Across the Connection: Bulgaria and MidTexas Partnership Strengthens Global Community

Across continents and oceans, and amidst time zones and language barriers, the Bulgaria and MidTexas annual conferences live out global community through a connectional partnership. What began as financial support developed into a covenant relationship founded on Christ, reciprocal support and a common mission to spread the Gospel throughout the world.

The first annual conference to join the Global Methodist Church, the Bulgaria Annual Conference left behind the familiarity and security of the United Methodist Church in 2022 to join the fledgling denomination. 

“We moved as a package,” said the Rev. Daniel Topalski, Bulgaria conference superintendent. “We had the same people, same churches, same leaders, same district. All the people are the same, and for us it was very difficult to understand that we are not the same church anymore.”

According to Topalski, Methodist churches in Bulgaria were financially dependent on other entities for nearly two centuries. With a history of financial dependency in the 1800s from the Methodist Episcopal Church, to receiving support following the communist regime, reliable plans to establish financial autonomy were never made.

When Bulgaria churches unanimously left the United Methodist Church, the pressure of financial sustainability began to build.

That’s where MidTexas comes in. In 2023, Bishop Emerita Leah Gregory, MidTexas conference superintendent, and Topalski served on the Global Methodist Transitional Leadership Council together and discussed what an international partnership between the Bulgaria and MidTexas annual conferences could look like. 

“When Bulgarian churches joined the Global Methodist Church, they lost nearly 70% of their previous financial support,” said Gregory. “The partnership with MidTexas helped provide stability as the Bulgarian churches worked toward greater financial sustainability.”

The partnership began with an annual $120,000 commitment from MidTexas to Bulgaria which reduces every year over a five-year term of covenant. By year five, the annual commitment will be $24,000. The partnership is funded outside of connectional giving. Each MidTexas district voluntarily raises a set amount, strengthening the districts as they work together to meet the annual need. The funds support Bulgarian pastors who lost a significant percentage of their salaries, but the partnership quickly blossomed into meaningful personal relationships and shared ministry.

Each of the 24 congregations in Bulgaria is paired with one of MidTexas’s 23 covenant district areas. According to Gregory, the annual conferences have met for five exchange trips since the start of the partnership, with Bulgaria members visiting the United States and vice versa. In April of 2026, clergy and laity from the MidTexas Annual Conference visited Bulgaria, joined by representatives from the Mexico Annual Conference and ecumenical partners from Costa Rica.

“It is not just a financial portion of regular connectional giving that goes to a partner,” said Dave Roberson, a lay member in the MidTexas Annual Conference who visited Bulgaria in April. “It is a personal relationship. When the local church develops a relationship with a connectional partner, the bond is stronger than if the connection is only at the conference level.” 

Early in the partnership, Topalski visited the MidTexas Annual Awakening conference and spoke at the first laity gathering. After the conference, Roberson took Bulgarian pastors to several churches to connect with MidTexas laity and share about the Global Methodist Church presence in Bulgaria.

“Although MidTexas is significantly larger, we have intentionally structured this as a partnership of equals in ministry,” Gregory said. “The strength of a church is not measured simply by its size or financial resources. We have much to learn from the faithfulness, perseverance, and spiritual vitality of our Bulgarian brothers and sisters.”

Through video calls and WhatsApp messages, members of both conferences keep in touch between visits, sharing photos of their ministries and praying for one another. Bulgarian pastors use Zoom to attend to weekly MidTexas class meetings for meaningful conversations and accountability. 

“We utilize the technology to really learn about each other’s families and histories, learn each other's faith stories and walk together in partnership,” said the Rev. Ryan Barnett, MidTexas operational officer. 

Barnett added that some members in the annual conferences are working on ways to conduct joint international Bible studies. “These things are all driving the relational nature of our international partnerships and we are learning from each other.”

In addition to supporting one another in prayer and communication, the annual conferences participate in leadership development and trainings focused on stewardship, discipleship, prayer and evangelism. During the trainings, no one annual conference leads—attendees share best practices, drawing on experience and expertise from both sides of the world.

The strong personal relationships serve as a foundation when hardships and challenges arise. During a visit to the United States, the Rev. Margarita Todorova, pastor of Sevlievo Global Methodist Church in Bulgaria, visited a partner church in Texas led by the Rev. David Medley. This connection with an American church would later make an impact on Todorova’s community.

In March of 2026, Sevlievo was hit by flooding and Medley’s church sprang into action. “[Medley] not only prayed for us, but alerted the bishop and the MidTexas Annual Conference about the situation,” Todorova said.

Because of this connection, the Bulgaria Annual Conference received $15,000 from MidTexas to help flood victims in Sevlievo and Turnovo, aiding eight families in desperate need of support.

Likewise, in July of 2025, MidTexas experienced massive floods throughout the Texas Hill Country. The Bulgaria Annual Conference responded and raised more than $5,000 to help their brothers and sisters in Texas. “Not a big amount by American standards, a significant amount for us,” said Topalski. The Bulgaria Annual Conference raised an additional $5,000 to support a partnership in Rwanda. These offerings were collected in empty two-liter soda bottles at the end of local church services.

“A partnership is important because it truly makes you understand and feel that you are not alone in this world and you have a partner to support you in everything you do,” Todorova said. “When one falls, the other will lift him up, just as it is said in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.”

Looking ahead to 2027, the annual conferences are planning for two additional exchange visits. In February, a delegation of three Bulgarian representatives will visit MidTexas for the next Annual Awakening conference. In May, an American delegation of 15 pastors and a choir will accompany Gregory on a visit to Bulgaria. In addition, volunteers from MidTexas will partner with pastors in Bulgaria for a youth camp weekend.

While nurturing the reciprocal relationship through fellowship and training, the annual conferences will focus on what’s next for the partnership—planting more Bulgarian churches.

“Following decades of persecution, only three Methodist congregations remained in Bulgaria by 1989. Today, there are 24. We want to encourage their continued growth and witness,” Gregory said.



Several congregations have already become self-supporting, and the annual conferences celebrate that progress.

“For a very long time, we were accustomed to think that we are so small and we cannot bring to the table anything meaningful,” Topalski reflected. “MidTexas and our participation in the Global Methodist Church help us to think differently about that. We believe now that despite our size, we also can bring a significant contribution to the table.”

The partnership between Bulgaria and MidTexas is a prime example of what it means to be part of a global church. Despite cultural differences, language barriers and financial situations, the love of Christ binds the Church together and motivates members to serve across borders and oceans. Global Methodists belong to one another. 

“We are blessed by this partnership,” Gregory said, “not just from an exchange of resources, but by being able to walk side by side in seeking to grow closer to God so that we can make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness across the globe.”