by Connie Seale, international worker serving in Kosovo
For more than 10 years, members of the Messiah Evangelical Church in Prishtina, Kosovo, have prayed for a building. In 2005, they were able to purchase the land, and since 2007, they have submitted request after request for a permit to build.
On June 30, 2017, the government granted the permit. Construction began three weeks later and was completed in time to celebrate with a dedication service on December 23. This was quite a feat, as it is a four-story structure with nearly 12,000 square feet.
This step was significant for the church because a building is a sign of permanence in the Kosovar culture. This church has been renting property for 23 years, but this new structure signals to the community that it is here to stay.
Community Support
About 400 people attended the dedication service, including the leader of Kosovo’s parliament. He has previously shown support for Protestant churches and for freedom of religion in Kosovo.
During the service, the workers and architects who constructed the building as well as others who facilitated the project were recognized with framed certificates. We then worshiped and prayed together in the new space. The service also included a children’s Christmas drama and worship dance, and a local cultural group performed a traditional Albanian dance.
After the cutting of a ceremonial red ribbon and celebration at the reception, nine believers were baptized in a new baptismal font, hopefully the first of many more in this new space.
Step of Faith
Most of those baptized were church members’ teenaged children who were making the decision to live out their faith. They are the church’s second generation. Praise the Lord!
One of the baptized believers was Daria*, whom I know well. She’s a college student and has been dating a church member who surrendered his life to Christ a while ago. Daria came to Jesus through her boyfriend’s witness and the community she found at youth group (which includes unmarried people under 30). She has been walking with the Lord for more than a year now, and her joy is contagious. She is serious about living out her faith by telling others.
Another woman who was baptized, Fatima, is the mother of Daria’s boyfriend. All of her children were baptized several years ago, and one is a pastor’s wife in another church now. A couple of years ago her husband died, and not long after, Fatima chose to follow Christ through the influence of her sister and children.
For a long time, Fatima was on the fence about baptism, but she desired to be obedient to Christ’s command and joined the other baptized members of her family at the dedication service.
Thank You!
There’s still some work to be finished on the building as well as many furnishings to be purchased, but the church Body has begun holding regular services and ministries in this new facility while it is completed during the next six months.
The gifts of many Alliance churches and members made construction of this building possible. Thanks to those who gave generously and faithfully prayed throughout this process.
*Names changed