How do you plant a church among people who no longer trust religion? This question was at the center of the Church Planting Conference organized by the Inter-European Division (EUD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from October 26 to 29, 2026.
Over four days, 150 participants—members of the EUD Executive Committee, mission specialists from the General Conference, and church planters from across Europe—explored how to share the gospel with secular, post-Christian, and spiritually curious people, and how to grow new communities of faith among them.
The conference was organized by the EUD Adventist Mission office. Florian Ristea, Adventist Mission director at the EUD, coordinated the event.
A mission field close to home
The EUD, headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, covers 20 countries in Central, Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe, with a population of nearly 340 million. About 180,000 members attend 2,532 churches and 602 companies across the territory.
In a region where secularization is advanced and many congregations are aging, planting new churches that connect with today’s people has become a strategic priority. Ristea explained the purpose of the gathering in a Tuesday plenary titled “Why a Conference on Church Planting?” On Thursday, he closed the program with “What’s Next?”, pointing participants toward the practical steps that should follow.
Speakers from the world church
The conference opened on Monday evening with a welcome from Barna Magyarosi, EUD president, and Ristea. Gary Krause, director of Adventist Mission at the General Conference, gave the opening keynote, “Planting the Future.” He returned on Thursday with “Seeking the Shalom”.
Bledi Leno, director of the Center for Secular and Postmodern Mission (CSPM), took participants “Inside the Secular Mind” and spoke on conversion without a Christian background. Jonathan Contero, CSPM associate director, presented “Theology and Missiology for a Secular Age” and “From Curiosity to Community: Designing a Secular Pathway to Faith”. On Thursday, the two spoke together on “Beyond Imported Models: Building a European Church-Planting Movement”.
Leno also focused on communicating the gospel to people who distrust religion, and on moving people “From Clicks to Community.”
Petras Bahadur, director of the Global Center for Adventist-Muslim Relations (GCAMR), addressed secularization, identity, and spiritual search among Europeans of Muslim heritage. He also spoke on trust, hospitality, and house-church pathways among secular Muslims in Europe.
Wayne Krause, Adventist Mission director for the South Pacific Division, presented “Belonging Before Believing: Relationships and Pathways to Faith”, as well as a session on disciple-making before and after conversion. László Szabó, a missiologist and former church planter, challenged participants to move “From Declining Presence to Growing Influence” and “Beyond the Project Mindset”.
Learning from local church plants
Alongside the plenary sessions, participants rotated through small-group workshops led by three church planters working in Europe today.
Pavel Eder of SafePoint Church in Prague, Czech Republic, showed how digital evangelism can become a pathway to church planting, moving people “From Online to Disciple” and then “From Disciple to Community.”
Vladimir Krumov of VIVO Church in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, shared how the church plant built a “dream team for the Kingdom” and developed an action plan for growth.
Samuel Cunha of AWAKE Church in Lausanne, Switzerland, spoke about being a church in a multigenerational world and rethinking church for Generation Z.
Each workshop was repeated, so every participant could learn from all three church plants.
Dialogue, worship, and OneVoice27
Question-and-answer sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday addressed questions sent in advance to the speakers. A panel discussion with all guest speakers on Thursday afternoon brought the main themes together. On Wednesday evening, the EUD presented OneVoice27, the global initiative preparing church members to share the gospel in their communities as the Church looks toward 2027.
Each day began with worship. Morning devotionals were led by the division’s officers: Magyarosi, EUD president, on Tuesday; Ruben de Abreu, EUD secretary, on Wednesday; and Norbert Zens, EUD treasurer, on Thursday. Magyarosi closed the conference on Thursday evening.
By combining global mission research with the experience of local church planters, the organizers hope participants left Plovdiv not only inspired but equipped to start new communities of faith that can reach people who might never walk into a traditional church.
