In a wonderful piece of divine irony, the church has grown rapidly since 1991 but this young church (both in terms of its existence and in its membership - many are under 30 years of age) has faced colossal pressures since its birth but God has given it special grace to cope. First, in 1997 there was economic collapse through a financial pyramid scheme that embraced every institution and brought a breakdown of civil order. Then, in 1999, there was an influx of hundreds of thousands of Kosovar refugees. Believers used the refugee crisis as an opportunity to share Christ in very practical ways and this opened the opportunity to expand our church planting base into Kosova. Now the challenge is against increasing secularization of the country as well as the increasing influence, in some areas, of Islam and cults.

Religion:
Islam& 39%
Orthodox 24%
Non-Religious 20%
Catholic 17%
Protestant 0.2%

Source: Operation World 2001

Bible School:
Albanian Bible Institute

National Organization:
The Evangelical Alliance (VUSH)
Albanian Encouragement Project