Sofia Pentecostal Bible College

Partners of the Bulgarian Church

Meet three of our students:

Pastor Yantcho Ganchev

Pastor Yantcho was born in 1973 in one of three cities in Bulgaria where the Muslim population is approximately 30- 40%. He became a pastor of a small church in North Bulgaria in 1995 along with his wife. They have two children - a boy nine years old and a daughter of one and an half. In 1999 he became the director of the Pentecostal Youth Organization and gave us this prayer request: that the Lord will continue to guide him and grow him as a leader with discernment of the times. His heart is to build young leaders that are stable in their walk with Christ Jesus and dedicated to church planting and discipleship work. He leads two summer camps in July and August when young men and women gather to pray for the outpouring and baptism of the Holy Spirit. In addition, in the upcoming fall of 2009 he is planning a youth seminar.

Kiril Angelkov

A dedicated young man who has returned from Germany to serve the Lord in Bulgaria in the small towns around Sofia. He is active with the youth movement and we pray that he will become one of the future pillars for the church in Bulgaria. We as staff and faculty have raised his support and ask again for matching amount of $1200 per year for his studies.

Philip Rashev, National Coordinator for the Global Day of Prayer Ministry

This year the 2nd annual Global Day of Prayer in Bulgaria, organized mainly by a student of Sofia Pentecostal Bible College, and will be held at a very significant square in the center of Sofia. Since it will be open air and in a well-situated location, many people will be able to see it. It may not be well received by all. Please pray for the effectiveness and reception of this event.

We as staff and faculty have raised his support and ask again for matching amount of $1200 per year for his studies.

NEEDS

Pray for

• The summer youth camps led by pastor Yantcho Ganev
• The Global Day of prayer in Bulgaria led by Philip Rashev
• The young pastors ministering in difficult circumstances like Kiril Angelkov

Financial

• Donate for a student - $ 100 per month or $1200 per year
• Donate for the buildings - $ 25 000 for reconstruction
• Donate for the library - $ 500 per year
• Support a faculty member - $ 500 per month

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Faculty and Administration

Kostadin Vladev, Instructor in New Testament

Kostadin Vladev was born in 1975. He came to the Lord in 1990 during the revival after the fall of communism. Presently, he holds a M.Th. in Biblical Studies from the University of Wales. He teaches at BETI on the New Testament, including NT Greek, as well as Liturgics. Kostadin has special interest in Church Planting. For three years he was part of a team that has planted a church in downtown Sofia. Since March 2008, he leads a church-planting team in Boyana (a quarter of Sofia without an evangelical church). His great desire is to be involved in training and supporting young leaders and church planters. Kostadin is considering a master degree in leadership and at some point a Ph.D. in Theology (Biblical Studies).

Stanka Vladeva, Instructor in Old Testament and Hebrew Language

Stanka Vladeva was born in 1975. She became a believer in 1991. Presently, she holds a M.Th. in Biblical Studies from the University of Wales. She is a member of the Pentecostal Faculty of BETI and teaches Old Testament studies, including Hebrew Language and Christian Ethics. She also works as a translator and chief librarian in the Pentecostal Faculty. She is determined to grow in her teaching abilities in the areas of OT and Hebrew Language and to work towards greater appreciation of the value of Christian education, which is one of the transforming forces of people's hearts in Bulgaria. Stanka is co-working with her husband Kostadin Vladev in the leadership of the church in Boyna. She is particularly interested in reaching the diplomat's wives in that region.

Raino Yakimov, Campus Pastor and Maintenance

Raino Yakimov was born in the year the Communist government imprisoned a large number of the Pentecostal and Evangelical pastors in Bulgaria – 1949.
He grew up without knowledge of God or of believers. After finishing high school, he met believers in the city of Stara Zagora and gave his heart to God. For many years Brother Raino served God as a circuit preacher, while working as a ventilations contractor during Communism. After the Fall of Communism, he was one of the first to register for the newly established training by the US Assemblies of God in the city of Russe. Later he took a full-time ministry appointment but due to the high need for the maintenance and care of the student body, he relocated to Sofia to serve jointly as the grounds and maintenance person for the buildings and most importantly, as the campus pastor.

Ekaterina Nedelcheva, Registrar

Ekaterina Nedelcheva is 30 years old. She grew up in a Christian family and has graduated with BA in theology from BETI, Pentecostal Faculty. She presently serves as registrar and administrative secretary of the Pentecostal Faculty. She particularly enjoys working with the students and believes that God has placed her in the right institution. She is part of a team that planted a church four years ago in Sofia, and currently she works on developing an on-line Christian magazine for young women.

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Alumni

Rumen Metodiev, Pastor and Church Planter

Rumen planted and pastors a church of Bulgarian immigrants on the island of Cyprus. He graduated in 2003.

Peter Gyuzelev, Musician and Sofia City Council Member

Public speaker on Christianity and the importance of Christ for the contemporary society.

Goran and Daniela Ilievi, pastors in Macedonia

Hristo and Sonya Hristov, pastors Assemblies of God in Dallas, Texas

Partners with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Bulgaria for the expansion of the Kingdom of God in Bulgaria.

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Our Leadership

Victor Virchev, President of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Bulgaria (pictured with his wife Nadya Vircheva, Administrative coordinator for the Pentecostal assemblies of Bulgaria)

Brother Victor and Sister Nadya grew up in Pentecostal families. They served as pastors in different areas of Bulgaria before the Communist regime in Bulgaria fell. Following these historic changes Brother Victor was elected President of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Bulgaria. He has served with various capacities in the Bulgarian Bible Society Board, as the Glad Tidings Publishing magazine editor, and as President of the Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance to name a few.
Under Brother Victor’s direction, a new generation of leaders has been emerging as he has been highly instrumental in the founding of the Pentecostal Bible College in 1991, and its merger with the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute in 1999. He has actively promoted training and education for the leaders in the Pentecostal Assemblies of Bulgaria.
Sister Nadya has served full time with Brother Victor--not only in the local church they pastored--but also at the national leadership level as office manager. She holds degrees in engineering and management. They have four children and six grandchildren. Please, pray for their continued leadership roles and their family as all of them serve the Lord.

Dr. Kevin Beery, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, M.A. Continental Theological Seminary, 1998 DSL, Regent University 2008

Tanya Petrova, Dean

Tanya grew up in a family with both Pentecostal (paternal side) and Bulgarian Orthodox (maternal side) roots. She became a Pentecostal believer in the days of Communism. Her great-grandfather, a Pentecostal preacher in the early days of Pentecost in Bulgaria, instilled in her the understanding that the Communist regime was not all powerful and that it would have an end when God called for it. She believed these words and since 1981 had a dream to study and teach the Bible.
God allowed her to be among the first believers to go abroad and study after the fall of Communism. Afterward, she returned to serve the church and the nation of Bulgaria. Currently, she is completing her doctoral dissertation with the University of Wales (IBTS, Prague) on the topic of the theology of the Bulgarian Pentecostals.
She joined missionaries Kevin and Wendy Beery at SPBC in 1997 to fulfill her call to train and educate Christian pastors and lay-leaders throughout Bulgaria. Upon Kevin Beery’s promotion to Regional Director for the Assemblies of God missions on the Balkans, Tanya was elected dean of SPBC, having previously served as the academic dean.

Atanas Atanasov, Academic Dean

Atanas grew up in a Pentecostal family in North Bulgaria. His family was a part of the unregistered Pentecostals during Communism. During Communism, he and his wife have served in the city of Pleven. In 1999 his family -- his wife and two daughters -- relocated to Sofia to work for the establishment and governing of the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute.

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