There are 165 congregations in EELC. Congregations outside the Republic (Upper-Suetuki, St. Petersburg, Petseri) have already for several years belonged to the Estonian Church, and Estonians in Riga, Helsinki, Vilnius and Moscow have been able to enjoy sermons in their native language.

The regular and orderly services have been the main concern and highest aspiration of Estonian clergy throughout all times, especially during those decades when the church could function only within its own walls. But even in the worst period of suppression, over 9000 services were annually held in 140 congregations. It meant that the small-numbered clergy held two and more services, Sunday after Sunday, in addition the weekday services, prayer meetings and Bible studies, sometimes to very small audiences.

In most congregations the services are held regularly every Sunday at 10 or 11 in the morning and follow the established order, which has, in its essentials, remained the same throughout this century. The Church Council has asked the liturgical commission to renew the Service Book, and several congregations try out new kinds of services which invite more active participation of the congregation, attempt to find various ways to use the space of the church and emphasise more clearly the altar sacrament and eucharistic fellowship. Christmas services always enjoy the liveliest participation, bringing together also those who do not have a steady and regular connection with church. Although quite a few church holidays which occur in weekdays have been proclaimed public holidays in the Republic of Estonia, and do not require going to work (Christmas Day, Good Friday, St.John's Day), the number of people attending the services on these days is far smaller. At the same time the participation in Sunday services has grown and in different congregations the average number of those participating in regular services is about 5-25 per cent of the whole congregation.

The membership of congregations has grown younger over the years, since a considerable number of young people join the congregations through confirmation. A certain part of them retains closer contacts with his or her congregation and turns up at regular services. The confirmation age is between 15 - 21 years and about half of the people is confirmed within that age limit.

In the first Estonian Republic, the clergy also acted as officials of the registry office, and a wedding meant a legal marriage. This practice has been missed by many members of congregations who now have to register their marriage in a lay establishment before the church wedding.

When in 1985 the number of church funerals exceeded threefold the number of christenings, then by now there are far more christenings than funerals, although the number of the latter has also grown. The majority of Estonian people cannot stay indifferent as to how they or their nearest and dearest leave this world; because even those who have little contact with church hope to find eternal peace in God.

Organisations - Association for Work with Children and Youth

The religious education of the young was co-ordinated by the Youth Work Centre, which re-started its work in 1991. The Centre's annual most important and vital task is the organising of the nation-wide Days of the Church Youth which bring together hundreds of young people to common prayer, services and discussion groups to tackle some specific and topical subject. It has become a welcome tradition for hundreds of young Estonian church members to take part in the turn of the year meetings of young European Christians.

The work with children in the congregations commenced already in 1988. Sunday schools started to invite dozens and hundreds of children to the rather cramped congregation rooms where older or younger congregation members began to teach them. In the majority of cases those members had neither the experience nor training for such work. In 1990, the Sunday School Union was established which, mostly on the basis of the Finnish church experience, started off regular teaching, publishing methodical materials and books for children.

The Youth Work Centre and the Sunday School Union joined in 2004. The new organisation is the Association for Work with Children and Youth.

Organisations - Union of Sacred Music

Besides the proclamation of the word, music has always been equally important. The years of occupation had little effect on it. In 1993, the Union of Sacred Music was established which unites all church musicians and co-ordinates the church music. The Union's aim is to spread the Word of God and strengthen the faith through music.

Besides traditional church choirs, the congregations have set up choirs for children, young people and also chamber choirs. Many well-known musicians and ensembles have taken part in church concerts to perform, in proper surroundings, the work of others and their own for the glory of God and spiritual enlightenment of the listeners.

There are over 100 organs in Estonian churches, many of them are highly valuable instruments with beautiful sound, and congregations sometimes find it financially straining to restore them and to keep them in good working order. But the regal instruments keep producing fine music. The long-standing Estonian organ building tradition (the Kriisa family) is being supported by new foreign experience (Scheffler). The Tallinn Cathedral Organ Foundation was established in order to raise the necessary millions for restoring the cathedral's magnificent Sauer organ.

Mission Centre

The founding of the Mission Centre in 1996 has demonstrated that the church is forever prepared to take on all sorts of tasks and concern itself with problems of a stranger or distant brothers and sisters. Following the more than a hundred-year-old tradition, the Estonian church has been able to send missionaries not only to its own people but even to further places.