Lushnjë, where I serve, is a small town in the centre of Albania. It’s a town that I would describe as having a lower-than-average standard of living. There is no industry here; it’s mostly an agricultural area. From when our church was founded here 33 years ago until today, we have not had a single new believer return to serve as a ministry leader in our local church. It may sound a bit unbelievable, but it is the truth.

We serve in the church with different age groups, and they grow up within the church, but when the time comes for them to finish high school, they move to other cities — mostly to our capital, Tirana. Lushnjë has no universities or colleges, which forces our young people to leave in order to pursue higher education.

So we raise and train different generations for ministry, but as a church we are not able to benefit from their service ourselves. Nevertheless, we are not discouraged, because many of them become active and serve in other churches across Albania and even abroad. 

The same thing happens with other church leaders — they move with their families to Tirana or overseas in search of a better life. As a result, we often struggle with a lack of leaders in our church. This reality encourages and strengthens us to continue serving, even though the fruits — belonging to the Lord — are reaped by other churches.

Find out more about Berti and Tatiana here

Find out more about ministry in Albania here