Published in Light For The Peoples - February 2007, nr 2 -

“To preach Gods Word to hungry stomachs isn’t an easy task, even if we do it on a daily basis.”

Sasjo Angelov, prior gang leader, now runs the world’s largest Turkish assembly. His comprehensive work in Pazardzik and
Bulgaria is truly impressive. But the resistance is hard.When he recently visited his daughter and son-in-law, who lives in Sweden, he told about how Taliban’s tried to murder him.

Thirty Taliban Muslims tried to kill you. What did you and your assembly experience through that?

- The Muslims forbid everyone to preach Gods Word in our town before the attack in July 2005. The fear amongst the local churches that were spread by the Muslims came to such extent that no one dared to hold meetings. But in our church, things kept on as usual.

- Christian leaders from the city gathered in our assembly and I informed that I didn’t intend to let the Muslims frighten me. I said that we must keep on preaching Gods Word and gather courage.

- And on my way home from the church that evening, me and my son was attacked by approximately 30 Taliban’s armed with iron bars. The only thing I could recall was hearing the words: “Kill the pastor, kill the pastor!”. God approached and in a miraculous way helped us to not get conquered despite of the attackers had us outnumbered and armed. I were brought abundant bleeding to the hospital and had to sew quite a lot of stitches.

- After the attack there was great fear among Christians in town. They thought I was going to die and the whole church prayed and fasted for me.

- That evening I preached that we must be content even in persecution, because Jesus said that when we get beaten for his sake, we will be blessed. And if God decides that we shall live, then no one can prevent us. The fear was washed away with intrepidness after the meeting and several were brought to faith.

- The Muslims in town has experienced that they can not dechristianize the town with violence; instead they have now come to use compassion. Food and clothes are brought to the poor from the
Middle East. They have started activities for children and teenagers, for instance with computer halls. They teach Islam and learn them to hate Christians.

- Light For The Peoples has has after all these years helped our assembly with food provision for poor, and I’m utterly grateful for that. And we’re also wholly grateful for the timber for heating and school supplies for kids and teenagers. Many has found their faith with these years work.

- Now many poor go to the mosque for help. But there they get nothing from God, that our church can provide them with: Gods living Word.

How does the assembly work function in Bulgaria?
- It works well, but it requires a lot of work. It isn’t always easy to work among poor people. It is hard to se all who lifts their hands and thanks God, and in the mean time don’t any food for the day. When I travel about our daughter organizations I see great love, faith and rejoice in having God in their hearts.

- But I come to suffer when I see how they live, how they hunger, pastors that don’t have anything and is forced to move abroad to work. But I simultaneously thank God for the revival that he has graced us with. We have church service everyday and everyday God does astonishing things.

- Our mother organization in the town of Pazardzik has just about 600 members today. As a result of our manifestation in assemblies outside Pazardzik we now have about 60 daughter organizations with about 40 – 160 members in each.

What visions does the assembly have?
- Today there is approximately 33’000 Turks in Pazardzik. Out of 30’000 active muslims, more or less, there are about 1000 fundamentalist Talibans. Our goal and vision is that every Turk in the city becomes Christian. We reach outside Pazardzik through our daughter organizations as well.

- The assembly has a great ambition in reaching Turkey where we hope to plant as many organizations as possible. Our missioners have visited the country several times, when they’ve had the resources. The country is open, as long as you work in the right way.

- We ourselves are Turks, born in a Turkish culture, and we think it is obvious to preach the Word of Jesus to this previously not reached population of 70 million people.

- To work with these far-retched plans we have dream of creating resources for a bigger centre in the city of Pazardzik. A centre with the possibility for big meetings and leader training once a week. A centre that can help the poor in the city with every need a human being has: love, food, clothes, education, care, accommodation and help to self-help. To preach Gods Word to hungry stomachs isn’t an easy task, even if we do it on a daily basis.

- The goal is to build a strong ground for and lasting and cumulative revival that reaches the entire Turkish community.

A usual day in the world’s largest Turkish assembly.
They have meetings every day, Monday to Sunday.

The gather for prayer starts at 7.30 AM.
At 1 PM. they have food service, with the support from Light For The Peoples, for the most needing.
At 4 PM there is a meeting for children and teenagers.
At 7 PM there is evening worship.
At 9 PM they gather the assembly for education, mainly from the Book of Revelation.

There is also a frequent gathering in the homes for prayer and fellowship. The assembly’s goal is also to gather for big meetings with the whole network once a week, and for pastor seminars and leader training. Every day there is always someone who fasts. Once a week all the pastors gather up to give their rapports and pray for the work in their respective daughter assembly.