Standing with Bitaj
Tuesday 16 December 2025 11:03 As Christmas approaches, many of us are preparing to gather in warm, familiar places — churches filled with carols, candlelight, and the joy of Christ’s coming. In Bitaj, Albania, the Way of Peace Church has long been such a place: a simple building where families come to worship, to learn, and to find compassion in Jesus. And now they need our help.
For more than a decade, this church has quietly served its community in one of Albania's poorer villages with faithful love. It has welcomed the poor, discipled new believers, supported broken families, and shared the good news of Christ’s peace in an area marked by deep need. But this year, as winter settles in, the church family is facing a challenge far greater than the cold.
Years of damp, wear, and structural damage have left the building unsafe. Cracks in the walls and ceiling have worsened, and during heavy rain parts of the structure have begun to fall. Without urgent repairs, the church would have been forced to close its doors — leaving a whole community without a place to gather, pray, or celebrate the birth of Christ.
The believers in Bitaj have done everything they can. Members from both the Bitaj church and its sister church in Lushnje have volunteered long hours of manual labour. Local believers completed all the interior restoration themselves, and the church council has committed 80% of all offerings for as long as needed. But the cost of stabilising the walls and foundations is far beyond what this small, impoverished community can carry alone.
A local construction company stepped in and agreed to complete the critical work in November, even knowing the church could not yet pay the full €20,000 cost. Repairs are now underway — but the debt remains.
And so, in this season when we remember the One who took on flesh to dwell among us, we have an opportunity to come alongside a church that longs to keep its doors open, its light shining, and its message of peace alive in Bitaj.
This December, we invite you to pray for the believers in Bitaj as they rebuild their place of worship. And if you feel led, you can also partner financially to help them meet the €20,000 needed to complete the work. Together, we can ensure that this church continues to be a place where the good news of Jesus is proclaimed — at Christmas and throughout the year.
Click here to learn more and stand with Bitaj in this season.
Stories from Europe > 2025
December
- 12/23/2025 12/23/25, 11:15 AM - Merry Christmas from ECM!
- 12/16/2025 12/16/25, 11:03 AM - Standing with Bitaj
- 12/9/2025 12/9/25, 10:23 AM - Join the Team
- 12/1/2025 12/1/25, 5:13 PM - A Continent in Need of Hope
November
- 11/19/2025 11/19/25, 2:22 PM - Love looks like Jesus
- 11/12/2025 11/12/25, 2:06 PM - Walking with God, Walking with Others
- 11/5/2025 11/5/25, 11:35 AM - Joining Forces
October
- 10/29/2025 10/29/25, 11:05 AM - What Is In Your Hands?
- 10/22/2025 10/22/25, 11:58 AM - Faith Takes Root
- 10/15/2025 10/15/25, 11:49 AM - Don’t Overestimate What You Can Do in a Year
- 10/8/2025 10/8/25, 5:34 PM - “Someone Has to Slay the Dragon!”
- 10/1/2025 10/1/25, 5:18 PM - Unhindered
September
August
- 8/28/2025 8/28/25, 9:57 AM - A New Church in the Heart of Budapest
- 8/26/2025 8/26/25, 11:25 AM - Sharing love in so many ways! (part 2 of 2)
- 8/19/2025 8/19/25, 11:13 AM - Sharing love in so many ways! (part 1 of 2)
- 8/12/2025 8/12/25, 10:30 AM - God's own words of love
- 8/6/2025 8/6/25, 8:56 AM - Another new worker for Portugal!
July
- 7/30/2025 7/30/25, 3:26 PM - One Answered Prayer at a Time
- 7/23/2025 7/23/25, 3:38 PM - "They may be broken, but God sees the potential”
- 7/16/2025 7/16/25, 4:04 PM - Prague: From the Giant Peach to the Hobbit House.
- 7/9/2025 7/9/25, 1:42 PM - Equipping God’s People: A Journey We’re Honoured to Share
- 7/2/2025 7/2/25, 1:35 PM - Sharing Jesus—and Growing Leaders—at Austria’s Summer Camps
June
- 6/25/2025 6/25/25, 1:27 PM - Reaching Romania’s Children with the Gospel of Grace
- 6/18/2025 6/18/25, 1:13 PM - God’s Word on Campus: Training Bible Study Leaders in Portugal
- 6/11/2025 6/11/25, 1:00 PM - Equipping for Abundant Life
- 6/3/2025 6/3/25, 11:41 AM - Groninger Cake in the Court Garden
May
- 5/27/2025 5/27/25, 3:29 PM - From DOS to the App Store: The Story of La Parola
- 5/16/2025 5/16/25, 12:08 PM - Hope in the Post-Atheist Neighbourhood
April
- 4/9/2025 4/9/25, 11:30 AM - Growing a Church that will Last for Generations
- 4/2/2025 4/2/25, 11:43 AM - Jesus is the Way on the Camino: Pilgrims finding God
March
- 3/26/2025 3/26/25, 11:08 AM - Reaching Hearts Behind Bars
- 3/19/2025 3/19/25, 11:55 AM - How God Called Us to Stay at Home
- 3/12/2025 3/12/25, 11:39 AM - How Much my Supporters Mean to Me
- 3/5/2025 3/5/25, 11:33 AM - An experience I couldn’t recommend more!
February
- 2/24/2025 2/24/25, 11:42 AM - Three Years of War, but God is Still at Work in Ukraine
- 2/19/2025 2/19/25, 11:10 AM - From a Bar to the Bible
- 2/12/2025 2/12/25, 12:19 PM - From War Volunteer Centre to Thriving Church
- 2/5/2025 2/5/25, 11:28 AM - How was I called to Europe?
January
- 1/31/2025 1/31/25, 11:49 AM - From Service to Salvation: Sasha’s Journey in Borodianka, Ukraine
- 1/29/2025 1/29/25, 11:05 AM - Breaking Barriers: A Christ-Centered Journey with the Roma Community in Greece
- 1/22/2025 1/22/25, 1:12 PM - How to plant a Church in secular France?
- 1/17/2025 1/17/25, 11:09 AM - A Place of Hope in Christ: Serving Refugees for 25 Years
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