History
Hope for Shkoder is an Evangelical Church that was founded in 1992 by a Norwegian Missionary named Unni Thorsen. She came to Albania to help the poor and to give them the good news of the Gospel of Jesus. The first two years Sister Unni visited Albania several times and then moved here in1994 to make it her home. She started a Christian Center where people could come and find hope, love and care. She helped the poor and held meetings where she preached the Word of God and prayed for people. In the year 2000 she, together with a group of 20 baptized Albanians, decided to officially establish a Church ministry. Pastor Koli Puka, appointed at that time, continues to lead the Church according to the vision and divine call that he received from God at a very young age.
Faith declaration
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We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are divinely inspired and completely inerrant in the original writings and of supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life.
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We believe in one sovereign God, existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, unbounded in power, and measureless in love; that God is the source of all creation and that through the immediate exercise of His power, all things came into being.
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We believe that Jesus the Messiah was eternally pre-existent and is co-equal with God the Father; that He took on Himself the nature of man through the virgin birth so that He possesses both divine and human natures.
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We believe in Jesus' sinless life and perfect obedience to the Father’s will; in His atoning death, burial, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, high-priestly intercession and His personal return in power and glory to consummate the prophesied purposes concerning His Kingdom.
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We believe that the Holy Spirit is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son; that He was active in the creation of all things and continues to be so in providence; that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment and that He regenerates, sanctifies, baptizes, indwells, seals, illumines, guides and bestows His gifts upon all believers.
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We believe that God created man in His image; that because of the disobedience of our first parents at the Garden of Eden, they lost their innocence and both they and their descendants, separated from God, suffer physical and spiritual death and that all human beings, with the exception of Jesus the Messiah, are sinners by nature and practice.
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We believe that Jesus the Messiah died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; that all who believe in Him are justified, not by any works of righteousness they have done, but by His perfect righteousness and atoning blood and that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
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We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.
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We believe that Israel exists as a covenant people through whom God continues to accomplish His purposes and that the Church is an elect people in accordance with the New Covenant, comprising both Jews and Gentiles who acknowledge Jesus as Redeemer.
God created us and wants to have a relationship with us.
"So God created mankind in his own image..." Gen 1:27; "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17
However we rebelled against God by sinning, and our sins separate us from Him.
"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:1-2
Most of us are aware of this distance between us and God; we know that there's something missing that ought to be there. We try in our own way to reach God by doing good, living a good life, or even going to church. But we can never get back to God that way.
We know it's hard to hear, but the sins we have committed must be unished. It leads to physical and spiritual death. This is why eaching God through trying our best simply won't work.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23; "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard." Romans 3:23; "Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins." Ecclesiastes 7:20
The good news is that God searched for us. And He did for us something we could never do ourselves. God built a bridge for us to reach Him by sending Jesus Christ to take the penalty of death for us. Jesus, though blameless, died on the cross for you and I. This is why we say, "God loves you"... He really does.
"He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God." Romans 4:25; "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit." 1 Peter 3:18
But it isn't enough for us just to know this fact. If we want our relationship with God restored, we must want God's forgiveness and leadership in our lives. We must "cross" the bridge to the other side by admitting that we have sinned against God and asking for His forgiveness. We must also ask him to be the leader of our lives.
"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." 1 John 1:9; "We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are." Romans 3:22.
When we do that, we have "crossed" the bridge; our relationship with God is restored! We will experience eternal life with God in heaven.
"Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24;
"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28
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If you would like to enter into a relationship with God, pray this prayer with us:
Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for me. I am sorry that I have sinned against You. I now turn away from all my sins. Please forgive me of all my sins and be my God and the Leader of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
We would love help you grow in your relationship with God. Please email us, we would love to hear from you!
Vision
We desire to be a church that worships God in spirit and in truth. We want to keep our focus on a living relationship with Christ so that every believer can experience His precious presence and glory in everyday life.
We want our church to be a point of reference - of light and hope, comfort and healing, strength and courage in our community.
We are kingdom minded and our focus is primarily on church planting and evangelism. We also focus a lot on children and youth because we strongly believe in the inheritance of the new generations.
Executive board admin
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Founder and Senior Pastor
Koli Puka
Executive board member
Church elder
Youth Pastor
Bepin Maka
Executive board member
Church elder
Treasurer
Denis Zmijani
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Founding missionary
Unni Thorsen
Executive board member
Church elder
Kids Pastor
Xhulio Hila
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Worship Leader
Paskal Maka
Director Healthcare center
Eno Kanani
Staff
International relationship
Our church is broadly Kingdom minded. We desire to partner and work with churches and believers around the world. We believe that there is power, strength and blessing in the unity of the body of Christ. We believe that God directs, leads and unifies through His Holy Spirit the different churches and believers to work and stand together for His purpose, and the fulfillment of His perfect plan. Therefore, our church is very discerning of and open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are willing to partner and cooperate with all the churches and believers that feel called to invest, support and stand together with us in the mission and ministry God has called us to do.
Hope for Shkoder
"Shpresë për Shkodrën"
Evangelical Church
Hope, Love and Care