Lausanne World Pulse – Mission Possible in Bulgaria
By Nasko Lazarov
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Workers in Bulgaria |
The Early Years of Revival
Growing up in Communist Bulgaria was an experience. With all that was going on, it was extraordinary to witness the change of a political regime that we once thought would last forever. Bulgaria was not spared the winds of change that were blowing in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s. God showed mercy and goodness to Bulgaria when he didn’t allow any major bloodshed to take place. The evangelical churches in Bulgaria soon began enjoying freedoms that were once thought impossible.
Crusades, street evangelism, rallies at stadiums, parks and city squares were becoming the norm of regular evangelistic endeavors. Bibles were supplied, tracts printed and some churches experienced numerical growth that could be matched only with post-Pentecostal numbers from the book of Acts.
Bulgaria was on the edge of even greater revival times when the political season changed. The period of 1993-1997 brought an unsuspected threat from figures in political circles who were not happy with the rapid growth of the Bulgarian evangelicals (who were perceived as posing a certain political threat). Numerous churches were denied public access to media outlets, and restrictions of all kinds followed.
The changes in the society forced the evangelical churches to rethink and reorganize their evangelistic efforts. Churches needed to venture into areas and begin using new evangelistic approaches.
Mission Possible (MP) has been involved in Eastern Europe since 1973, smuggling Bibles and literature in and helping and assisting local pastors in different ways. The heart of Mission Possible’s ministry in Bulgaria has always been to serve and assist local churches in their ministries to individuals and society.
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Leah Magazine
In 1998 MP launched Leah, a new and one of a kind magazine for women in Bulgaria. Existing publications at that time provided a good saturation of books and booklets; however, the evangelical churches and the Bulgarian society needed a publication that would target not only demographically the largest segment of the country, but also the gender group that was most active and most represented in any congregation.
Leah was launched as a response to the immediate needs of evangelical women and their church ministries. Soon after the magazine’s birth, surveys began to show that readership had grown four to six-fold. The reason for this growth was surprising. Most of its readers openly, enthusiastically and purposefully shared their copies of Leah with their non-Christian friends. Leah soon became an active tool for evangelism and for spreading the gospel.
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Nasko Lazarov serves as US director for Mission Possible. He has also served as director of administration and development for Mission Possible Bulgaria. |