Answers to Prayer

1 Bulgaria's transformation from harsh repression in the 1980s to today's relative freedom of religion and hunger for spirituality

2 The first major breakthrough for the gospel in modern times in a Turkic people with possibly 10,000 Turkish Millet coming to Christ in the 1990s

Challenges for Prayer

1 Religious freedom is still not fully achieved

2 Some Orthodox leaders have orchestrated a virulent media campaign against non-Orthodox, and particularly Evangelicals

3 The Orthodox church needs renewal and new life

4 The growth and maturation of evangelical denominations has been accelerated by the pressures of the 1990s

a) The Evangelical Alliance, formed in 1993 but only officially recognized in 1998, that it may be a united and prophetic voice for God in a divided and discouraged nation

b) The Alliance for Saturation Church Planting, which seeks to coordinate evangelism and multiplication of congregations across the country

c) The body of Christ

5 Maturing the Church is a major challenge

a) Training of church leadership which was banned until 1990

b) The right structures to enhance growth

c) The discernment of doctrinal error

d) Complete religious freedom for Evangelicals

e) The multiplicity of new indigenous agencies that have sprung up for reaching children, prisoners, and ethnic minorities, and for providing literature, Bibles, and Christian teaching in schools and camps

6 Cross-cultural missions vision is slowly growing

7 Ethnic minorities have suffered severely

a) The Rumelian Turks who deeply resented the attempts of the Communist regime to forcibly Bulgarianize them in the 1980s

b) The Millet — an oppressed Turkish-speaking mix of Turk and Gypsy, yet among them during the 1990s occurred an astonishing people movement to Christ

c) The Roma (Gypsies) who are generally despised and at the bottom of the social order with widespread illiteracy

d) The Pomaks (250,000), Bulgarian-speaking Muslims

e) The Jews

8 Foreign missions have found it hard to retain long-term workers because of visa and other problems

a) The calling of workers to serve in this day of opportunity

b) Wisdom in the use of short-term visits and ministry

c) Sensitive use of foreign funds

9 Ministry to young people is under-developed

10 Christian help ministries

a) Literature

b) Bible translation and distribution

c) Christian radio and TV

d) The JESUS film is available in Bulgarian, Romani, Romanian and Turkish

Geography

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Area 110,912 sq.km. Balkan state adjoining Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Romania.

Population (2000) 8,225,045 -0.65%AGR

Capital Sofia 1,188,000.

Peoples

Slavic 86%; Turkic 9.4%; Roma (Gypsy) 3.7%; Other 0.9%.

Literacy 98% (in practice nearer 90%). Official languages Bulgarian, Turkish. All languages 12. Languages with Scriptures 3Bi 1NT 3por 4w.i.p.

Economy

Poverty increased by 45 years of Communist rule which ended in 1989. Unemployment 11.4%. HDI 0.758; 63^rd/174. Public debt 79% of GNP. Income/person $1,170 (3.7% of USA).

Politics

A nation since the 5^th Century, but rarely independent.

Religion

Orthodoxy was the state religion until 1945.

Churches in Bulgaria

Missionaries from Bulgaria

89 in 6 agencies

Missionaries to Bulgaria

132 in 31 agencies from 11 countries

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