A Truly Pentecostal Water Baptism

The Tundja River is a popular tourist attraction being one of the longest rivers in Bulgaria.  It is an ancient waterway, which runs from the heart of Bulgaria down through Stara Zagora and Yambol all the way to Turkey. The river is a haven to much wildlife, a retreat to fishermen, and simply a tranquil sight to those passing by. But on August 22, 2009 the Tundja River served a different purpose.  It was the location where 14 more new believers were baptized in water.

Cup and Cross Ministries along with the home mission team from the local Pentecostal church and a step-mission team from Spain met and had a baptismal service at the base of the Tundja River in the outskirts of the Hanovo village near Yambol.  The service began with praise and worship in the Roma language, in Bulgarian, Spanish and English as representatives of these ethnos groups worshiped the Lord by the river.  We shared a brief teaching on the subject of Water Baptism from the Church of God Declaration of Faith to encourage the new believers from the local village churches and to establish the Scriptural base of our gathering by the river.

Then we stepped into the cool waters and in the hot summer day, 14 new souls dedicated their lives to God and came out of the Thundja River resurrected for a new life with Him. Spontaneous singing, prayers of praise and cries of worship continued throughout the entire time in all languages that the people in the congregation spoke to form one truly Pentecostal water baptism service by the running stream waters, as we were all reminded of the old Gospel spiritual:

As I went down to the river to pray

Studying about that good old way

And who shall wear the starry crown

Good Lord show me the way …