OUR STORY
Motivated by Our Love for God. Fuelled by compassion for the underprivileged people of Albania affected by poverty. Our resolve to create positive, lasting change is what propels us forward.
From Humble Beginnings.
The Bible instructs us to ‘never despise humble beginnings.’ Zech. 4:10 Looking back now on the early years of the Durrës Christian Centre, we remember those years with fondness and gratitude. My wife Valbona and I (David) had a God-sized vision, generous hearts and incredible compassion for the marginalized people of Albania—Valbona’s home country. With limited resources in our hands but hearts full of confidence in a BIG God, we got started, and in March of 1996, we began teaching English to a number of 12 & 13-year-olds.
Our first church service was held in a little bar near the end of September 1996, where we had over 70 in attendance and had to move in just over two months due to growth. This growth led us to a pool hall where we held our second church service and subsequent services through the Civil War, where curfews and the sound of constant gunfire were commonplace.
To Significant Growth.
Our time at the pool hall had its challenges, including the many disruptions from the neighborhood kids, even though we were a quarter of a block from the police station. So, we left the pool hall for our third meeting place, a room measuring approximately 3 meters (10 feet) by 8 meters (25 feet). It was here where we could only seat 50-55 people at a time that our attendance reached 150-170 people across 3 Sunday services.
Then, in 1999, during the Kosovo crisis, God used us to help many of those who were displaced from their homeland, which kept us very busy. As we gave of ourselves, God began to give back to us, and in a matter of months, we grew to around 500, still in this little room. In December 1999, we moved to our fourth building, a renovated warehouse. Again, in 2000, God began to move and miraculously provided the funds so we could buy the land and this warehouse.
From there, in 2001, because of our partnership with LIFE OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL and James and Betty Robison, we completed all four floors of our new Albanian Life Centre.
With the support of NATO troops, we effectively installed a concrete driveway and sidewalk throughout the entire neighborhood, resolving the persistent problem of mud covering the area.
At the 5th Anniversary of our church, we had the grand opening of our Life Centre with 650 people in attendance. Since then, God granted us more growth, and in January 2002, we were averaging about 750 still in 3-morning services as we can now seat only 200.
In October 2002, we were able to mother another church about 1 km away from our present location. Around 100 of our people lived in that area, and as of the Spring of 2003, we were averaging about 160. Also, our church in the village, which was started around the same time, was now averaging between 60 and 90.
A Time of Trial.
As of May 2003, our four churches were running over 1000. Then, several negative things happened, including the suicide of some youths from one of the well-known Cults. The news media got a hold of this and caused an epidemic of fear and panic, telling people not to send their children to church or go themselves because they would be taught to commit suicide. Our attendance plummeted to about 150. We had to close down two churches and give one away to another ministry that was not as high profile as ours. As a well-known organization, it was apparent that other religious organizations were targeting us.
Rebuilding The Foundations.
It is said that “difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations,” despite the many challenges we were facing, in 2005, my wife started an impactful ministry for the Youth of Durrës— United Youth for Christ, UYFC. The leadership of this ministry was eventually handed over to Youth for Christ Albania, along with the committees from various churches which worked with my wife; this work continues to this day.
Then, in 2006, we started another church in a nearby village, and our work has stabilized and started to grow again, with around 120-150 people in each church. This video of a baptism service from around that time still holds a special place in our hearts.
Threat of Persecution.
Just before Christmas 2012 we started receiving anonymous threats against the lives of my wife Valbona and children, which caused much stress and worry for our family. The children were 10 and 12 years old, and every time the church was opened, they were in fear that someone would come in and shoot their mother, who was playing the keyboard and leading the service or their father, who was preaching.
After praying and considering the advice of the police and the consulate, we sent them back to Canada. With my family in safety, I stayed behind to reorganize the churches and put people in place to oversee the churches and foundation. I came to Canada in April 2013.
Since then, I have maintained constant contact with the leadership, and eventually, two of our friends, Leon Evans from England and Bert Phagan from Brussels, took the oversight of the two churches. Two young men who grew up in our church were installed as Pastors.
Earthquake and Pandemic…
In November of 2019, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Northwestern Albania, the centre of which was Durrës, leaving Durrës with severe damage, and then COVID hit, which caused church attendance to decline. Despite these trials, the Churches are getting stronger through the consistency of the leadership and Pastors, combined with a hope-filled message of God’s love to the world found in Jesus, exemplified in word and deed. It is also a testament to the incredible and resilient people of Durrës.
Hopeful Expectations!
Our staff and director of the Foundation are doing a great job with the input of Valbona, our CCO, and our plans for the future are very exciting.
Love Albania: Embracing with Compassion and Empowering through Love.
Will you Join Us?