Pravetz Lectures on Protestant History

I preached my first sermon 16 years ago in Pravetz, Bulgaria where a small group of Pentecostal believers had kept the faith during the long years of the Communist Regime. At that time, Pravetz was known as a stronghold of Communism where the Communist president who ruled Bulgaria for 36 years was born. It was there that the Lord called me for ministry and I saw and testified of how hundreds received the Lord as their personal Savior and their lives were transformed forever. We studied the Bible and practiced what we learned from its words. All night prayer meetings were a weekly event, and chain fasting almost never stopped. None of us knew or had ever experienced a genuine spiritual revival, yet deep inside ourselves we all wanted to be closer to God. Many, including school officials, did not receive our faith and openly tried to suppress its expression.

Sixteen years later, the Pravetz Computer Technical School I graduated from, invited us to lecture on the role of Protestant missionaries in Bulgaria’s national revival. We were able to present the lecture on April 17th along with other presentations and a small talk about career challenges. The students were eager to discuss their worldviews, faith and problems which they experience as young people. We urged to face the challenges in their lives, study and work hard and make a difference in the world around them. Consequently, we spoke with several teachers and met with the school’s director who discussed with us the upcoming celebration of the school’s 20th anniversary which will take place this summer.