Happenings Around the World

This is a location where

people will find a new beginning in their path

Front view of the Church and Social Educational Center in Sofia, Bulgaria

Baptist Center Opened in BULGARIA

T

he Sofia Baptist Church in Sofia, Bulgaria, opened its new Church and Social Educational Center in October 2015. In addition to a new auditorium for worship services, the

facility includes a refectory to offer assistance to the homeless, a medical center, premises for educational and literacy programs for school dropouts, several conference halls, a library and offices. The official name of the new center and church is “New Birth” – a statement that this is a location where people will find a new beginning in their path. Built over a period of 12 years, the construction was driven by

two desires: “the need to be salt and light in the city where God has called us to serve him,” said church pastor Teodor Oprenov, as well as a growing need for a new place of worship for the congregation, the first Baptist church in Bulgaria, which was founded in 1888. The center is designed to help meet spiritual and social

needs in the Southeastern European nation. “Our country is one of the poorest in Europe,” explained Oprenov, who is general

secretary of the Baptist Union of Bulgaria. “In such an economic environment vulnerable groups in society suffer the most – the elderly; institutionalized children; people with different disabilities, whether mental or physical; and people from minority ethnic backgrounds, particularly those of Roma origin.” The aim is to provide practical assistance that is free or

affordable; offer facilities and services of the highest quality; establish a center that is financially self-sustaining; set new ethical standards of business relationships and services in Bulgaria; and provide facilities for a rapidly growing society to gather, worship and for the development and provision of social activities. The center supports entrepreneurship and assists new

businesses by providing business advice and small “starter premises.” In the long term it hopes to invest in new businesses to give people from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to improve their standard of living. The conference hall and offices provide avenues to generate income to help subsidize the social outreach program.

JULY/SEPTEMBER 2016

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