Bible Ministry Camp 2010

Ministry Camp 2010 was a complete success with over 65 registered campers gathered for a week in the heart of the Bulgarian Balkan mountain in a location that is kept authentic as Bulgarian architecture was a couple of centuries ago. A number of newly started churches and ministries were represented among which the churches in Sliven, Yambol, Haskovo, Zheravna, Mokren, Bourgas, Kotel, Razgrad and Sofia. Beside the Bulgarian youth, we had friends and partners in the ministry who came from Greece, the United States, England, Spain and Macedonia. But the most important thing for us personally, was the unique opportunity to train workers for the Harvest in a camp that was not targeted towards a general audience, but focused on youth with a ministry call upon their lives.

Camp began on Sunday afternoon in order not to interfere with any church service and official registration began at 8:00 am the following morning. The opening message as well as on Tuesday night was delivered by Rev. Anton Penev, pastor of the newly started Reformation Pentecostal Church of Haskovo. He challenged the youth in a very powerful way to seek the Lord’s will through the week and focused on the calling and direction He has upon their lives.

We were able to teach the morning sessions, a total of six lessons from the Epistle to Ephesians, using our new translation of the Bulgarian New Testament, which is currently in print. Topics like salvation, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Spirit, family relationships in the ministry and spiritual warfare sharpened the minds and hearts of the young people, preparing them for the afternoon sessions which focused on the practical issues of Christian ministry.

In the afternoons the campers broke up into smalls groups which focused on three aspects of the ministry, as follows: preaching, prayer and worship according to their ministry calling. It was during the small groups that we were able to work more personally with the youth specially called to preaching the Gospel. The service on Ephesians chapter 4, when we taught on the ministry of the church, was specifically powerful and as a result some 30 young people received the call for ministry or a confirmation with the special laying of hands by the elders present. Several water baptisms and a baptism with the Holy Spirit followed the service.

Pastor Anton, was aided in the evening sessions by Pastor Encho Hristov from the Sliven church who ministered on Tuesday night and guests from Greece ministered during the closing service on Wednesday evening. We were also able to minister with puppets to the children that were present at the camp as guest from surrounding villages and towns came for the evening service from the Church of God in Mokren and Zheravna. Praise teams from the Yambol and Kotel Assemblies of God churches provided the music for the camp.

We thank all of those who made this camp a success and extend a special thanks to the Eco Complex in Katunishte for graciously hosting our event and allowing us to use their facilities. We thank the Lord for this great opportunity as our team is already receiving reports of healings and miracles. A lady from Sliven, whose daughter was deaf in one ear, just wrote us that her daughter was healed during the service last night. We are hoping to be able to do a follow up in a couple months down the road with the people who dedicated their lives to the ministry.