KCC Team Visit to North-West Bulgaria
Written by ANDY JOHNSTON
I met Georgi Zafirov on my first-ever visit to Bulgaria 20 years ago. Since then, I have visited the country on more than 40 occasions. I used to go four or five times a year when I was leading the church in Hailsham. Since joining KCC, my visits have been less frequent, but apart from the COVID era when none of us could travel, I’ve still managed to go once or twice a year.
When I first met Georgi, he was leading a small church plant in a little town. As God has blessed and grown his ministry, he now leads a network of 15 churches—some of which he planted himself, and others that were planted by others but now look to him for apostolic support. One of the most fruitful areas of his ministry has been among the gypsy communities. A pastor named Tikomere has planted four churches in different villages and is always eager to plant more. His usual strategy is to visit a village, pray for a sick child, and—unsurprisingly—God moves and heals the child. Often, the entire family then commits to following Jesus and gets baptised. They go on to tell all their friends and neighbours what God has done in their lives, and—lo and behold—a church is planted! It all sounds pretty New Testament!
Last month, I took six people from KCC to north-west Bulgaria for a long weekend, leaving on Thursday 15th and returning on Monday 19th May. Over the weekend, we visited four churches and two youth meetings, one of which was in a gypsy village. The whole team stepped up—sharing testimonies, encouraging others, and preaching. When you go on a trip like this, it’s as much about what God does in you as it is about what He does through you. The entire team came back encouraged and eager to go again. We also trust that we were a blessing to our brothers and sisters in Bulgaria, and we pray that they will see God do abundantly more than they ask or imagine across their nation.
Finally, a big shout-out to Rachel, Tino, Lucy, Aaron, Joel, and Alex—well done for stepping outside of your comfort zone!
When I first met Georgi, he was leading a small church plant in a little town. As God has blessed and grown his ministry, he now leads a network of 15 churches—some of which he planted himself, and others that were planted by others but now look to him for apostolic support. One of the most fruitful areas of his ministry has been among the gypsy communities. A pastor named Tikomere has planted four churches in different villages and is always eager to plant more. His usual strategy is to visit a village, pray for a sick child, and—unsurprisingly—God moves and heals the child. Often, the entire family then commits to following Jesus and gets baptised. They go on to tell all their friends and neighbours what God has done in their lives, and—lo and behold—a church is planted! It all sounds pretty New Testament!
Last month, I took six people from KCC to north-west Bulgaria for a long weekend, leaving on Thursday 15th and returning on Monday 19th May. Over the weekend, we visited four churches and two youth meetings, one of which was in a gypsy village. The whole team stepped up—sharing testimonies, encouraging others, and preaching. When you go on a trip like this, it’s as much about what God does in you as it is about what He does through you. The entire team came back encouraged and eager to go again. We also trust that we were a blessing to our brothers and sisters in Bulgaria, and we pray that they will see God do abundantly more than they ask or imagine across their nation.
Finally, a big shout-out to Rachel, Tino, Lucy, Aaron, Joel, and Alex—well done for stepping outside of your comfort zone!
