From Kid-free to Kid-friendly

There were no kids in the Sofia West church in Bulgaria. Fast forward five years and children enter a whole new world with arts and crafts.

Sofia is Bulgaria’s capital and largest city. It’s a modern and dynamic place with more than a million people. Here you find relaxing parks, convenient trams, and exquisite architecture.

Unlike most of the buildings in Sofia, this structure looks plain on the outside . But in a small rented place inside, it looks completely different.

Lyubka, a member of Sofia West church, has dedicated her time to reaching out to these kids. Together with volunteers from the church, she meets the children at least twice a month. Aside from the crafts, they also teach the children about life, family, education and health.

“We teach them good values, and they enjoy a lot in our activities. I think that in order to introduce Jesus, we should also have hearts like children.”

“The main idea is to be able to reach people especially to their social needs. Not directly in terms of faith and religious ideas, but rather, interacting with children, solving family problems, teaching them about the importance of health, building connections and establishing relationships.”

The project was aptly named “Create Future.” A place where the church can foster children and young adults to be future leaders, but that doesn’t mean that the activities are only for young boys and girls.

“Create Future aims to attract kids and form a Bible group. But the kids are so happy that they get their parents interested in what we are doing. We can’t turn the parents away and say that this is just for kids, so we work with the parents as well.”

Everyone works together to do something meaningful and the masterpieces are sold to raise funds to help those in need. “Create Future” is teaching people to be selfless and to serve their neighbours.

“Through create future, we can show the society, our neighbours, the people around us, that we care for them, that our faith in Jesus is inspiring us to love everyone. Through actions, rather than empty words, we can bring people to Jesus.”

Through the activities, “Create Future” participants grow closer to each other. Lyubka feels like a mother to the children, they are like her family.

“I sincerely ask God to be with us because I am convinced that what God can do is a lot more than what merely humans can do.”

The church that started without kids now has 20 attending regularly. And through them more people, both young and old are invited.

Your 13th Sabbath offering will help build a children’s center and worship hall in Ljulin, Sofia. The new facility will allow this church to reach out to more people. Let’s pray for our friends in Sofia as they establish meaningful relationships with their community. And thanks for your support of the 13th Sabbath Offering.