Urtan Kollonata

The Church of Mborje

Quick Points

  • Established in March 2013 at the home of Reali and Rudina.
  • Led by two local believers, Reali and Mondi, along with Kenny.
  • March 2014, moved to a one-room meeting space.
  • October 2014, Heather and the women begin meetings on Monday evenings.
  • Easter 2015, the church hosted an Easter dinner outreach for over 100 people with the help of a German team.
  • Beginning of 2016, composed of four families and some young women. Many more have expressed interest in joining.

Church of Mborje - March 2015
Church of Mborje, March 2015

The Church of Mborje

Mborje (pronounced: m-bore-e-uh) is a village with a population of 1,500 located on the outskirts of the city of Korce. On a mountainside with excellent views of the Korca valley and the sunset, it’s a beautiful place to be. If you were to visit, it would be impossible to miss the liveliness of this village as it is full of young families. In 2015 it came under the governance of Korce and officially became a “neighborhood” of the city. New governance, the village-feel, and close proximity to the city means Mborje will continue to grow.

The history of Christian work in Mborje is long. At least three times over the past ten years, groups have formed but in all of these cases, leadership was from Korca and local leadership was never established. Each group lasted anywhere from a few months to one and a half years, then fell apart for various reasons. For over ten years, the Church in Korca has led a regular children’s meeting and another for teenagers at times. Most of the children that have grown out of these ministries have not continued in any church, primarily because there hasn’t been one in the village to attend.

The Church of Mborje was established in March of 2013 in the house of Reali and Rudina, along with Mondi, a solid member of a church in the city, and Kenny. In March of 2014, after a year of dedicated meeting together, the leadership was lead to move to a public meeting area instead of a private home for cultural and relational reasons and a small room was found to rent.

The church of Mborje is growing! the young church is still meeting faithfully being led by local believers. Currently we meet on Wednesdays and Saturday evenings. Heather meets with the women Monday evenings and children’s programs, once hosted exclusively by teachers from Korce are assisted by two women from the local church.

Mborje needs prayer for stability and steady, authentic growth. We are also investigating a new approach to serving the village through a CHE (Community Health Evangelism) program coordinated by a local (Albanian) doctor in Korce. Fall of 2015 we are also hoping to purchase a new building for meetings and community service.