The Oldest Pentecostal Church

Regardless of the persecutions before and after the Communist Regime, today Bulgarian Pentecostals remain the largest evangelical group in Bulgaria. But the national Pentecostal revival that has swept the country goes back to humble beginnings in the city of Bourgas where in 1920, Ukrainian immigrants Zaplishny and Voronaev preached a message of Pentecost and several were baptized with the Holy Spirit. Since then, the Bulgarian Pentecostal movement has grown to be a major part of the Bulgarian reality.

Our team was fortunate to receive an invitation to minister at a historical youth event which took place in Bourgas on May 1st. Each year at this date Pentecostal youth from all over the country gather for a day of prayer, preaching and proclamation. The meetings continued even during the Communist Regime although May 1st was declared by the government as the International Labor Day accompanied with parades in which everyone was force to attend.

We traveled to Bourgas and ministered in the Sunday morning service at the oldest Bulgarian Pentecostal Church and witnessed a great move of the Holy Spirit with an extraordinary anointing present as congregational prayer continued after the message. A youth service was held in the evening at which we were able to speak of our Pentecostal heritage and Biblical foundations, the future of Bulgarian Pentecostals and the role of the new Pentecostal generation in the movement. This recent ministry among youth in Bulgaria has confirmed our expectation that the sixth Pentecostal generation in Bulgaria will be able to restore Pentecostal unity and set the course toward a new style of ministry of transforming church leadership, effective social involvement and moral integrity based on personal Biblical holiness.