Build A Church In Bulgaria

Welcome to the website for 'Build a Church in Bulgaria."  We are the youth of the First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Our theme for 2005-06 was "Finding God in Unexpected Places."  One of the unexpected places we found and experienced God was in Bulgaria.  In June of 2006, thirty-six high school juniors and seniors and seven adults traveled to Bulgaria for two weeks.

"Why Bulgaria?" a customs official asked.  For the past four years, youth offerings have been supporting a 'Feeding Program' for disadvantaged children and youth in Yambol, Bulgaria.  We send our youth offerings through World Methodist Evangelism to support this outreach ministry begun by the Yambol Methodist congregation to orphans and street children.

An invitation from Svilen, the pastor of the Yambol congregation, resulted in this summer trip to connect with the congregation and volunteer with the children we were feeding.  Music, games, drama, crafts and sports became tools for crossing language and cultural barriers.  We spent one week in Yambol, volunteering at the school where the 'Feeding Program' takes place.  We enjoyed the hospitality of the Yambol congregation.

This growing congregation of Methodist Christians meets in a small rented room.  Forty or more persons crowd into this room each week for worship. We joined them at their building site which was recently purchased by the Bulgarian Methodist Church.  While singing and praying at the site, their dream for a church building became our dream.

We were challenged by this loving congregation.  Although they are of very limited means themselves, they reach out to 'the least of these'...hungry orphans and street children.  To build a church in Bulgaria currently costs around $40,000 USD. What a bargain to us and what an impossible dream for them!  They don't have the means to raise this money- but we do.  We wanted to do more than just feed the children.  We, the youth, decided to raise the $40,000 in one year to build a Methodist Church in Yambol.  There is an urgency to our task, as Bulgaria enters the EU in early 2007 and costs will slowly rise.

Please browse the site to learn more about this project. Please consider being part of this project.  Our theme for this year is "Ann Arbor FUMC Youth: We're Not Waiting for The World to Change!"  We want to change the world.  We hope to change the world of street children and orphans in Yambol, Bulgaria, brick by brick.

Thank you.

This is the building site that the Bulgarian Methodist Church bought for the Yambol congregation.

The Dobrich, Bulgaria Church is a prototype for other Bulgarian Methodist Churches.

The money we are raising will build a church similiar to this one 

To give to our cause please send donations to:
First United Methodist Church
Build A Church In Bulgaria
120 S. State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Checks should be made payable to: FUMC with Bulgaria in the memo line.

All donations are tax deductable.