Hope for Europe gathering opens in Albania with call to hope in uncertain times
Hope for Europe 2026, a five-day gathering of evangelical leaders, opened in Albania on Monday evening. The European Evangelical Alliance is running it through Friday, 9 October, under the theme "Hope in Uncertain Times." About 250 Christian leaders from across Europe are attending. It is the movement's fifth major gathering since 2002; the previous one was in Sarajevo in 2022.
Published 7 Oct 2026, 4:10 am
Evangelical leaders from across Europe opened a five-day gathering in Albania on Monday evening. Their Albanian hosts described the country's path from enforced state atheism to a growing evangelical church as a sign of hope for the continent.
Hope for Europe 2026 is organized by the European Evangelical Alliance and runs through Friday, Oct. 9, under the theme "Hope in Uncertain Times" and bringing together about 250 Christian leaders from across Europe. It is the movement's fifth major gathering since 2002 with the last one held in Sarajevo in 2022.
For the host country's evangelicals, the location carried particular meaning.
"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 its Albanian initials, VUSH. "If God can bring hope to a land that was once called the first atheist state in the world, he can bring hope to every nation in this room."