About
About Pavel
This book is less about its author than about the church: the ordinary, gathered people of God who show up, pray, listen, and remind the suffering that they are not alone.
Pavel Bugriyev is the son of Nickolay Bugriyev, a church planter whose work included Magadan, Russia. The local church, with its worship, prayer, and people who show up for one another, is the heart of what Pavel writes about.
He studied for the ministry at Westminster Theological Seminary, earning his Master of Divinity in 2018, and began serving as youth pastor at Hilltown Baptist Church in January of that year. He later completed a PhD in Developmental Psychology at Liberty University in 2026. His research asked whether the way people take part in church (in person, online, or not at all) relates to their stress, hope, sense of meaning, and support after the pandemic.
Back to Church, Back to Hope brings those two callings together. It is written in plain language for tired believers, cautious returners, pastors, and counselors, and it holds Scripture and careful research side by side without overclaiming either.
Pavel lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Natalie, and their three children.