
BY DANIELE P. PASQUALE
The last 30 years have been an exciting time for Albania and for God’s kingdom in the region: from virtual isolation to global interaction, from forced atheism to diverse pluralism, from brutal dictatorship to hopeful democracy, and from a handful of believers to a growing, active church. Italy contributed significantly to the cause of the Gospel in Albania due to its geographical proximity. Motivated by an evangelistic enthusiasm, Italian assemblies sent missionaries who planted several local churches.
Help from Italy
One of these Italian-planted churches is in Shkodër, where, in 1991, right after the fall of Communism, local men and women heard the Gospel for the first time. As in many other cities and villages in Albania, hunger for the message of the Bible was great, and many people came to a living faith in Christ Jesus. Help also came from churches in the UK, and by the end of the 1990s, when the Italian founding missionary Tommaso D’Andrea left Shkodër, the assembly was firmly established, and elders had been recognized.
Meanwhile, the Italian Evangelical Bible Institute (IBEI) had been training new believers for the ministry at a national level—especially through Fares Marzone, principal of IBEI and president of Opera Missionaria Evangelica dei Fratelli Italiana, an Italian missions service organization; the late Ron Diprose, a New Zealander and IBEI’s academic dean; and Salvatore Corcelli, the first Italian missionary to Albania. In cooperation with other assembly workers, IBEI held an initial training program in Albania’s capital, Tirana, in the 1996–97 academic year. Then, a second year was added in 1998.
Later, the idea to start an IBEI extension school in Albania was born within the Albanian church eldership and the school’s leadership. The aim was to allow believers in a fast-changing society to be equipped without forgoing family life, secular work, and local church involvement. The mode of delivery was already well-developed and tested by IBEI in Italy: For every subject, a teacher would go to a local church and hold intensive sessions of classes over two weekends. Students would gather from surrounding churches to attend the interactive lectures, learning from the teacher and fellow students. After attending 10 weekends of lectures per year, covering five subjects, students would receive IBEI’s Certificate of Theology in four years of study.
The leaders slightly adapted this model for Albania and translated the lectures from Italian into Albanian. After some discussion with local leadership and the consideration of several issues, it was decided that the assembly in Shkodër would host the program. The church had just completed an impressive building project and had all the requirements for a functional and comfortable extension school. Moreover, the coordinator and other volunteers had put great effort into translating learning resources that would complement the classroom lectures.
A desire for maturity
In 2014, 20 believers from Shkodër, Lezhë, Tirana, and as far away as Vlorë enrolled and began their training. All of them were already involved in ministry in their local churches and had a similar goal:
Since the first days of my conversion to follow Christ, I have had a great desire to read and to study the Word of God. I also had the same strong desire to help Christian young people know the Scriptures and our God better through His Word. I devoted myself to this ministry for many years, but I noticed I had a few significant deficiencies, especially in biblical foundation: I had some doctrinal foundations but without strong conviction or critical thinking about them. I noticed I was not maturing anymore, and it was the same for my fellow youth group members. As soon as I was informed about the extension school in Shkodër, I applied without hesitation because it was exactly what I was looking for.
—Edi, an elder in the Lezhë assembly
I needed to deepen my knowledge in certain biblical subjects, which was important for my ministry of the Word in my church. I did not have the luxury of taking time off work to attend the residential school in Rome. The extension school in Shkodër was ideal for my situation.
—Gentian, an elder in the Vlorë assembly
Positive Results
This pursuit of spiritual maturity not only affected the students but also the Albanian church:
The first group has shown good results and all are involved in Christian ministry within their churches. The newly recognized church elders in Lezhë have both benefited from the training.
—Colin, a missionary and elder in Shkodër
I was strongly encouraged by my husband, Edvin, and we both enrolled at the same time. It was our desire to understand more from the Bible and get to know the Lord better. When I graduated, I said something that had resonated within me for many years: “The more I know about God, the more I love Him.” I am also involved with the youth ministry in our local church, and having a better knowledge of God’s Word has helped me to disciple and mentor the youth. Occasionally, I speak at our women’s meeting, and the studies have helped me prepare and deliver better messages
—Alma, a believer from the Shkodër assembly
The Bible school helped immensely in three main ways: It completely changed my mindset; corrected my biblical understanding of God, the church, and myself; and helped me build good biblical, doctrinal foundations. Now, they are my own convictions and beliefs and not those of others. All this has greatly transformed my ministry of the Word in the church.
—Edi, Lezhë assembly
As a teacher, I visited Shkodër several times and enjoyed not only the classroom interaction but also the fellowship with other believers in various churches. They were hungry to learn and warm in their hospitality. In 2018, the graduation ceremony for this first class was held. It was a time of celebration to the Lord for His help and grace during the process.
Given the length of the IBEI program, many students’ life situations change, and we experience a significant dropout rate in Italy. However, in Albania, it was comparably low for this first class. The graduating students had persevered with joy and determination and expressed gratitude and appreciation at the ceremony.
Due to this encouraging feedback, the leadership decided to immediately start a new cycle with about 20 students who came from as far as Gjirokastër, a city in southern Albania, and Kosovo, a neighboring country. Like the students from the first class, these believers desired to grow in their faith so they could more effectively contribute to their churches:
The reason I decided to enroll at the school was to grow more in knowledge of and relationship with God and to serve Him in the local church in various ways. While studying and increasingly knowing more of the Word, I grew in my relationship with God. After the first year, I saw a difference: I was able to better study the Bible, to preach at the church, to help with church maintenance, and to lead the youth ministry.
—Blison, a believer from Tirana
I wanted to know more and more about the Word of God, and I needed Him to transform me by giving me the necessary wisdom to face life’s challenges. It also motivated me to take on new tasks in the church, such as summer camps for children and evangelization of the teachers of the city.
—Diana, a believer from Shkodër
A renewed program
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted the training, and some students dropped out. However, this break allowed for a fresh start and improvement in the educational experience using virtual learning. A new coordinator was appointed: Edi. He organizes various aspects of the program with the help of alumni Edvin and Elida.
Triggered by heavier use of online communication and the need for more flexible training for new students in Tirana, we recently launched a part-time online program in Albanian since we already had enough translated material to start. Now, building on the experience and learning resources from the extension school, we are translating some courses and Christian books, more of which are becoming available in the country. We hope to have more students in the next academic year.
Praise the Lord for His work in this country. Pray for the growth of the Albanian church, for IBEI as it provides training, and for the evangelistic and missionary efforts among the unreached people of this region. n
Daniele Pasquale and his wife, Marti, are commended from Littleton Bible Chapel in Colorado. Daniele serves as the principal of IBEI in Italy.
Originally published in Missions magazine, September/October 2024. For more content, sign up for a free subscription (US and Canada) to Missions at CMML.us/magazine/subscribe.