One of the greatest needs of the Albanian church is for preachers. There is a spiritual famine in many churches as many pastors and lay preachers preach with little or no training. Many preachers impose on a biblical text their own ideas or simply use a passage to support the sermon that they want to preach. The level of preaching is generally very poor.
We are blessed in Fier to have two Albanian brothers, Hektor and Stiljan, who preach and it has been a joy to see Fatjon in Patos begin to preach on a semi regular basis. Marjus is another brother from Patos who in his youth preached in a church in Ballsh and we would like to see equipped for this task for Patos. Our initial idea was to have a preacher’s class for them. However a number of other churches around Albania have asked us for training in this area.
At the same time we realized that anyone who is teaching God’s Word in the church needs training. Why should, for example, children’s and youth workers be expected to be any less trained in teaching the Word than a pastor preaching on a Sunday morning? Then we realized that there is a need in the work among the women of the churches also for women who can divide rightly the Word of truth.
So we have established a monthly meeting which is aimed at preachers but is open to anyone who is teaching God’s Word regularly or would like to. We have been able so far to have two preaching seminars; a mixture of in person teaching and being on Zoom. We have had participants from Tirana, Lushnjë, Kukës dhe Ersekë as well as folk from the churches we serve. It has been a joy to get to know churches that we have never had links with and to study together.
Our first seminar focused on why we must preach and what preaching actually is. The second then looked at finding the melodic line or the main theme of a biblical book.
Pray that these seminars will equip preachers and teachers of God’ Word and that we would see more workers raised up who will handle the Bible well.