“Did God create Man or did Man create God?”

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Mission Week and Essay Contest Event Recap – June 2025

During the second week of June, we hosted a mission week in Tirana with our friends and partners from Calvary Church, Colorado. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and outreach.

Following their arrival, on June 11, we organized a public event at the Plaza Hotel titled “Did God Create Man or Did Man Create God?”, which brought together around 100 attendees.

The event was connected to an essay contest we had launched in early May, inviting individuals aged 16 to 35 to write an argumentative essay on that same topic. Participants were required to follow academic standards, including proper references, a clear thesis, addressing objections, strong grammar and style, and no use of AI-generated content. The top three essays would receive cash prizes of €100, €150, and €200.

We received 103 submissions via email. From these, 25 essays were shortlisted, and the top 10 advanced to the final stage for prize consideration.

The award ceremony, held at the Plaza Hotel, gathered most of the essay participants along with others interested in the topic. The event featured a panel of three speakers: Jeff Steffen and Chris Darden (our partners from Colorado), and Kaon Serjani. Each speaker gave a 15-minute talk addressing one of three key questions:

Did God Create Man or Did Man Create God? (Atheism vs Theism) – Jeff Steffen explored this question by examining arguments from intelligent design on both a macro and micro level, focusing particularly on DNA. He concluded that the most reasonable explanation for such complexity is a Creator beyond humanity.
If theism is true, Then Which God? – Kaon Serjani discussed the concept of worldviews and compared major religions, including Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, highlighting their perspectives on God’s nature.
Why we affirm Christianity? – Chris Darden presented the Christian view of salvation through Jesus Christ, emphasizing God’s redemptive plan for humanity.

The panel was followed by a vibrant Q&A session. Many in the audience were eager to engage with questions such as: If God exists, why doesn’t He show Himself now? If Jesus is the Son of God, what does that mean—are there still not many gods? What does Christianity say about women’s rights or historical events like the Inquisition?

The evening concluded with the essay contest awards ceremony. The winners were:

1st Place: Sara Kola (19 years old)
2nd Place: Joel Kondi (16 years old)
3rd Place: Pavlo Suka
4th Place: Rikardo Qoku
5th Place: Aleksis Satka and Megi Kondi (tied)

Please pray for everyone who participated. We had meaningful conversations with several attendees after the event and, alongside our U.S. friends, will continue following up with many of them in the coming weeks.