabilitation centers for drug addicts have been founded by members of churches. WFCF is coordinating the “Operation Christmas Child” (OCC) initiated by the Samaritan’s Purse in the US. It is the largest humanitarian project ecumenically administered in our nation. Since 1998 more than 100 churches, representing 10 different denominations, participated in the OCC, and more than 200,000 shoe boxes with children gifts have been distributed. Orphanages, forgotten country schools and day care centers, to name just a few, have been blessed with gifts expressing Christian love. Our mailing address: Phone: +370 5 2406325; Fax: +370 5 2406327 |
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About us
