X Youth Event at the Black Sea
After six months of planning, five weeks of negotiations and four consecutive days with hardly any sleep, it finally happened. The X Youth Event at the Black Sea in Bourgas, Bulgaria is an undeniable fact. It took us over a month to obtain a permit for the event due to its religious orientation, but with the help of our partners at the Bulgarian Christian Coalition the permit was finally signed by the mayor the day before the concert.
X Day: July 28, 2007
A little after midnight parts of our team began arriving to Bourgas from various locations in Bulgaria. The Christian band, “Extremum” traveled across Bulgaria to be able to participate. The Faith TV team arrived from Sofia along with the Media and PR team members. Around 4 a.m. at the crack of dawn, the media team began hanging the posters for the event and the final check of the location for the concert was performed at sunrise. The pastoral team continued with the finalizing of the schedule through the morning. Everyone gathered at the X location directly at the Black Sea coast in the early afternoon.
X The Event ‘07
Unpacking, putting everything in order, sound check, setting the lightning and broadcasting test took place along with countless last minute changes in the program. Due to the open location people began arriving at 4 p.m. At exactly 7:00 pm X opened strong and the music did not stop for the next two hours despite the solid watch of the present police. Extremum sang an unbroken set of Christian hard rock bringing many to the podium. The leader of the Bulgarian Christian Coalition addressed the crowd challenging young people to search for a Christian alternative for the status quo. Our team concluded X with a brief message on “Freedom from Sin” followed with a prayer for deliverance from alcoholism, drugs and addiction. Many responded to the message and prayed with us at the end of the event, proving again the power of the Gospel when confronted with the people of the world.
X Afterglow
After hours of packing, around midnight our team left Bourgas with satisfied hearts. We thank you for your prayers and support. With thousands in attendance and many more watching live on television, the X Youth Event has completed its purpose. Because the Gospel must be preached to the people who need it.
National Chaplaincy Conference
The national conference of the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association took place on the Bakadjik Mountain near the town of Yambol. Founding members gathered for an annual account of the results of the Association. In the course of the round table discussion, Chaplain M. Buchukov of Agape Bulgaria brought a report of the registration process and its finalization through the Sofia Municipal Court, while Dr. D. Donev gave an account of his interrogation in the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense and consecutive reactions. Chaplain I. Kovachev informed the delegates of the ongoing work of his ministry in the Sofia correctional system and Father M. Yonov spoke briefly of his work as a hospital chaplain. Reports were given of all areas of chaplaincy ministry in Bulgaria as delegates from all regions of Bulgaria addressed current issues concerning the future strategy of the Association. The assembly further discussed issues of national security, Bulgaria’s status in the European Union, NATO’s personnel expected to arrive in Bulgaria this fall, chaplaincy educational endeavors as well as various problems and solutions on a local level of chaplaincy ministry. The attendants moved toward a declaration for the official legal reestablishing of chaplaincy ministry in Bulgaria. This was the second annual work meeting of the Association since its conception in August of 2006.
Ministry in the Heart of Bulgaria
The Revelation Revival which we reported of has been extended again. After ministering in the oldest Pentecostal church in Bulgaria in the period of July 8-11, 2007 we received invitations from three other churches also located at the Black Sea coast. Immediately after closing the meetings in Bourgas, we traveled to these towns and ministered with great success there as services extended through July 19, 2007. We then returned to our base location in Yambol but only to get on the road again and minister in the heart of Bulgaria. As the Holy Spirit led us in prayer, we traveled to the cities of Gabrovo and Kazanlak for yet another move of God.
In Gabrovo we visited with good friends and ministered to the Church of God congregation. The service ended with an alter call during which people prayed under a great anointing from the Holy Spirit, and we anticipate that God has much more in store for Gabrovo. Our team then traveled back across the Balkan mountain range to visit with another pastoral family in the city of Kazanlak. We ministered in the Baptist church which they pastor and had a great time of ministry and fellowship with the congregation. This church is the first Baptist church in Bulgaria, which was started over a century ago and we were blessed with this touch of Bulgarian protestant history.We are now anticipating the finale of this revival wave, as we are preparing for the “X Youth Event” which our team will hold in the Black Sea Garden of Bourgas along with the participation of the contemporary Christian band “Extremum” and the help of several local congregations. For even when every human effort and strategy fails, revival must go on …
Revelation Revival Continues
Several days ago we concluded with our services in Bourgas, but only to attend another ministry opportunity along the Black Sea coast. Before the revival in Bourgas was over, we received three invitations to continue services in the close by towns of Chernomoretz, Ahtopol and Sinemoretz. Chernomoretz is located near Bourgas, while Ahtopol and Sinemoretz are only several miles from the Turkish border. We began with a series on the Book of Revelation in Sinemoretz and continued until Sunday. Then on Sunday we held three services at Ahtopol (10:00 am), Sinemoretz (2:00pm) and Chernomoretz (5:00 pm). Our team has been blessed to minister in these locations and to bring a fresh message of salvation and eternal hope. We have promised the churches along the Black Sea coast to return soon for yet another crusade involving local congregations in the area on a larger scale.
Revival in Bulgaria Again
It has happened again. We are in revival in Bulgaria.
Upon the invitation of the pastor of the oldest Pentecostal church in Bulgaria, we traveled to the Black Sea port city of Bourgas to hold a seminar on the subject of eschatology. As services unfolded, it was clear that a revival was at hand and our time of ministry there would extend beyond the preliminary schedule.
We held a total of five services from Sunday through Wednesday. The topic of the conference included subjects as the Seven Churches of Revelation, the Rapture of the Church, Resurrections and Judgments and the City of God. The revival took believers back to their Pentecostal roots urging them to prepare for the meeting in the clouds. The church was filled every night regardless of the hot temperatures and services finished with altar calls in which prayers continued until dark.
While in Bourgas, we used this opportunity to coordinate the X Youth Event scheduled for the summer of 2007 in partnership with Bulgarian Christian organizations as part of our national tour. Before the revival was over we received three invitations to continue services in the close by towns of Chernomoretz, Ahtopol and Sinemoretz. We intend to follow up these ministry opportunities and we do ask that you pray for the success of this revival beyond the scope of our ministry and for the endurance of our team. We are confident that as we obey the leadership of the Holy Spirit again, God will provide both the time and means necessary to complete the assigned task.
Revelation Revival in Bourgas
We received an invitation from the pastor of the oldest Pentecostal church in Bulgaria located in the Black Sea port city of Bourgas to hold a seminar on the subject of eschatology. We have scheduled a series of services which will deal with eschatological subjects as the Seven Churches of Revelation, the Rapture of the Church, Resurrections and Judgments and the City of God. We are praying and expecting God to use us in this ministry endeavor and revive His people with a fresh message.
We do ask that you pray for the success of this revival beyond the scope of our ministry and for the endurance of our team. As we have a multitude of ministry engagements already scheduled, we are pressed for time to meet all invitations and without a reliable transportation this has proven to be a great difficulty. We are confident that as we obey the leadership of the Holy Spirit again, God will provide both the time and means necessary to complete the assigned task.
Preaching Through All Means
Since the completion of the Bulgarian Audio Bible project in 2003 and its following success, our team has focused in the development of ministry related media. Among the number of websites which we have released in the past two years, we have been striving to recover a large amount of sermons, teachings and other Christian materials from church and personal archives. In this process, over 2,000 audio and video sermons and the curriculum of two Bible schools in the Bulgarian vernacular have been published on the internet, as we are continuing to work with a special focus on the Church of God School of Ministry classes. Our ongoing work with several Bulgarian Christian televisions and production companies has allowed us to increase the success of this ministry. The results have exceeded our greatest expectations, as over 3,500 Bulgarians around the world visit our websites and use the available resources every day. It has been several months since we passed the 1 terabit (one million megabits) monthly download mark. This number alone exceeds several times the overall book, audio and video tapes, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray sales and distribution of virtually all Christian bookstores and organizations operating on the territory of Bulgaria.
Of course, this ministry over the internet requires a great amount of resources and knowledge and even greater dedication, as the demand for more Christian media in the Bulgarian cyberspace is growing at a fast pace. Beside all ongoing projects, our team has made the decision to open a new website in the next few weeks will combine all available Christian media available in the Bulgarian language in one easy to use resource. This website will implement a You Tube like structure, which will allow the visitor not only to view and experience the media content, but also to participate in its development and distribution. It is our sincere hope that through this means the message of salvation reaches places where we cannot personally go and ministers to people which we cannot reach through our hardest physical efforts. In order for revival to go on in Bulgaria, the Gospel must be preached through all means.
