Tirana

Pastor Taulant Kreci

My name is Taulant Kreci, and I have served as the pastor of the Tirana Bible Baptist Church since 2006. I received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior in 1993 and have served in this church for 29 years. Tirana Bible Baptist Church is 31 years old and has as its passion to win souls and make disciples. Its mission is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ who serve as responsible members of the local church and participate in God’s mission for the world.”

Ministries

We actively evangelize in the community, discipling them individually in the fundamentals of the faith, equipping them with the necessary knowledge through our Bible school and involving them in ministry and worship through our small groups ministry.

Children’s ministry – the mission of this group is to help the children to know the Lord and teach them how to follow Him.

  • Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.

 

Youth ministry – reaching teenagers with the goal of spiritual growth and development into future leaders.

 

College Student ministry – their vision is to glorify the Lord by fulfilling His mission for Albania, with the potential of representing the local church, spreading the gospel after college wherever they may go.

 

Adult Small Groups – are designed to create ministry fellowship groups located throughout the city based on the geographic location of the members. These groups are involved in prayer, encouragement, fellowship, challenging the believers to faithfully follow the Lord and be fruitful. This is a tool for evangelizing our local communities.

 

“Daughters of Sarah” Women’s ministry – Monthly meetings are designed to encourage growth in the word of God, fellowship, and prayer through fulfilling their spiritual and physical needs. Besides their ministry within the church, this group also reaches out to the community. In 2012 they started serving at the local pediatric hospital, the women’s jail, the cancer hospital and with widows.

 

Men’s ministry – the men of the church are encouraged in the word together, pray together and serve in the various ministries of the church.

 

Some other areas of ministry include:

  • Worship Team

  • Young couples

  • Missions

Vision

Many members of our church are mature, have been trained and they understand the need to spread the gospel locally and abroad. We pray and financially support the churches in Durres, Bathore, Tropoje and Turkey. We are praying and trusting the Lord that He will give us the laborers to spread the gospel in Tirana, in other cities of Albania and beyond Albania. Some of our members have expressed the desire to be involved in church planting and we are actively working with them toward that end.

Needs

We have learned that camps, conferences, and organized activities are very effective in our culture to not only encourage the believers but also as an outreach to the community. We would greatly benefit from financial support assistance for our annual camps for children, youth, and college students.

 

We are praying and trusting the Lord for greater things in the future. Thank you for your involvement so that together we can be fruitful for His glory!

History of the Tirana Church 

1992 – The Tirana Bible Baptist Church began. After Albania opened from its communist isolation, Jeff Bartell visited Albania in 1992 with a team from Decatur Baptist Church, Decatur, AL, with a desire to plant new churches. Jeff decided to serve in Albania, answering the Lord’s call on his life. Together with his wife, Erla, who got saved from the beginning of this mission, they started to evangelize and disciple those who responded. Simultaneously, the weekly preaching services and daily personal evangelism continued. The church started to grow numerically and in the faith. Through this church a biblical model was established for growth, multiplication, and reproduction.

2004 – The Durres Bible Church was started from the Tirana Bible Baptist Church. Sazan and Laura Hoxhaj lead that church, serving God responsibly and faithfully in Durres and the surrounding villages: presently working in the area of Spitallë. God has worked mightily in this church maturing it spiritually. This church’s passion is for God’s mission, spreading His word, not only with its presence but also supporting missionaries in and out of Albania.

2015 – Another family (who will remain anonymous) was sent as missionaries to Turkey. With the passion and heart for this people, they learned the language and adapted to the culture quickly. They have worked hard to establish relationships with families and individuals establishing a very strong testimony in sharing Christ boldly in the face of difficult religious opposition.

2016 – Fatmir and Neleta Macaj were sent from the Tirana Bible Baptist Church to the Bathore community in the outskirts of Tirana and started the Bathore Bible Church. They are full of passion and determination to serve. This is a church that is continually growing, focusing not only on local evangelism but also discipling new converts so that they will continue to make more disciples. This church has a passion for spreading God’s word among widows, orphans and the community at large.

2023 – Norbert and Anila Nebiu are currently working toward starting a new church on the opposite side of Tirana where there is potential for great growth and development.