Stevcho Shamanov is a pastor in Slovakia.
When did you trust Christ?
I grew up in a traditional Methodist church, in which, later on, through old hymns, I got to know Christ personally as my Lord and Saviour. After two years of praying in my church for young people to come and be saved, God answered this prayer and 50 young people were the result. Later, I had a chance to go and live in the UK. There, I received my strong call to go back and study theology in Croatia, so I went back to Macedonia and went to Croatia, where I finished my bachelor’s in theology.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
The principal people who led me to know God were my mother and one pastor in Macedonia. I am forever grateful to my mom for she was my hero of the faith, taking me to visit people in hospitals and their homes while we were praying for them. Our main opposition was within our home—my grandmother locked us out of our house. She wanted us to stop, but we didn't give up, and God rewarded us.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
I will gain new experience and contacts to share experiences in doing practical ministry among unbelievers. I heard ELF is a good platform for networking with other leaders who share the vision of reaching people for Christ.
For the YRM, I live in Nove Zamky and serve in Hurbanovo, where 80% of the people are Roman Catholic. So I think it will help me when I approach them to witness to them to know their context of belief better. When I have more knowledge of their religion, I can not only explain the differences better, but it will also help me to reach them better for Christ.
What is your ministry?
I am a pastor, but I am also involved with the Ambassadors Football Ministry. It is about sharing faith through sport. I am a leader in one city where we play regularly with unbelievers, and I share short messages from the Bible there. I have been on mission trips with a team from Slovakia to Macedonia, where we preached the Gospel, sang songs, did drama, and did many other stuff on the streets.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
For twelve years, I was involved in youth work in my church. I finished my bachelor’s in theology at Croatia Osijek. I also took a master's online program in theology from John Knox University in the USA, for which I took many credits. However, since I was involved in a secular job before, I put a pause on it and haven't finished yet. I have led a small Baptist church as a pastor in Hurbanovo for the past 3.5 years.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
I have a calling in my life, so I was willing to leave my career in England, return to my home country, and then study theology. Many people in the past also God used them for sponsoring my studies, even anonymous people whom I don't know, so basically, all my life has been a journey of living by faith, not only speaking about walking in faith but practically learning to live by that and God has been glorified in my life all these years.
