By Dr. Robert and Maureen McQuillan
Special to ASSIST News Service
GEELONG, AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- When pioneering minister Peicho Muhtarov (49) visited Melbourne, Australia last month we had the opportunity of interviewing this quietly spoken but sincerely committed man of God. He told us that his nation of Bulgaria has a population of 7.3 million with around 12.2 percent Muslim, but he added, with a sense of anticipation, “There is a continuing growing move of God among our young people.”
Traditionally Bulgaria has been a religious country since its Constantinople Christianity adoption in AD865. Roman Catholicism has roots there since the middle Ages, and Protestantism arrived in the 19th century. Bulgaria’s constitution designates Orthodoxy as the country’s “traditional religion” but guarantees free exercise of religion and the religious communities coexist peacefully.
“Orthodoxy is the main religion in my country, some 82.6 percent,” said Muhtarov, “but unfortunately there is no real commitment. Only about two to three percent of my people are really Christian with around 1500 Protestant churches.”
Peicho Muhtarov may be small in stature but as he shared a message from his heart at a specially convened meeting in the home of his trip’s sponsor, we observed the bigness and genuineness of his sincerity and love of Christ. His ready, warm approach to strangers demonstrated his spontaneous Jesus-centered love for everyone no matter which nation they belong to.
Not expecting God to move in their generation
In speaking privately to Muhtarov, he shared about the spiritual state of his own country which is officially known as the Republic of Bulgaria. It is located in Southeast Europe and borders five other countries: Romania to the north (mostly along the Danube), Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south. The Black Sea defines the extent of the country to the east.
“Revival came in 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall,” he told us. “The problem was that it only lasted for about eight years as we had no real leaders to direct it and follow it up. People had actually been praying for communism to go but, foolishly, they did not expect God to move in their generation. But He did. The back of communism was broken and freedom came. Sadly our churches didn’t know how to carry it through. People started coming back to church, but then they just moved away.”
Peicho with his wife Daniella
Based in Tryavina, a beautiful town of 12,000 in central Bulgaria, Peicho Muhtarov leaves his own Four Square church, Zion Christian Church, in the care of his talented wife, Daniella, while he pioneers. They have a daughter (20) and a son (12) and Daniella is well able to pastor the church.
His church is just one of Muhtarov’s three great passions. The second is travelling around Bulgaria working with the Bible League in church planting through training people to start churches.
“It’s not easy to establish new strong churches in Bulgaria,” he said. “But it brings me great personal blessing, inner reward and satisfaction.”
Peicho Muhtarov doesn’t operate out of some western author’s handbook on pioneering, filled with tactics unproven or unacceptable or impractical in Eastern European nations. Rather this determined evangelist has discovered his own keys that really work in his country. He goes to a chosen town or city and invites people along to local churches for four one-day seminars.
These special training times are often run over four Saturdays and in the past twelve years Muhtarov’s clear Bible teaching and gentle persistence has seen almost 350 new churches raised with trained leaders pastoring them.
Small groups are priceless
“It is a slow process, getting people to congregate in churches here but small groups work,” he explains. “That’s why I always like to minister to a small group. God moves in so intimately and touches people’s hearts. It’s so easy to move in the Holy Spirit in these times, in the prophetic and with blessings for the individual. So many people are hungry for the genuineness of God and to observe the power of his Holy Spirit. Such times help grow any church.”
Indeed Muhtarov, with an excellent command of English, moved this way at the home meeting we attended, gently sharing some great, relative biblical principles in his quiet manner and then prophesying over everyone without center-staging himself in any way.
Peicho preaching
Back home in his own church of some 60 people, committed small groups work extremely well. Many pastors in Bulgaria are themselves generous-hearted, but do not receive financial support of any value from their own local churches. Ministers such as Peicho Muhtarov, with a love for people of other nations as well as their own, rely on westerners such as our Melbourne host, a bighearted widowed missionary, to supply finance to enable them to travel overseas.
But at home they have learned to rely completely on the Lord’s miraculous generosity in providing every need. They in turn are generous too. The Muhtarov’s church supports eight ministries, a family that has moved to China and its own outreach to Muslims.
Spiritual hunger among youth
Perhaps Muhtarov’s greatest passion, next to his own church and pioneering with Bible League, is reaching young people through the growing New Wave Movement.
Bulgarian youth attending one of his rallies
He beamed widely as he explained: “This is an exciting movement of three exciting gatherings yearly when hundreds of young people gather in selected places across Bulgaria. It’s a time of training young people how to witness. There is a great hunger here among the young for reality, sound Bible teaching and the supernatural moving of the Holy Spirit.”
He was really excited when he told about the first yearly meeting each, April – the Spring Wave. “Up to 2000 young people come simply to soak in the Holy Spirit. We only engage in, would you believe, twelve hours of praise, worship and prayer. No heavy teaching, just praising the Lord and waiting on the Spirit.” He added, “Our Autumn Wave in November is similar.”
The missionary pastor, who is so into praying and fasting and loves everyone, became exuberant when he then spoke about this year’s July Summer Wave.
“We’ll be celebrating in a big, big way our 10th anniversary,” he said. “Normally our Summer Wave is different from the other two in that it’s a week-long camp. It’s an in-depth teaching time when we split into small groups to learn from the Bible and to pray together. At our summer camps we usually only get between 500 and 900 young people but because of our big celebration this year we’re expecting a huge turnout. And, as we meet shut ourselves away in a ‘big shed’ in a chosen place somewhere in Bulgaria, we are believing that the Holy Spirit will abundantly bless us as he speaks to all.”
Relationship, the greatest key
Relationship is the thrust of Peicho Muhtarov’s messages to churches and youth, whether he is sharing in his own country or in some other nation.
“So often we’re told that churches are spiritual hospitals,” he points out. “But Christians are not always meant to be patients; rather we are to be servants. Neither are we meant to live as orphans. We have a Father. The trouble is that many Christians don’t know God in a Father relationship way. It’s the personal living relationship that makes the difference.”
Peicho Muhtarov can be encouraged by emailing him at peichobg@gmail.com or Skype: vesselpeich.
Dr. Robert McQuillan is recognized as an inspiring encourager, wordsmith, associate counselor, businesspeople encouragement sessions speaker and Bible teacher on the prophetic edge. He and his wife, Maureen, a gifted communicator with uncanny insight of knowing “where people are at” are regular guest speakers. Their ministry, Life Focus Ministries, is based in Geelong, Australia. They can be contacted by e-mail at: lifefocus1@bigpond.com or check out http://lifefocus.blogspot.com
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
If you have an account
If you are a new user