Calvary Chapel Bullhead City
About Us:
The focus of Ministry is serving the Lord and his people in Bulgaria. It is focused on providing support for several church leaders in the central region of the country. God is doing wonderful things in a country that until a little over 15 years ago was closed to the gospel. Calvary Chapel Bullhead City is currently working with several churches in and around the capital of Sofia. Bulgaria is beginning to blossom. Many doors are opening as things are changing rapidly for Bulgaria in Eastern Europe. Those changes are both good and yet dangerous for the Bulgarian people. They are good in the sense that many of the changes mean economic benefit for the people. Yet at the same time those benefit have been slow. Bulgarians are now enjoying a much wider variety of goods and services but still cannot afford them. Along with the good things have come the bad. The western influence with MTV, pornography and many other negative influences from the modern cultures of Western Europe and America have invaded Bulgaria.
The evangelical church is small and young in the sense that it had been so repressed and oppressed during the communist era. It is struggling against the tide of the world that entices unbelievers to greater sin and further rejection of the gospel as well as the Orthodox church which brands Evangelical churches of any kind as a cult. It is growing stronger and is beginning to unite in many ways. They are looking for help in each other as well as help from the rest of the church. That help begins with relationship. The churches that Calvary Bullhead are working with are reaching out to each other and to others all over the country and seek to develop a network of ministry within the body of Christ.
Pastor Chuck first went to Bulgaria in 1997 at the invitation of Jim Manning from Mission Assist. He fell in love with the people and the country. He returned the next year with his wife Lynda and daughter, Johnna and a small team from the church. Eventually his son, Pastor CJ and son-in-law, Michael joined him on other trips. Since his first trip Pastor Chuck has lead a number of teams and is working with five different churches in the Sofia area. One of these churches is Blagavest and is headquartered in the capitol city of Sofia. They are a growing church and have a great vision for the people of Bulgaria. The other churches are outside of Sofia in Elin Pelin, Stolnik and Belapopsti. One of the churches in Elin Pelin and the churches in Stolnik and Belapopsti are Gypsy churches.
Other areas of ministry that Calvary Chapel Bullhead has become involved in is an orphanage n the town of Slatino and feeding children in Belapopsti. Through Blagavest, we became acquainted with Miro and Mara Gospodinov, who were taking groups from their church to the orphanage. Bullhead has become involved in helping them minister to the children and have gone and ministered there as well. At Christmas time Bullhead is helping them provide clothes and other gifts to the orphans. Through the church in Elin Pelin they became connected to the church in Belapopsti. Pastor Stephan feeds about 60 children in the neighborhood each day. Last year Calvary Bullhead helped pay for the cost of the wood for cooking.
Pastor Chuck and Lynda visit the churches during the fall each year and lead teams in the summer to minister. The ministry includes helping with a youth camp, mimes, ministry to the orphanage, teaching in the churches and most important, one on one relationships.
Calvary Chapel of Bullhead City has been actively involved in Bulgaria for the past eight years, so Pastor Chuck Kelly can answer any questions you might have. Make sure you look at the pictures of the people and the work from our trip in the past
