Services in Yambol, Bulgaria
I preached one of my first sermons in the Pentecostal church in my home city of Yambol over fifteen years ago. It was followed by many other speaking engagements there, especially at the youth services held every Saturday night at the church.
Many years passed since then and due to extensive travel for ministry and educational purposes, it has been awhile since we have been able to minister at the church. It was this past Sunday that we were fortunate enough to be in service with my home church. Upon the pastor’s invitation we were able to preach at the Communion service as some 400 were in attendance. Many more were also able to respond to the service via the media.
The Pentecostal church in Yambol is one of the first evangelical churches in the country. For many years, before and during the Communist Regime it served as a national center for Bulgarian Pentecostals. Many National Assemblies were held there and important decisions about the development of the Bulgarian Pentecostal Movement have been made in this church.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Yambol Church again led the Bulgarian Pentecostals in a number of important ministry and public endeavors. The church initiated the first Bulgarian mission work during post communism, the Mission for Christian Upbringing. The first, and so far the only, Bulgarian evangelical political party was founded in Yambol in 1997. This event was followed by the first attempts for a Christian TV production and broadcast in Bulgaria. The city has produced many prominent evangelical ministers. But for me personally, the return to Yambol was much more sentimental. The Yambol Pentecostal Church was the placed where the Lord saved my soul and where for the first time in my life I felt free at last.
Our Ministry in the Yambol Region
Mission Maranatha in Yambol, Bulgaria
For the past three years Mission Maranatha has been labouring in seven of the churches in the area of Yambol, Bulgaria. Two of them were started by the Home Mission Team of Life of Christ Church of God United, where we served as the associate pastor in 1996-97. The humble work with the two small congregations has continuously grown to be a network of seven churches; five of the churches are newly founded and two are in villages where there has never been a Protestant church before. This has been possible through the powerful outreach ministries to orphans and widows that has touched both individuals and communities in a time of deep economical, political and social crises in Bulgaria.
Since none of the seven churches has a pastor, the itinerary of the small team of people comprising Mission Maranatha contains a minimum of four weekly trips to different areas. They often hold up to twelve services a week, and are always open for new opportunities for ministry. Their church meetings are always accompanied with miracles and healings, which has drawn many new converts.
Naturally, the magnitude of the work has drawn much opposition as well. It comes predominantly form Eastern Orthodox authorities, who are part of the traditional religious background in Bulgaria. Acting completely against the laws of Bulgaria, a nationalistic political organization, which deliberately opposes Protestantism of any kind condemning them as sectarians, has brought number of threats against the outreach work of the seven churches. The difficulty of the situation calls for our prayers.
Despite the numerous external obstacles and financial difficulties, the work of Mission Maranatha is continuously growing. The members of the team are regularly interviewed by Christian and secular newspapers informing of their work. They are also often asked to speak at seminars and church meetings. Mission Maranatha holds weekly program called Pentecost Today on the local radio station.
This is only a minimum excerpt of the work in Bulgaria. More detailed information will be soon sent to you from Mission Maranatha. Again, thank you for your continuous prayers and gracious support. May the Lord richly bless you.
