Razgrad, Bulgaria – About 500 people gathered 6 June 2010 in an auditorium for the opening celebration of the new sanctuary for the Razgrad Church of the Nazarene.

The 250-seat church building, which took 12 years to complete, is now the largest auditorium in the city of Razgrad.

A morning formal dedication ceremony preceded a celebratory afternoon session that was filled with music, food, praise and worship.

Leaders of other faith groups attended the opening ceremonies, along with several local and national dignitaries, including the mayor of Razgrad, the chairman of the foreign relations committee of the Bulgarian parliament (who is the only evangelical Christian in parliament), a senator from the capital city of Sofia and all of Razgrad’s evangelical leaders.

“We believe that this was a special day to be able to complete a church building that will truly be a lighthouse for the Gospel in Razgrad and beyond,” said Louie Bustle, the Global Mission director for the Church of the Nazarene. Bustle delivered the message for the morning dedication service. Fifty people from the Blessings Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, Romania, gave a special presentation.

Local young men’s band played music as guests entered the auditorium. During the ceremony, the local city choir sang the Hallelujah Chorus, and the Razgrad Nazarene choir performed several musical pieces. The church also invited a local folklore ensemble to make a presentation.

Gustavo Crocker, the Eurasia Regional director, officiated the dedication ceremony; Jay Sunberg, the strategy coordinator for the Southeastern Europe Field, delivered the final prayer.

Today, the Razgrad church is one of the largest evangelical churches in the northeast of Bulgaria. It has also planted and supports five churches in the surrounding villages. Four lay pastors shepherd these churches, and on the first Sunday of each month the churches gather in the mother church for a celebration.

However, this monthly gathering required a larger facility to house the growth: The original church building in which they met held just 50 people. Their vision was to build a church that could hold 300 people.

At the time, they were less than 30.

In 1998, the Razgrad church started building a larger sanctuary in the center of town. At first they only laid the foundation for the future auditorium, but completed two small rooms on the sides of the property, which each seated 40. The pastor preached in one room and the sermon was televised in the other.

Swilen Simeonov, a lay member at Razgrad, believes that the new sanctuary represents a new beginning for the church.

“Today God sent us three to four new people who were interested in Jesus. So, this gives me hope that this isn’t just a building – it’s a temple of the living God and He is sanctifying it.

According to Ellen Bustle, who visited Razgrad with her husband Louie Bustle, the new sanctuary will enable outreach to many areas of Bulgaria. For instance, the building can house celebration services and training workshops for local leaders; the city will be able use it for events, giving the Church of the Nazarene a new level of respect in the community.

Construction involved Work & Witness teams, Alabaster funds and regional offerings.

“It took us 12 years to build this building,” said Nikolay Kolev, Razgrad pastor. “Now we have the opportunity to move forward and to work for the Kingdom of God in the Razgrad region and from here to impact from Bucharest, Romania, to Varna, Bulgaria. The church in Razgrad is not too big and strong, but we have the mission to establish churches and train and disciple leaders.”

The old building will be used for children’s work and youth projects. The front façade of the new auditorium has intentionally been left unfurnished because the church’s dream is to one day expand the sanctuary.

“Even though this was a celebration for the completion of a construction project, we rejoice because this is actually the beginning of what God will do in the entire northeast of Bulgaria through the Razgrad church,” said Crocker. “This church was able to build a large and beautiful building while at the same time strengthening the local congregation and planting five other churches. This is an amazing example of vision.”