Albania

The shared regional mission counselor in Europe makes periodic training visits to Albania and oversees and advises a stateside mission liaison on a daily basis via e-mail. Work has begun on a distance learning program.

Mission Updates

Evangelists Agron Mece and Mikel Bishka, who have been serving the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church of Albania since the withdrawal of the WELS missionary in 2009, became the first two national pastors of this Albanian church body.

Mece and Bishka studied for the ministry through the St. Sophia Ukrainian Lutheran Theological Seminary in Ternopil, Ukraine. Vogt, who has served as rector of the seminary the past seven years, spent three or four weeks each summer teaching the men in Albania and then held weekly online classes. It took a total of 14 years of study for Mece and 10 years for Bishka before they graduated with Bachelor of Divinity degrees.

The men will continue to serve the 66 baptized members in the two congregations in Tirana and Durres.

Mission statistics

Baptized national members: 66
Average weekly attendance at worship: 111
National Pastors: 2
Pastoral Students: 1