Long before Bitania Church existed by that name, there was a youth group called "The West Addis Ababa Sunday School Graduates Union." Its members were young Ethiopian Orthodox believers who gathered around the St. Kerkos Electric Church area.

Within this union, several informal house fellowships had formed, each named after a saint — the Abune Regawi fellowship, the St. Gabriel fellowship, the St. Mary fellowship. Each met on a different day in a different home, so the young people would rotate from house to house: gathering at one home for the Medhane Alem feast, at another for St. Mary, at another for Abune Regawi. This constant movement built a deep web of friendship and mutual familiarity across the network.