Leadership Training in June 10-14, 2013 - Update

         Dear praying friends and ministry partners, 

New Hope BG team members Rado and Simeon

       Thank you for your prayers for the leadership training which our team at NH BG facilitated last week. From our perspective it was a great success. Twenty-nine church leaders from 5 denominations attended and really interacted with the materials which we had prepared and most of it was basically Scripture. We believe that we live in a critical time, when above all, we need to encourage one another to seek the Lord in prayer and make bold steps to obey the Lord and truly be doers of His Word rather than simply talk about it. So, we encouraged one another to actually go out into the streets of the city where we did the training and immediately put the Lord's teaching about reaching out to the lost and to seek to make new friends, who God willing could be potential disciples of Christ. 

Facilitating a dynamic discussion on Scripture

     Our hearts are broken for our nation - the country of Bulgaria - and we see how the waves of human anxiety, desperation and discontent flood our streets today - literary! At the same time, we see how the Lord commanded his disciples to care for the sheep, build up the Body of His church and seek the lost. So, one of our main goals in these days is to encourage leaders and ordinary believers to be naturally supernatural - to pray and seek the Lord's face, to trust in His great power to save and to step out in the streets of our cities and seek the lost by sharing about Christ in love, mercy and compassion. In a nutshell - live out loud our confession of faith. 

Pastor Plamen and wife Maya share a powerful testimony

     You see, our goal as ministers is to encourage people to live naturally in ways that reveal we love God by what we say and do. For many of us this requires intentional practice to live a conspicuously godly life (not to be confused with an obnoxiously religious one). We had people like Pastor Plamen and his wife Maya share about how God has used them to start new churches and how He leads them to people who need the Lord and seek Him. There are many souls out there, who already cry out to God and we have the joy of bringing in a harvest, that is already ripe.  

      A few days ago, I had an interesting experience which the Lord used to teach me obedience. What I did seemed kind of weird, but I needed a lesson in obedience. I was having my weekly bike ride and when I got to the seaside park I felt kind of hungry. I thought, "Dimitrie, why don't you get a snack and then ride for 10 kilometers along the beach." But then, I felt this strange desire to just ride up north and have a snack in the neighborhood next to the city airport. So, I skipped dinner snack and when I got to the place next to the airport, I thought, "Now, I'm really hungry and I'm having Arab kebab for dinner". I did get it and went to sit at a bench overlooking the beach. I had just had a bite from the pita bread and started my dinner snack, when a young man sitting on bench across from where I was came up to me and asked me like, "Where did you get the snack?" I said, "Well, 100 feet up this street." He said, "Aha, thanks" and he got back to his bench." Then, as I was just getting back to my snack, I heard a voice like, "This young man is dressed OK, looks OK to you, but he is very hungry, because he has no money to buy food today. Stop eating! Offer him your dinner!" I looked up and saw a young woman standing like 20 feet away from me and she was looking into my direction. I said like, "Well, this would be awkward. I'm already eating the bread and had a piece from the meat. How is this guy going to react and what would that woman think?" But then I heard the voice speak again, "I don't care about her opinion or about your fears of being refused the food! You don't need that food! Give it to the hungry young man and He will realize that I love him!" 

Interacting with the trainees

I stopped right there, motioned to the man and when he came up to me I said, "Listen, I'm not going to eat this food. I had only a bite from the bread and a piece of meat. If you are OK with it, you are welcome to eat it." He looked at me and said, "OK. I'll have it, thank you!" I was like, "Glory to you Jesus!" I heard then, "This young man just realized that miracles of mercy happen! I'm speaking to His heart, right now!" To God be all the glory! Really, to Him alone! He will share His glory with no man!      

       Why I'm sharing all of this? I came to realize that I need to be obedient to the Lord's leading in situations, that seem weird and strange. If I speak to leaders, youth and children about being obedient to the Spirit's leading, then why I don't do it? That was a lesson for me. I went to have coffee after that experience and didn't want to have another snack. I began to thank God and realized that I need to learn to be obedient just like I teach others to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.  

June 10-14 Leadership Training

   Now please pray that the truth that was heard and learned will be put into practice by those who attended. Meanwhile, our team continues to meet and prepare for our summer camps, the special retreat for families of ministers in July and children and youth outreach programs in July and August. 

Pray for us and support us as the Lord leads your heart! 



The Lord bless you and keep you!

Dimitrie and Maria and team