What we do
Train the men. Strengthen the church. Send them out.
BGP supports Balkan pastoral internships and church-planting initiatives in all phases — reading, writing, mentoring, funding and staying.
Pillar one
Pastoral Development
Why? Because most churches in MNE and BiH are led by foreign missionaries, and raising national elders is crucial for continuity.
We support Balkan individuals who aspire to pastor and plant — not by pulling them out of their churches for training elsewhere, but by supporting their development inside the congregations they will one day lead. Pastors are not meant to lead alone.
Pillar two
Church Planting
Why? Because most established churches in the Balkans have not reproduced, even after 25+ years of existence.
BGP believes the Great Commission is best accomplished through the strengthening and planting of healthy local churches. We partner with Balkan churches that share this vision and desire to reproduce through planting.
Pillar three
Missionary Support
Why? Because many cities, towns, and villages in the Balkans remain unreached without gospel witnesses to faithfully herald the Kingdom of Christ.
Unreached places are dependent on qualified gospel laborers to enter, make disciples, train leaders and encourage self-sustainability in new Balkan churches. BGP supports church-centered missionaries who share this vision.
Ministry activity structure
Pastoral training, one book at a time.
The base curriculum is the 9Marks Building Healthy Churches series — a biblical-theological framework for healthy ecclesiology, paired with practical implementation in the intern's own church.
Read
One IX translated book per month covering core biblical elements of healthy local church life.
Write
A two- to three-page reflection paper: what did you learn, and how would you implement it in your church?
Discuss
A conversation with the local pastor and BGP, or partnering pastor — every month, without exception.
Books & assignments examples
Church Membership
Why meaningful membership and congregational authority matter biblically — create or adopt a church covenant for a current or future congregation.
Expositional Preaching
Why expositional preaching helps a congregation grow — build a six-month preaching schedule and explain why those books were chosen for the church's season.
Church Elders
Why a plurality of elders is a biblical healthy leadership structure — create an elders' meeting template that addresses spiritual care and congregational direction.
Deacons
The role of deacons and its importance in the Balkan church context — list potential deacons for the church and evaluate biblical readiness.
Discipling
How the local church plays a key role in discipling its members — choose a member to disciple and share the implementation plan.
The Path to Being a Pastor
Why you aspire to be an elder or pastor — list the areas of character or competence you want to grow in to be qualified.
Beyond the curriculum
Seminars, intensives and field support.
Seminar Training
BGP plans to provide occasional 2-3-day seminars, offering all Balkan interns, pastors, and lay-leaders opportunities to gather, learn, and train together. Example: Expositional Preaching cohort designed to provide hermeneutic principles and practical tools for Bible teaching, led by partnering Pillar pastors.
International Intensives
BGP funds airfare + visa costs for Balkan pastors and interns to attend international pastoral intensives with 9Marks and TGC Europe, then supports the implementation of what was learned back in the Balkan context.
Missionary Field Support
Financial support paired with Balkan field integration — helping missionaries with local church connections, visa access, ministry integration and ongoing care.
Key network partners
We do not do this alone.
BGP connects local churches and ministries with the means to strengthen and support Balkan church plants, interns and planters — working through established networks rather than duplicating them.
Pillar Network
Connects local churches with means to encourage and support Balkan church plants, interns and planters.
9Marks
Provides resources centered on healthy ecclesiology. BGP promotes translation of new materials into Balkan languages, and sponsors International Intensive participation.
TGC Europe
Working with existing evangelical networks to encourage broader cooperation in strengthening Balkan churches.
Projekat Timotej
A like-minded Balkan ministry translating gospel-centered resources for pastoral training.
Christ-Centered & Clear
A ministry aimed at equipping pastors for faithful expository preaching and teaching.
Support the training
Books, stipends, seminars, airfare.
Every category of BGP giving exists to put a trained, qualified pastor in front of a Balkan congregation — and then to step back.