Bulgaria
Summary
The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People’s Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007. [1]
📷 : Wikipedia
Statistics
From the The Joshua Project [2]
In the News
📷 : Wikipedia
Prayer Guide
Ministry to young people is crucial. The current generation differs greatly from their Communist-era parents. There are some excellent developments in this ministry area but more are needed. CCCI is active. IFES has established student groups in 10 cities, but needs prayer to reach more unbelieving students effectively.
Christian media ministries. Difficult conditions for evangelism in the 1990s invited a more creative and savvy approach. Bulgaria’s use of media for spreading the gospel is praiseworthy. From tracts to glossy magazines to Internet and television, it is estimated most Bulgarians are exposed to the gospel through mass media. The same media further serves the Church by keeping it informed of both domestic and international issues, with the Internet in particular increasing resource availability (sermons, music, articles, etc).
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