Our Community

We are a community of Christian believers who seek to live lives that give glory to our God and Saviour.  We come from a variety of church backgrounds: Anglicans, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Reformed, Roman Catholics, non-denominational and others.

The ICV is non-denominational, that is to say that we are not affiliated with any specific church.  We aim to be a Christ-centred community where people from all church backgrounds can feel part of the family.

We hold fast to the teachings of the Apostle’s Creed and seek to live in accordance with God’s revealed word, the Bible.

Jim has served a variety of Lutheran congregations in rural, urban, and international settings as pastor for nearly 40 years including an international church in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for a year (1978-1979). And as a guest pastor in August 2011 at Wittenberg English Ministry in Wittenberg, Germany.

He is a history major from the University of Northern Iowa and studied Divinity and Theology at Wartburg Theological Seminary.

Jim believes that preaching of the Gospel is central to congregational life and does so with enthusiasm and conviction. He acknowledges the importance to reach out to the English-speaking community by building relationships with various groups.

Diane is a trained lay Associate Minister in catechism education of children, youth ministry, spiritual direction, parish administration, and preaching. She feels her calling is to be a pastor’s wife and desires to serve the congregation as led by the Spirit.

They have five grown children and ten grandchildren.

Visiting Pastors 2012-2013

Aug - Sep 2012    A. O. & Suzanne McGill

Oct - Nov 2012    Newt & Julie Kerney

Dec - Feb 2013    Mike & Liz Spangler

Mar - Aug 2013    Bruce & Angela Sloan

We look forward to welcoming Jim & Diane Wagner to the International Church of Vilnius in the autumn of 2013.

Jim & Diane Wagner

Bruce is a retired Southern Baptist pastor of over forty years.  He has worked in the area of developing cross-cultural congregations. He has served as the senior pastor of the Toyo Union Church in Japan and the Union Church of Lima, Peru.  He has served as a spiritual director for The School of Theology of The University of the South at Sewanee.

He enjoys carpentry, collecting rare books, and telling stories of the south.

Angela is a professional musician and a licensed psychotherapist.  She has taught in Brazil and at a University in Tokyo and is currently retained by the state of Georgia as a guidance counsellor.  She loves teaching Bible studies, swimming, reading mysteries, and spending time with her 3 grandchildren.

And we say goodbye and thank you to Mike & Liz Spangler who have been with us since Advent.

Our Pastor

While we await the arrival of a new pastor in autumn 2013, we are excited to welcome a number of interim pastors who have kindly volunteered to serve with us.

Our visiting pastor for the spring and summer of 2013 is Bruce Sloan from Bainbridge, Georgia, USA.