Albania Reach Ministry History

The ministries described at AlbaniaReach began immediately after the country opened their borders to the world after the fall of communism in Albania. Albania opened their borders to visitors in late 1991, and missionaries began to enter the country as early as 1992. Jeff Bartell was one of those missionaries that entered Albania in the first wave in the summer of 1992. There was a genuine curiosity among the Albanians for anything that was new, anything that they were previously deprived access to, which included the gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of those responding to the gospel and getting saved at that time were high school and college age youth.

 With systematic, open evangelism as a strategy, very quickly many people got saved and Jeff Bartell organized the first post-communist Baptist church in the country in 1992. Partly because of the novelty, and partly because of genuine spiritual hunger, the young church immediately began seeing in excess of one hundred regular attenders to the weekly worship and Bible studies. Many came and left, but this became the core of what would become a growing body of believers in the capital city of Tirana.  

 In 1993 Jeff married Erla, the first person to get saved in this ministry and Jeff’s ministry translator. Together they worked to evangelize and disciple all who showed interest in the gospel. The Bible Baptist Church of Tirana quickly became known as a place where the Bible was taught, and disciples were made. Young Albanian believers began to learn the Bible and grow in their faith. Among the most serious disciples in those early years were many of the men that are now leading churches and ministries of their own, described in this website: Taulant Kreci, Sazan Hoxhaj, Erion Vogli, Fatmir Macaj, and Norbert Nebiu. These men all served as deacons and ministry leaders in the Tirana church before God called them to begin new works.

The second church to be started was in Durrës and was led by Sazan Hoxhaj. Sazan was a deacon in Tirana and led the college ministry. He felt God’s call on his life to start a new church, and God led him to Durrës. Sazan and his wife, Laura, began the Durres Bible Church in 2004 and continue to serve there today. They have systematically and faithfully evangelized the surrounding villages and are currently working in the area of Spitallë, outside of Durres.

In 2006, Jeff and Erla sensed that the Lord was moving them out of Albania and back to the United States. Taulant Kreci was serving as the assistant pastor in Tirana for seven years and was the natural next pastor in Tirana. Taulant and Migena have faithfully continued to evangelize, disciple and teach the Bible systematically since that time. Since taking over the leadership of the Tirana church, the church has grown in number and outreach. Pastor Taulant has continued to keep the vision of reaching the world in front of the church.

 Since 2006 and returning to live in the US, Jeff has consistently kept in contact with the Albanian ministry, visiting Albania at least once every year on average. God continues to bless the ministry, as evidenced by the continued flow of new ministers ordained and sent to start new churches in new areas.

In 2015, A.V. was ordained and sent from the Tirana church as a missionary to the country of Turkey, where he continues today. Turkey is over 99% Muslim and the gospel witness there is challenging, but A.V. has faithfully shared the gospel with hundreds of Turks every year since his arrival. He is involved in a local church and continues to leverage personal friendships to share about his life and faith in Jesus Christ, amidst consistent pressure and regular open persecution.

 Also in 2015, Fatmir Macaj was ordained and sent from the Tirana church to begin a new church in the suburbs surrounding Tirana. They had been ministering to a group of people in that area for a few years and it is far enough from the Tirana church that travel to the church was difficult. It was clear they needed a church of their own. The area outside of Tirana is called Kamëz: an area where many displaced Albanians from the north of Albania came during the difficult years of civil war around the year 2000. Fatmir and his wife, Neleta, have a vibrant church that has seen many lives radically changed for the Lord.

In 2021, after years of prayer and consideration, the leaders of the Tirana church agreed that they needed to attempt to produce a faithful translation of the Albanian Bible. There is an existing translation, but it was produced quickly in order to have some version of the scriptures available. There are many errors in this first translation, and the Albanian church as a whole needs a faithful literal equivalent translation in their language. Erion and Jonida Vogli are uniquely qualified for such a task, and in the Fall of 2021 began their translation work. This is a monumental task, and Erion and Jonida have developed a method and framework for translation that can be used as a platform for any other language group.

In March 2023, Norbert and Anila Nebiu of the Tirana church are beginning the most recent ministry development. Norbert is one of the current pastors in the Tirana church and the plan is to start another church in the capital city of Tirana. Tirana is a large city, with over 1,000,000 people. Travel from one side of the city to the other takes a long time with the current traffic problems. Many existing members of the Tirana Bible Baptist Church live on the opposite side of Tirana from the church location, and they have prayerfully considered starting a new church on that side of the city. Norbert and Anila are proven leaders and it is exciting to see what God is doing through them in this effort.

Yet there are more young Albanian disciples growing in their faith and considering how God could use them to reach into new areas. We are currently praying about the opportunity to reach another city in southern Albania that desperately needs an effective gospel witness 

1Corinthians 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

Each of these ministries has great opportunities and great needs. You can read more on each ministry on their specific page of this website. Please pray for these faithful ministers and their ministries. If you would like to contribute personally to any of these ministries, please visit the DONATE PAGE.