Bulgarian Christian
Student Union

This has been an unusual and difficult period for many Christian ministries throughout the world – including BCSU. There are many things that we have done in the past and that we would like to do these days with students that we simply cannot do right now. However, one thing that cannot be stopped by the virus is our one-to-one discipleship meetings!

One of the major goals of BCSU is to help students grow as Christ’s disciples and to help them develop habits and practices that will stay with them throughout their life in order that they will remain His faithful students long after they graduate and leave BCSU. Of course we seek to do this in our small group Bible studies that meet weekly throughout the country. But another significant way that we do this is through one-to-one discipleship groups.

In these times of discipleship we discuss more personally and intimately the joys we are experiencing and the struggles we are facing, we pray for one another, and we set goals together for how we want to grow and what we will do until our next meeting to practice what we are learning. Often in these groups we use resources (like “Practical Discipleship”) or Christian books to help us in our learning process and to give us food for thought and discussion when we come together. Some of these meetings are happening these days in person but also many are happening using platforms like “Zoom” – especially when the discipleship partners live in different cities. Often these discipleship relationships are initiated by BCSU staff with students. But we also desire to see and help students meet with students in order to grow together. Thankfully this is happening more and more in BCSU.

It has been our experience that in these more intimate and personal settings people feel more comfortable to share vulnerably with one another and often experience significant growth in discipleship. It is certainly true what is written in the proverbs: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). We thank God that this ministry continues strong in this time when people more than ever need help in looking to God and persevering in faith.

See what some of the students are saying about these one-to-one discipleship groups:

“These meetings are useful to me because they deepen my understanding of the Bible. I also really appreciate when we prayed for each other” – student in Turnovo

“I am glad that I am participating in the discipleship program. It is very valuable for me to be able to share with a person who is experiencing things alongside of me and that we can support one another, grow together and feel comfortable to share what we think. It is important to be able to be open to the other person and to share with them not only what you are doing, but also the challenges you are facing. In that way, together we can learn how to live for Christ.” – student in Varna

“Thank you for the opportunity for discipleship. Through it I am growing to understand many new things about myself and my relationship with God. The meetings are very pleasant and useful. I began to see things in myself that I had not noticed before and prevented me from coming close to God. These discipleship meetings help me to rediscover my true self and be a better version of myself.” – student in Turnovo