Amazed by God's Vision

Current home of First Baptist Church, Sofia.  The name above the entrance is "Christian Baptist Church."

Murals in progress in main room of the youth and children's area.

The sanctuary from a corner of the balcony.

Looking up at the balcony of the sanctuary.

I am amazed.

Today we worked in the new and as-yet unfinished building of Sofia Baptist Church, or Purva Baptistka Tsyrkva, priming the walls of about 8 rooms on the fifth floor of six..  Currently this church meets in two services on Sundays in a cramped, over-used, over-worked building that is beyond its last legs.  Three staff members share an office about the size of a walk-in closet.  The first picture is of that building.

Yet this  church and staff, led my Dimitri Oprenov, possess a gospel-driven vitality and God-sized vision that amaze.  For eight years they have been working on a building a block down the street from their current facility that will seat many hundreds, host ministries of every imaginable kind, and serve as a beacon of gospel light for much of central Sofia.  They hope to be in the building by Easter.  The pictures above give an idea of the size of this facility, which, though it seems immense compared to the current facility, is small compared to the church's vision.

Please keep this church in your prayers as they seek to reach out to an unbelieving society.  Pray that the power of the gospel will pierce the post-communist darkness that pervades the nation.