AEM Evangelical Mission

AEM Background

History shows that rulers invariably want their subjects to believe what they believe and use force to achieve their goal. Rarely, however, has any government tried to suppress faith altogether. It was the bizarre policy of the Communist government of Albania, in the years following the Second World War, that every citizen had to be an atheist. Such was the concern for this situation that AEM was formed in 1986 to encourage prayer for an oppressed people denied the gospel for over two generations. However, history also tells us that things can change and never more so than when the Lord intervenes. The collapse of the Marxist regime in 1991 opened the door for change. For many Albanians this meant they could leave the darkness, poverty and devastation of a failed political and social experiment. For others it was the ‘Light of the World’ shining into young hearts who brought the hope of the gospel. Within a few years, and despite chronic problems in the nation, churches began to appear in Albanian towns. Few could have foreseen such a dramatic expansion of the Kingdom of God and AEM, with many others, sought to assist the growing body of believers in their desire to be a worshipping and witnessing community. Missionaries were able to help and increasingly found themselves working alongside national believers who took up the leadership and oversight of these multiplying churches. Problems of poverty, unemployment and massive migration persisted but with help from their Western brothers and sisters Albanian churches have become a byword for energy and zeal in mission.

Traditionally Muslim (the vast majority of the population), Orthodox or Roman Catholic, the new freedom left many unsure of what they were. Some sought meaning in the traditions of Islam while others joined the various sects as they arrived from the West. Today, in the face of materialism and superstition, it remains the aim of thousands of believers to share Christ in their communities and beyond, especially amongst the Albanian speakers of the ‘diaspora’.

Kosova, home to a majority Albanian speaking population, has its own story. That God is at work in one of Europe’s newest nations is beyond question. The turning point for this ethnically Albanian, Muslim majority nation was the war of 1998-99. A brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing drove thousands of refugees across the borders of what was then Serbia. Many found relief and assistance from Christians which played a significant part in the life of a population that needed to be rebuilt, almost from scratch. Now with upwards of forty Bible-centred churches, this former backwater of Yugoslavia has a believing population who vigorously declare the gospel in the face of fierce opposition from the forces of tradition.

Edwin Jacques Was an American Baptist missionary in the city of Korçë, southern Albania, between 1932 and 1940. In the late 1930s a ‘spiritual awakening’ led to the unprecedented growth of the church in Korçë and ultimately to the survival of a handful of believers throughout the years of severe Communist repression.

In 1986 David Young co-founded the Albanian Evangelical Trust which later became the Albanian Evangelical Mission. He led the Mission until his retirement in 2011, building a network of churches and individuals in the UK with an awareness of and a concern for the spiritual needs of Albania and Kosova. In the Albanian speaking regions of the Balkans, it was David Young’s passion for the people and the language, and above all for the gospel, that led him to encourage mission and connect with believers in the years following the demise of Communism and the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. He has written extensively on the history of the Gospel amongst Albanian people.