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 The dedication of the Evangelical Theological College in Tirana, Albania was a wonderful time of celebration and thanksgiving to God for his provision and faithfulness. Around 175 believers from all the churches gathered to worship and ask for the Lord's blessing as workers are trained for the kingdom of God. Almost all of the students are from non-Christian backgrounds. Many come to Bible school in faith and in answer to God’s call despite great opposition from their families. They come full of passion to serve Christ, learn the Word of God, and reach their people with the gospel. After 50 years of godless communism and oppressive atheism, God is raising up a generation of Christ-following leaders in Albania.
Evangelical Theological College (ETC) was founded in 2003 in Tirana, the capital of Albania. A team of missionaries and national pastors came together with a vision to train Pentecostal pastors to preach the gospel, plant churches and reach the lost. The Lord has given a vision for accelerating and multiplying the work. There are many young Albanians needing to be trained and released into ministry.
 ETC has about 20 students this year. ETC offers a two-year, full-time program. Kurt Plagenhoef, AGWM Personnel, serves as president and his wife, Stephanie, serves as academic dean. The Lord has put together a great team for ETC. There are teachers representing several nationalities.
ETC was started in a small rented building. The Lord miraculously provided $80,000 to purchase a half an acre of land in March 2004. Construction began in 2005, and on September 24, 2007, the three story, 13,000 square foot facility was dedicated as a permanent home for the school. There are very few churches in Albania that own their own buildings, so this is a great miracle. Funds came primarily from the U.S. Assemblies of God along with contributions from the Italian Assemblies of God and Finnish Pentecostal Church (members of the world A/G Fellowship).
The church in Albania is very young. During the years of communism (1946-1991), all religion was outlawed. When the communist government fell in 1991, there was no evangelical church and only a few known believers. Albania is unique in this aspect compared to most of the rest of Eastern Europe where there was an existing Pentecostal church. The missionaries are literally laying the foundation and building a national church from ground zero. There is a great need for training church leaders and ETC is responding to this need.
Information from Kurt Plagenhoef
AGWM Personnel in Albania
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