Mission Bulgaria 2009: Ministering at the Gipsy Ghetto of Phakulteta
The Gipsy ghetto of Phakulteta is located in the northeast side of the capital Sofia with a population of some 120,000 people, which makes it larger than the average Bulgarian town. It comprises a substantial part of the population of Sofia, which now numbers over two million people. In recent years, Phakulteta has been a place of ethnic tensions produced in the middle of extreme poverty and the war of local crime clans which rule the area.
There, we have focused our ministry efforts in the past several years through regular preaching, prayer meetings, and leadership seminars for pastors, youth rallies and music fests. As many have noticed in the recent months while we have ministered at the Life Church of God in the Sofia gipsy ghetto, the extremeness of the context in which we minister there and the deep needs of the people, often draw the attention of God with powerful anointing and supernatural miracles. However, this last service was so powerful in the Spirit that it put all present on their knees for prayer in the alter service which followed the message. We were able to broadcast live the event and we are grateful that video recorded from the service can be now watched by many showing the heavy presence of the Holy Spirit, which no words can truly describe. We are scheduled to return to Philpovtsy soon for a series of revival services, which will reunite the local churches in a regional seminar on Last Day Prophecy.
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Mission Bulgaria 2009: Ministering at Samokov Church of God
It is always a delight to return to the city of Samokov near Sofia and minister there. Recent developments have dictated that two Church of God congregation in near-by locations minister to over 3,000 Spirit filled members from the gipsy ethnos in the area. The growth is so tremendous, that one of the congregations have baptized in water 207 people last month alone. The other congregation is led by the national overseer of the Bulgarian Church of God, Pastor Alexander Todorov. We ministered in Samokov on the subject: 20 Signs of the Last Days and were also able to schedule other ministry appointments with the churches in the area. The regional leadership seminar was also discussed for a
time convenient for all pastors in the region, as it has been in the plans for sometime now due to our ongoing ministry in other areas of the country. It is our heartily desire that this ministry event combined with the prayers of the saints will result in the union of the Spirit-filled believers in the city of Samokov producing a mighty wave of revival in the lives of the people which will change the spiritual landscape of this area forever.
Mission Bulgaria 2009: Ministering Along the Black Sea Coast
Our recent ministry appointments have taken us beyond the borders of Bulgaria and we have thoroughly enjoyed and celebrated this event. However, from the moment we landed in Bulgaria our phones have been ringing with back to back invitations for ministry. Some unfortunately overlapped and we had to respectfully decline, but we are thankful for the many doors which are opening. We continue to ask for your prayers of wisdom and support as we need much strength to take on what has been set before us.
After successfully arriving at our base location, Yambol nearly 48 hours after leaving the states due to missing our connecting flight in Germany, we headed for ministry at the Black Sea coast. In the town of Aheloi, where we have anticipated going for sometime now, we were able to minister and fellowship with the local church over the weekend.
Among the topics we discussed with the congregation were: (1) the new Constantinople Bible publication and its upcoming jubilee 2011 edition, (2) the new Bulgarian literal translation of the New Testament, which we have now completed for publication in 2010 and (3) the role of media and live broadcast in the life of the traditional Bulgarian Pentecostal church. Of course, we shared from the word as well, a message from Philemon on Paul being a Prisoner of Christ over which the Secular Empire has no authority.
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Mission Maranatha in Revival
Mission Maranatha, a Bulgarian local mission’s branch of Cup & Cross Ministries continues services at the Black Sea. Close to 100 revival services have been held during the past four months by various team members in the Black Sea towns of Ahtopol, Pomorie, Sinemoretz, Varna, Bourgas, Chernomoretz, Sinemoretz and Varvara. The mission’s attempt to establish a ground for future work in towns with no evangelical church presence has been rendered successful and we trust that the initiated strategy will be brought to completion in 2007.
Are you Mission Ready?
Evaluation is the act of finding out if a person or groups has accomplished what it set out to do. Sincere evaluation of the local church missions program is a problem. We avoid such evaluation by assuming people automatically incorporate new learning in their lives and by assuming that programs cannot be improved very much even if they were evaluated. Too often they are labeled as good or bad by one person or by those who manage or plan the program. Both learners and administrators must cooperate in organized evaluation. [more]
Mission Bulgaria Week 31
NEWS – Week 31 – March 18-24, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
This morning Bulgaria woke up covered with snow. The temperatures are in the 20s, but the weather is expected to be very warm by the end of the week. This is a usual March weather for Bulgaria.
On Thursday and Friday I traveled to the Yambol area where several churches are in revival. We had a really good time rejoicing in the Lord. The trip coming back was more difficult as a strike of 10,000 Bulgarians had gathered in downtown Sofia to protest against the politics of the present government. None of the politicians at the Bulgarian Parliament came out to speak with the crowd, which stayed for hours under the pouring rain. This is perhaps only the first of many strikes, which are expected to follow.
On Saturday, March 23 the ministers of the Sofia region gathered together at the Bulina Livada Church of God to take important decisions on the development and the future of the region. The Sofia region includes 1/3 of the total membership of the Bulgarian Church of God and extends to an area of approximately 20,000 sq. km. The Sofia region includes 37 churches and more than 5,000 members.
A new strategy was developed for providing for the needs of the churches, and a regional government was elected. It included 14 men plus the regional overseer. Among them were elected men to work with the Roma communities in the region, Social Work Regional Pastor, Evangelism Regional Director and Educational Regional Director.
I was elected for the position of Educational Regional director for the Sofia region. This election comes in time with the organization of the first of its kind round table for Evangelicals. It will occur on March 29, 2002 in the Aula of the University of Sofia as Orthodox and Protestant scholars and pastors will present lectures on “The Influence of the Protestant Missionaries for the Spiritual Upbringing and Political Liberation of the Bulgarian Nation.”
Mission Bulgaria Week 30
NEWS – Week 30 – March 12-17, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
This Sunday marks the 50 days (actually 7 weeks) before the Orthodox Easter (Easter in Bulgaria this year will be on May 5th). This also marks the beginning of the Easter fast which starts on Monday. As an old national custom tonight every household in Bulgaria gets together and has a nice big dinner in preparation for the fasts. The tradition also includes a request for forgiveness from relatives, friends and enemies. While as Protestants we do not observe the Orthodox holidays, in our church today we did request forgiveness for our mistakes, errors and sin. We had a wonderful time of seeking the Lord, worshiping and calling upon Him.
The week was exciting for our ministries. I finished teaching the three-weeks systematic theology module at the Department of Pentecostal Studies at the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute in Sofia. I praise the Lord for this opportunity and the successes of the students. Our studies on Pneumatology, Ecclesiology and Eschatology ended with a revival service that moved from Sofia to the Pravetz Church of God, where we went with 2 vans loaded with students and ministered to the people there.
On another note, Pastor Doneva just came back from Yambol on Friday, where they had revival services with prayer and fasting at the churches she pastors. The church in the village of Polyana, where they shot at Mom and her team, officially reopened for services. Filled with great joy the people have restored the building to its original state and are having three services a day. I am planning to travel there this week and participate in the revival, which is going on there.
Mission Bulgaria Week 29
NEWS – Week 29 – March 4-11, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
Our ministry was again mentioned in the chaplaincy report Church of God Chaplaincy Commission. However, the best news is that the church, which I asked you to pray for, has its building back. Not only that the man who wanted it gave up on the idea, but he and the mayor will personally give the keys to the congregation this week. My mother is traveling tomorrow for the service at which this will be done. We are praying that the church will have the opportunity to purchase the building for the price at which it was originally offered.
Again I had the opportunity to speak 19 times this past week. It has been a time of self-examination and consecration as the whole institute, students, teachers and administration have devoted ourselves to prayer and fasting through the week. The time of seeking God continues as more pray for afresh anointing, power from above and a vision of the glory of God. We are also planning a trip to Pravetz on Thursday, with some 10 students who have had a desire in their hearts to travel with me.
Mission Bulgaria Week 28
NEWS – Week 28 February 24 – March 3, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
What an exciting week we have had. Our ministry has found place in the reports of both Church of God World Missions, the Church of God Chaplaincy Commission and the Church of God FaithNews Network.
This week I began teaching Systematic Theology in the Department of Pentecostal Studies at the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute. This week we had three lectures a day on the subject of Pneumotology. The class ended with a debate on 1 Corinthians 14 on Friday in which professors and first, second and third year students participated.
We also had a wonderful service on Wednesday as I perched a sermon called “… and don’t’ you be afraid.” The altar call lasted for more than an hour as we ministered to the people with needs. On Thursday we again traveled to the town of Pravetz and held a service in the Church of God there. On Saturday our crusade services continued. I preached a sermon called, “There is power.” Although the attendance was a bit law due to the soccer game in town, we had a very good service as many pastors from Sofia attended with their families and congregations.
So far I have preached 50 times this year and have spoken 19 times only this past week. I am physically exhausted, but I rejoice in the Lord for what He is doing and I personally feel fulfilled in what I am doing.
My mother Eva Doneva traveled to her churches and gathered the congregations for a three-day of fasting and prayer. They received good results on one of the buildings they wanted to purchase for a church auditorium. The men who pretended for the building, has brought them the keys of the building himself. He declared that he does not wish to purchase the building any longer and that they can use it for their services. The mayor has approved this settlement and now the church in Polyana has a real opportunity to buy the building for a church.
Mission Bulgaria Week 27
NEWS – Week 27 February 16-23, 2002 Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
Indeed this is a report of a blessed week. We had a very successful Chaplaincy Seminar with the participation of Dr. Crick and Dr. Popejoy from Cleveland, TN. More than 60 people attended and listened to the lectures during the week. These were people actively involved in military, hospital and prison ministries, students and church members. The seminar helped greatly and was a stepping-stone for the development of the Chaplaincy Ministry in Bulgaria, and served as a beginning point of the structural development of the department of chaplaincy and caregivers in the Bulgarian Church of God.
I also must report and outstanding outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Wednesday evening service as we finished the expository preaching on the Epistle to the Galatians. At the altars people prayed and cried out to God for hours. Some were slain in the Spirit, and several reported that they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
A National Presbyters Meeting was held in Sofia on Saturday with the purposes of electing a new central leadership of the Bulgarian Church of God. Pastor Pavel Ignatov was reelected for a National Overseer. A significant detail of the meeting was the election of two assistants to the national overseers instead of one. This was done with the purposes of larger representation of the minority groups within the church (Roma, Gipsy, Turks, Pomaks, etc.). Again for the purposes of equal representation the same reason 2 Roma people were added to the 11 members of the Presbyters Council. Total of 269 pastors and deacons were present and represented 25,422 members of the Bulgarian Church of God.
I was able to prepare small 40-page booklets with the 20 Sunday School lessons in a 6,000 circulation. The books were freely distributed to all ministers present at the meeting.
