The message of the Heavenly Father’s promise – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues and the power to preach the Gospel – reached Lithuania in the first decade of the twentieth century.
In 1912, the Biržai Evangelical Christian Fellowship was founded – the first Pentecostal church in Lithuania.
Around 1922, a Pentecostal group was formed in Vilnius.
On August 25, 1930, the Minister of Education of the Republic of Lithuania allowed the head of the Biržai EKD, Petras Viederis, to temporarily conduct and manage the registration of births.
On December 3, 1931, in order to spread the Gospel more widely in Lithuania, the statutes of the Biržai EKD were changed: in the name, instead of the word Biržai, the word “Lietuvos Evangelikų Krikščionų Draugijos Įstatuti” was added, and Article 8 of the Statutes stated: § 8. The area of activity of the Society is the Republic of Lithuania. The center of activity is Biržai. We consider this date (1931 12 03) as the date of the 1st Congress of Lithuanian Evangelical Christians.
On March 2, 1932, communities were established in Žagarė (Joniškis district) and Vergėniškės km. (Raseiniai district), which had the status of EKD branches.
Since 1935, the monthly newspaper Evangelijos šviesa has been published through the efforts of the Biržai EKD.
On June 6, 1937, the 2nd Congress of Lithuanian Evangelical Christians took place, and then the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Lithuanian Evangelical Christian Society took place.
In 1940, after Lithuania regained the Vilnius region, the Vilnius Evangelical Christian Parish decided to join the Lithuanian Evangelical Christian Center in Biržai and on January 16 of that year, at the 3rd Congress of Lithuanian Evangelical Christians, it became a member of the Society.
In September 1989, as the nation’s revival began, Pentecostal communities withdrew from the Evangelical Christian Baptist Union of the USSR.
At the 4th Congress of Lithuanian Evangelical Christians held in August 1989, the Council of Presbyterians of the Lithuanian ETK was elected and Ivan Panko was elected as the senior presbyter of the Lithuanian ETK. The first version of the short confession of faith was approved.
In 1989, the Pastors’ Training School was established, which later grew into the Vilnius Theological College. Vilnius Theological College, which opened its doors in 1995, has prepared 340 students to serve the Lord to this day (2018).
In 1991, the Evangelical Christian Union of the Republic of Lithuania (LRETKS) was registered, consisting of the Biržai, Kėdainiai, Klaipėda, Panevėžys and Vilnius Churches; thus, normal communication between Pentecostal Churches was restored. These churches were active in the establishment of new churches and during the period 1991-2003. another 15 churches were established.
On November 3, 2016, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania granted the Union of Evangelical Christians of the Republic of Lithuania the status of a state-recognized religious community.
Today, the Union has 23 churches, uniting about 1,500 believers, who are served by 21 pastors, 40 deacons and 205 ministers.