About Us
The church is made up of its members. It is not about a building, an organisation, or the staff — it is about all of us together.
The Church Is Us
“The church is us” is an invitation to active membership, shared responsibility, and fellowship within the church. It reminds us that the vitality and witness of the church grow out of the commitment that rises from our members’ hearts and from our fellowship with one another.
Our paid staff have their own areas of responsibility. The staff team works closely together in a collaborative and supportive manner.
God has appointed a leadership team for His church, which in the Free Church is called the elders. In the New Testament, church leadership is shared: hence the church is led by the elders together with the staff team.
Lahen Vapis Community Register
The purpose of the Lahen Vapis community register is to take good care of church members and those who are involved in, or interested in, the activities of Lahden Vapaaseurakunta.
The register is used for communication and for planning and organising activities. You can join the community register here. When joining, you may also share, if you wish, your interests and skills.
Community Message
By subscribing to the weekly Community Message, you will stay up to date with current matters and events.
The Community Message is intended for those involved in the activities of Lahden Vapaaseurakunta and for those interested in them. At the moment the Community Message is available only in Finnish.
The Community Message is subscribed also through the community register link.
You can also read the latest Community Messages online.
About Our Church in Brief
At the end of 2024, Lahden Vapaaseurakunta (The Evangelical Free Church in Lahti) officially had approximately 500 members of different ages.
Over the decades, the church has expressed itself through many forms of ministry, shaped by the number of volunteers and staff as well as their gifts and interests. Sunday services and a Communion Service once a month have remained a permanent part of church life. Our weekly activities are diverse, and you can find more information about them on these pages.
The church runs its own Christian daycare, Päiväkoti Pääskynpesä. In addition, we cooperate with ViaDia Lahti ry (diaconal work) and the Scout group Lahden Versot.
More information in Finnish about these special ministries can be found here. You can also contact us at office@lahenvapis.fi to get more info if needed.
Mission, Vision and Values
Our mission is to be a congregation that shares God’s love, nurtures growth, and impacts the world around us.
As a congregation, we are moving toward our vision: to be a community that is boldly present in everyday life, bringing hope to our city.
These summaries guide the congregation and its members toward the Renewing One — God — who alone, through the Holy Spirit, can pour His love into people’s hearts.
Nurturing growth includes creating structures, activities, and platforms where a person is welcomed as they are and can find their place to serve according to their gifts and calling.
Each member influences their surroundings through everyday life and choices. As a community, our impact is currently expressed especially through youth work, daycare, scouting, and diaconal work.
In the future, our aim is to have a growing impact through smaller fellowships where individual members, together with others, can influence their surroundings in positive and constructive ways.
The values of our community guide us and keep us on the right path in everyday life.
We Are Part of the Free Church Movement
The history of Lahden Vapaaseurakunta reaches back to the late 1800s, when a Free Church revival came to Lahti along with people who had moved to the area. The church was registered as an association in 1912. When the Evangelical Free Church of Finland was founded in 1923, the church joined this denomination.
We therefore belong to the Evangelical Free Church of Finland. The Free Church Bylaws state the following regarding the status of a local church:
“A local church is independently responsible for its own decisions and commitments. In its decisions and activities, it must comply with legislation and these Bylaws.”
The Evangelical Free Church of Finland was the first denomination registered under the Freedom of Religion Act that came into force in 1923. It includes approximately 100 congregations across Finland, with around 15,000 members.
What We Believe
In accordance with the confession of the Evangelical Free Church of Finland:
“We are Christians who, on the foundation of the Bible and in agreement with the Apostles’ Creed, want to live and work to awaken and preserve Christian faith and life.”
Church Membership
Members of the church are either full members or family members. Full members have the right to vote in official church meetings, where decisions are made regarding appointments, activities, and finances.
A person may be accepted as a full member if they are at least 15 years old, are a born-again Christian, and wish to live according to the principles of the Free Church.
Family members are the children of church members until they can become full members. For family or other special reasons, the church may also accept as a family member a person who accepts the principles of the Free Church and seeks to live accordingly.
You can apply for church membership here. Please contact us at office@lahenvapis.fi for further instructions and help.
The Priesthood of All Believers and Authorization
The Free Church is a lay movement. This means that all full members can serve in many different roles within the church, based on the priesthood of all believers. The only responsibility limited to ordained pastors is the legal right to officiate weddings. These pastors are appointed by the denomination and authorized by the civil authorities to perform marriages.
Today, many roles also require proper training. Suomen teologinen opisto, maintained by the Evangelical Free Church of Finland, has developed to meet the competence requirements of our time. As responsibilities have grown, formal authorization has become important in order to ensure competence and accountability. For this reason, credentials granted by the Free Church play an important role when local congregations employ staff members.