“Hope for Europe” meeting in Albania begins with a call for hope in uncertain times.

On Monday evening, evangelical leaders from across Europe opened a five-day gathering in Albania. Their Albanian hosts described their country's journey from state-imposed atheism to a growing evangelical church as a sign of hope for the entire continent.

“Hope for Europe 2026” is organized by the European Evangelical Alliance and runs until Friday, October 9, under the theme “Hope in Uncertain Times,” bringing together approximately 250 Christian leaders from across Europe. This is the movement’s fifth major gathering since 2002; the previous one took place in Sarajevo in 2022.

The meeting place held special significance for the evangelical Christians of the host country.

“‘Hope for Europe’ is not a slogan for us. It is a testimony,” said Alesio Sema, General Secretary of the Albanian Evangelical Alliance (known by the Albanian acronym VUSH). “If God can bring hope to a land that was once called the world’s first atheist state, He can bring hope to every nation in this region.”

The Latvian Evangelical Alliance (LEA) also participated in the event, represented by General Secretary Efraims Šmits. During the conference, he met with delegates from various European countries and representatives of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA).

LEA’s participation in this international event enabled it to establish connections with the broader evangelical Christian community and gain insight into the experiences of other countries. Such gatherings offer opportunities to strengthen relationships, share experiences, and foster future cooperation.

The conference theme, “Hope in Uncertain Times,” is relevant in Latvia as well. It invites reflection on how Christians and congregations can bring hope rooted in the Gospel to society, while simultaneously strengthening unity and serving their fellow human beings.

For us, here in Albania, this is our home.

Sem began his greeting with Romans 15:19. In this verse, the Apostle Paul writes that he has fully proclaimed the Gospel from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.

“For many, it is just a name in a footnote, but for us here in Albania, it is home,” said Sema.

He said that the Roman province encompassed the lands inhabited by the ancestors of modern-day Albanians. He added that the Via Egnatia—a Roman road used by soldiers—began at the nearby port of Durrës and led eastwards towards Macedonia. The Gospel, too, traveled along such roads, Sema said.

“The Gospel did not remain in Jerusalem. It crossed seas, mountains, and borders, and it reached the Balkans,” he said.

Then Sam turned to Albania's recent past. He described the decades when faith was banned, churches were closed, and Bibles were hidden. Under that regime, the country declared itself atheist, and many believed that the story of Christianity in the country had come to an end.

“But that was not the case,” he said. “The seed sown in Illyria was never lost.”

Thirty-five years after the country opened up, Albania has active congregations, new leaders, and a new generation seeking hope, said Sema. He told the participants that holding this meeting in Albania at this particular time holds special significance for the country's evangelical Christians.

He invited the participants to listen to and learn from one another during the week. He also urged them to allow the Holy Spirit to renew their vision of “your own Illyricum—the place to which God has sent you.” He noted that Paul was never satisfied with the work already accomplished and desired to preach where Christ was not yet known.

From 20 believers to 13,000

Jan Wessels, Co-General Secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance, picked up on the point Sam had raised. He noted that the same chapter of the Epistle to the Romans describes Paul's intention to travel to Spain.

“Paul was actually already looking at the whole of Europe—long before Europe was even on the map,” said Wessels.

Wessels said he had read that in 1991, only about 20 evangelical believers remained in Albania. Citing Sam, he stated that there are currently around 300 congregations and emerging church groups in the country, along with approximately 13,000 believers. According to Wessels, the Albanian state officially recognized VUSH in 2011. He added that many Albanian Christians who have emigrated now serve in congregations elsewhere in Europe.

“From fewer than 20 people to 13,000 in a single generation,” said Wessels. “It is a testimony to the faithfulness of our God.”

Identity, hospitality, and emigration

Erion Prendi from VUSH described Albania as a nation that has long struggled for its identity. He pointed to the approximately 500 years of Ottoman Empire rule and the roughly 50 years of communism. Later, missionaries from Europe and the United States helped Albanians understand that “identity lies not in the flag, but in Jesus Christ,” he said.

Prendi also spoke about the country's reputation for hospitality. He mentioned the Albanians who took Jews into their families during the Second World War and provided them with food, shelter, and clothing.

He said that the country is still facing serious problems. Due to a weak economy and a lack of hope, more and more young people are leaving, he said.

“We don’t want to simply tell Albanians, ‘Don’t leave,’” said Prendi. “We want to give them a reason to believe that we can build something together.”

Prendi directly addressed church leaders in other countries regarding Albanians who have settled abroad. “Please care for them, please pray for them, and invite them to your churches, because they belong to us,” he said.

He also said that VUSH recently established a business forum for evangelical Christians and invited leaders to discuss partnership opportunities.

A theme based on the Book of Job and the Letter to the Hebrews

Connie Main Duarte, who serves as General Secretary alongside Wessels, explained the choice of theme by pointing to the biblical story of Job. In this story, four messengers bring news that Job has lost his family, wealth, and security. Job responds by falling to the ground in worship, before his health is also taken from him.

“What Job faced in his life, we are currently witnessing and experiencing on a European and global scale,” said Meina Duarte.

She mentioned the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, as well as droughts, floods, earthquakes, and fires. She also listed school violence, youth suicides, mental health struggles across various age groups, loneliness among the elderly, and young people's fear of artificial intelligence.

“All of this has left us on unstable ground,” she said. She added that political, moral, and value-based conflicts have brought back the divisions Europe experienced not so long ago. “Rapidly growing polarization has permeated society, and the church has not remained untouched either.”

Job viewed his life through faith, said Meina Duarte, yet that faith was still awaiting its fulfillment. She said that Christians today view the world through the resurrection of Christ and the story of salvation and reconciliation, while still living in the reality of the “not yet.”

“In other words, we live with hope in uncertain times,” she said.

The Scripture passage for the meeting's theme is Hebrews 6:19–20, where hope is described as a firm and secure anchor for the soul. It also describes Jesus as the forerunner who has entered the inner sanctuary on behalf of believers.

Meina Duarte said that this hope exists because it rests solely on Christ. “Hope is not just a word, and it is not just a concept,” she said. “Hope is a person, and His name is Jesus.”

A movement born after communism

Veselss traced the origins of “Hope for Europe” to the years following the collapse of communism. At that time, evangelism teams, filled with zeal, headed to Central and Eastern Europe but often worked alongside one another without knowing each other.

A group of leaders, including Jeff Fountain from YWAM Europe, began asking a different question, Wessels said. “Instead of asking what each of us can do, they asked what God is doing in Europe and how we can do it better together,” he said.

The movement grew into what Wessels called a "network of networks." Leaders of ministries working with children, students, and artists, as well as leaders in prayer and mission, met at annual European roundtable gatherings, built trust, and developed a shared theology of hope. Wessels stated that this theology was a response to what he termed the "gloomy and hopeless view of Europe" prevalent among evangelical Christians at the time.

According to Wessels, the first major gathering, held in Budapest, Hungary, in 2002, brought together approximately 1,000 people from 20 networks. Subsequent gatherings took place in 2011, 2018, and 2022. Wessels described Sarajevo—the host city for the 2022 event—as a city that knows "the cost of division and the meaning of reconciliation." Later, the European Evangelical Alliance became the home of the movement.

Wessels said that every meeting has been united by the same conviction: Europe has hope. “It is not a nostalgic hope or a political hope,” he said. “It is a hope rooted in God, who raised Jesus from the dead.”

“Our unity is a testimony”

Veselss described the event as a family gathering rather than a conference. He stated that its goals were inspiration, new partnerships across the boundaries of different networks, and, above all, the glory of God. “It is not the EEA, our networks, or our names that matter,” he said.

He linked the purpose of the meeting to Jesus’ prayer in the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John—that His followers might be one, so that the world might believe.

“When believers from East and West pray together, when Baptists and Reformed Christians break bread together, Jesus himself is revealed to the Europe that is watching us,” said Wessels.

Dinner at the beginning

The opening session concluded with Holy Communion. Meina Duarte stated that the organizers chose to partake in it together at the beginning of the week rather than at the end—as is often done—to express unity and obedience to Christ's command.

The service was led by Andreas Wenzel, Chairman of the Board of the European Evangelical Alliance. He described the Lord's Supper as a feast of fellowship, belonging, forgiveness, and God's grace.

“Therefore, it has always been a feast of hope,” said Wenzel. He pointed to Jesus’ words that He would not partake of it again until the coming of the Kingdom of God.

In his prayer, Vencels said that the remembrance of what Christ accomplished also turns the gaze of believers toward the future. “When we celebrate and are reminded of what You have done for us, we also look ahead—to what is yet to come,” he prayed.

“Hope for Europe 2026” continues until Friday.

Source: Christian Daily International
Author: CDI Staff
Published: October 5, 2026
Original title: Hope for Europe gathering opens in Albania with call to hope in uncertain times