Deyan Lazarov works as a Program Manager advocating on behalf of organizations with the European Union (EU) and leads his church's prayer team in Belgium.
When did you trust Christ?
I grew up in an evangelical family in Sofia, Bulgaria, and have been going to church from a young age. My faith in Christ grew gradually as I was exposed to the Word at church and through fellowship with believers. In my late teens, I prayed a prayer of repentance with a friend and experienced God's presence very powerfully and tangibly. I was baptised two months later. Since that prayer, I have taken ownership of my faith in Jesus and become serious about it. God changed my very shy nature into a more curious one, a love for people, and a desire to be among believers more. I started going to youth groups at church, reading my Bible more, and both feeling and seeing the Holy Spirit guide my life, especially as I moved abroad for university.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
A couple of years ago, at a Students for Christ annual conference, I felt the presence of God when I prayed. He began stirring in me a desire to see spiritual revival in my church in Brussels, and I was thinking about what I could do to help. Soon after, I was encouraged to attend another conference, this time as a volunteer on the prayer team. I didn’t know if I would do well and if I was skilled enough. Yet I decided to say yes, and the first person God gave me to pray for was tremendously touched and spoken to by God, which encouraged me that God can use me in prayer for others. Back home, I suggested creating a prayer team at my church, which quickly found favour with the pastors. I now lead the prayer team in my church. God is good. I strongly believe He gave me the desire to see a fire for Christ light up in individuals receiving prayer and gifted me and called me to pray and intercede for others.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
I heard about the Forum through a friend. I am passionate about reaching the lost in my area of work: EU politics and policymaking. My job involves supporting organisations and companies in their advocacy efforts towards the EU. To that end, I often have to engage with EU institutions or national-level policymakers, and an important component in that is relationship-building. As relationships deepen, I would like to be better equipped to share my faith with both colleagues and policymakers and bring Jesus into the conversation. The Forum could help me learn about the balance of knowing when it is appropriate to discuss societal and political issues with a coworker and when it is appropriate to stop the topical debate and lead the conversation towards Christ. I would also like to learn from Christians in politics or involved in policymaking about how they’ve handled situations and people the way Christ would, and how their faith has led them to make a particular decision at work.
What is your ministry?
I lead and serve on my church’s prayer team, where volunteers are available to pray for people during and after the Sunday service. I am passionate about seeing God ignite a fire in people through prayer, working in their hearts, meeting their needs, speaking to them directly, setting them free, and calling them to live for Him. I also organise trainings for the prayer team so the team can be well-equipped and confident in how to pray.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
As a university student, I was a student leader with IFES / Intervarsity in Berlin, bringing the Gospel to non-Christian students through an engaging weekly discussion format. I’ve also been a small group leader for English-speaking students with Students for Christ in Brussels. At my church in Brussels, I used to lead our welcome team ministry, and now I lead our church’s prayer team.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
I am passionate about seeing people in EU politics get a glimpse of heaven on earth and turn to Jesus. I am eager for people to receive prayer as a way to connect with God, who can work miracles in their hearts and bring them closer to Himself. I also want to see believers grow in their faith through intentional and regular discipleship, especially one-to-one discipleship. I see the Forum as a way to encourage me and equip me to do all these things better, and open my eyes to perspectives or ideas I am not currently thinking about.
