Community Presbyterian Church - Missions and Outreach

MISSIONS & OUTREACH MINISTRIES

GLOBAL MISSIONS - ALBANIA

the word from Albania - Partnership Update

ALBANIA MINISTRY UPDATE: FALL 2010

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Greetings to you from Tirana, Albania! Here is an update of the ministry in the last couple of months:

In the last couple of months we have focused on the study of the Gospel of Luke on Sundays, and the Kingdom of God on Wednesdays. Participation has been very good, and we are encouraged by the depth of fellowship that church members are experiencing. We are looking forward to a great holiday season with Christmas celebrations, evangelistic events and parties scheduled for the last two weeks of this year.

Church services in Vaqarr have resumed. We are grateful for the new meeting room which we are now renting there, and for the great interest shown thus far not just by youth and men, but by a number of ladies, too.

Right after Altin and I (Zefjan) returned from the Lausanne Third Congress on World Evangelization, we were greatly encouraged as a church by the visit of the team from CPC led by pastor Mark Patterson. Pastor Mark spoke to our graduates and young professionals, to the church, as well as two different audiences in two private universities in Tirana. (He even gave a half-an-hour interview to one of the local TV stations here.)

Our church based Bible School has also resumed with 12 members of our church taking a course on Missions with a Dutch Protestant Reformed University.
Those taking this course will be joined by several more church members for a training series of nine sessions as part of the plan and process to ordain elders and deacons.

Pray that the church members will be active in sharing their faith during this season when people seem to be more open to the Gospel and the things of God.
Pray for those who will be part of the training to become ordained as elders and deacons.

Other events that have taken place this fall include:

an evangelistic meeting of police officers;
women’s ministry meetings;
student ministry meetings;
three graduates and young professionals week-end conferences;
the book club meeting;
evangelistic events involving sports activities and travel to various cities.

Thank you for your prayers and support for the work of God in Albania. We pray you will have a blessed holiday season.

In Christ’s Love,

Zefjan – for the Emanuel Team

ALBANIA MINISTRY UPDATE: MARCH & APRIL 2010

EMANUEL CHURCH TIRANA
These last two months were marked by several joyous events for our church.

We were greatly encouraged during the Easter season and on Easter Sunday as we taught, meditated, and celebrated together the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Pray that the hope of Easter will accompany us in our daily life especially in difficulties.

We then celebrated two weddings: Oliana and Enkeleid, and Albana and Olsi. Their respective wedding ceremonies were a powerful witness of the Gospel and the love of Christ in their lives to their families and friends.

Pray that their love for each other will grow and they will glorify God in their marriage.

We finished teaching through 1 Corinthians on our Sunday services and are now preaching from 2 Corinthians.

Pray for God’s Spirit to speak into the hearts and minds of our people so that as a church we become doerers and not simply hearers of God’s Word.

STUDENT MINISTRY & THE INTERCONFESSIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY

The biggest event for student ministry was the annual national evangelistic conference which brought together BSKSH groups from several university cities for a weekend of worship, teaching, and fellowship.

Praise God for the encouragement that students received in this conference, and pray for the start of a new student group among dental students in cooperation with the Shalom Clinic that is established in Tirana by South Korean missionaries.

The Old Testament translation project of the Interconfessional Bible Society is well under way. This will be the first modern translation of the Old Testament in Albanian from the Hebrew.

Pray for the translators (Oldi, Marjan, and Joan), and for Altin as he oversees the project and seeks to raise the funds needed for this work.

OTHER

Several members of our church already completed the course on Systematic Theology and have now begun work on the second course on Missions. This is part of an Internet based class that is offered by the Reformed Dutch Church.

Pray for those participating in the class to get the most out of it, and to persevere and finish the course well.

The last book we discussed in our Book Club was “Amazing Grace” the life story of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce. His story is very inspiring and people were greatly encouraged by the way God worked through him to bring freedom to slaves.

Pray that the meetings of the Book Club will attract more unbelievers who will hear the Gospel as a result of the relationships they will develop with believers.

Finally, we want to say thank you for your prayers and support. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you sometime soon.

Blessings,
Zefjan (on behalf of the Emanuel Church team)

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