Happenings Around the World Based on a social enterprise model, the center is designed to enable

income generating activities that subsidize social outreach. Helping to drive the ministry is the Good Samaritan Foundation, which was set up in 1990 for social outreach. Oprenov and his wife, Dimitrina Oprenova, a Baptist World Alliance vice

Above: Worship at “New Birth,” the new Church and Social Educational Center in Sofia, Bulgaria

president and president of the Baptist Women’s Organization in Bulgaria, have been serving in ministry for more than 25 years. They faced a number of challenges. Religion has had a complicated history in Bulgaria. For roughly 40 years, until 1989, Christian churches in Bulgaria were mainly controlled by the Law on Religious Organizations, which enumerated the limitations on religion and religious practices. After the political changes in 1989 new challenges faced the church, the level of poverty increased and many found the cultural changes impossible to cope with. The events around the official opening of the new center and church

included an evening of worship, prayer and appreciation to contributing sponsors; a concert with classical and Bulgarian music; an official ribbon- cutting; and a dedication ceremony. The special moment coincided with the annual Council of the European Baptist Federation, which was deliberately held in Sofia for the occasion. Some 150 Baptist pastors and church leaders from all over Europe, the

Middle East and Central Asia, representing as many as 40 national Baptist unions, gathered in Sofia. The council was addressed by the president of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev.

“My presence here is a sign of gratitude for everything achieved by

Above: The Dedication Service at “New Birth,” the new Church and Social Educational Center in Sofia, Bulgaria

the Bulgarian Baptist Union during the past century and a half,” said the Bulgarian president. “We shall never forget how during those first and most critical days and months, as Syrians, Iraqi and Afghans were seeking shelter in Bulgaria in large groups, you offered practical support to the refugee centers in Sofia with what was most essential: food, clothes, washing detergents, furniture. All of this was collected and donated with an attitude of Christian empathy for those who were hurting and had been deprived of home and family.” Plevneliev expressed appreciation for Bulgarian Baptists’ efforts to serve orphans, to offer literacy programs to Roma children and to extend a hand of Christian love for the needy. “This beautiful newly built center is a home for a social kitchen for poor people, a medical facility, as well as an educational, religious and conference center. It will be of paramount importance for our society. And I am grateful for that,” noted the Bulgarian head of state.

In response to the president’s address, Tony Peck, Baptist World Alliance

regional secretary for Europe and general secretary of the European Baptist Federation, expressed appreciation for the kind words and greetings. This center “will not only house a church that seeks to witness to its faith. It will also reach out to some of the poorest and most needy of this city,” said Peck. “In this, Sofia Baptists want to follow the example of Jesus himself in caring for the whole person, body, mind and spirit. They want to make their own positive contribution to the life of this city and Bulgarian society.” The consecration of the new building comes when Bulgaria faces new

and serious challenges, including a wave of refugees, internal migration to the country’s capital, economic stratification and ethnic tensions. The opportunity to foster the social, cultural and educational ministries

of Sofia Baptist Church is in harmony with the earliest traditions of evangelicalism in Bulgaria. In combination with an accent on evangelism, discipleship, prayer and Bible preaching, the main Baptist church in Bulgaria’s capital is in a position to continue serving as a beacon of Jesus Christ in Sofia during the coming decades.

Left: The Christian cross is a prominent feature on the facade of the Church and Social Educational Center in Sofia, Bulgaria