Addressing the Masters of Chaplaincy Ministry Program Graduating Class in Bulgaria

The Road Ahead for the Master’s of Chaplaincy Ministry Program (2016-2020)

We are proud to announce that the Master’s of Chaplaincy Ministry Program, we designed and launched in Bulgaria in 2006, has been selected to be part of the Social Service Program of New Bulgarian University. After being for years a valuable part of the regular curriculum of the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute and the St. Trivelius Institute in the capital Sofia, the chaplaincy program has received the highest level of recognition as successful graduates will be finally able to receive government recognized degrees and apply their knowledge and training in chaplaincy on a professional level. The chaplaincy program can also serve within the Integration Proposal of local NATO programs and be instrumental in dealing with the enormous wave of Middle East migrants crossing through Bulgaria today.

In the beginning of the 21^st century in Bulgaria, law and chaplaincy meet on the road to democracy. But before chaplaincy could be legalized completely and endorsed by the state to its full functionality, several changes must be undergone. Some of them are:

1. Legal provision allowing chaplains to work as staff in the army, which guarantees the equal presence of protestant chaplains as well.
2. The approval, acceptance and implementation of a NATO based model for chaplaincy within the structures of the Bulgarian Army.
3. Periodical and systematic educational strategy toward chaplaincy workers among Bulgarian evangelicals.
4. A paradigm for cooperation of Bulgarian chaplains from various ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.
5. Further research publications to enhance the efficiency of chaplaincy within the Bulgarian national context.

Also important [click to read]:

• U.S. Department of State recognizes our chaplaincy efforts in Bulgaria
• Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association: Integration Proposal with Local NATO Programs
• Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association: Vision and Resolution
• Chronology of our role and involvement in developing Church of God chaplaincy in Bulgaria since 2001
• Master’s of Chaplaincy Ministry Program in Bulgaria Reflections
• The Past Decade of Chaplaincy in Bulgaria (2006-2016)
• Related Publications and Presentations by Cup & Cross Ministries International

Church of God Chaplaincy in Bulgaria: In the beginning…

Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association: Celebrating a Decade of Ministry

We are proud to announce that the Master’s of Chaplaincy Ministry Program, we designed and launched in Bulgaria in 2006, has been selected to be part of the Social Service Program of New Bulgarian University. After being for years a valuable part of the regular curriculum of the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute and the St. Trivelius Institute in the capital Sofia, the chaplaincy program has received the highest level of recognition as successful graduates will be finally able to receive government recognized degrees and apply their knowledge and training in chaplaincy on a professional level. The chaplaincy program can also serve within the Integration Proposal of local NATO programs and be instrumental in dealing with the enormous wave of Middle East migrants crossing through Bulgaria today.

But let us backup just a moment and start from the very beginning. In the summer of 1995, while pioneering the first Bulgarian church in the Chicago Metro, the local Church of God state office offered a civil chaplaincy training course for beginners. Unfortunately, due to our heavy church schedule, the chance to attend was low and virtually unobtainable. It was not until five years later that our interest in the field was finally rewarded, as in the summer of 2000 both my wife-to-be and I completed the required course work for chaplaincy accreditation, followed by an intense module at the Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, where essentially the whole idea for the resurrection of chaplaincy ministry in Bulgaria was born.

Today, our Master’s of Chaplaincy Ministry Program has produced a number of graduates who are serving in various chaplaincy positions and civil services in Bulgaria. Please continue to pray for all our named and unnamed chaplains on mission. (Click here to read more)

Also important [click to read]:

• U.S. Department of State recognizes our chaplaincy efforts in Bulgaria
• Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association: Integration Proposal with Local NATO Programs
• Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association: Vision and Resolution
• Chronology of our role and involvement in developing Church of God chaplaincy in Bulgaria since 2001
• Master’s of Chaplaincy Ministry Program in Bulgaria Reflections
• The Past Decade of Chaplaincy in Bulgaria (2006-2016)
• Related Publications and Presentations by Cup & Cross Ministries International

Sunday School program from the Declaration of Faith for the Bulgarian Church of God

Sunday School program from the Declaration of Faith for the Bulgarian Church of God 

The Sunday School program for the Bulgarian Church of God was envisioned at the end of 2000. Because of the lack of continuity with Sunday School programs taught in the time before the communist Regime and general unavailability for translated curriculum, we created the program from scratch as follows:

2001 Taught first series at the Capital Church of God in Sofia

2002 Presented the newly published Sunday School to the General Presbyters Council of the Bulgarian Church of God

2003 Taught complete Sunday School series at Church of God in Pravetz Bulgaria

2005-2007 Over 40,000 copies of the Sunday School program were printed and distributed among the Church of God congregations

2009 Taught the Sunday School series in a regional meeing of presybuters from the Church of God of Prophecy in Ruse, Bulgaria

2010 Taught the Sunday School series in the Church of God in Ruse, Bulgaria

2011 Taught all 14 modules of the Sunday School series in the Church of God in Gabrovo, Bulgaria

2012 Published the 2nd edition of the Sunday School Program as Bible Studies on the Church of God Declaration of Faith

2013 Taught the modules of the program via the Mobile Bible School

Masters in Chaplaincy Program in Bulgaria Continues

Just this past week our students of the first Masters in Chaplaincy Program in Bulgaria finished their classes of the Theology Module. This is the second of three sets of courses designed to equip active chaplains in Bulgaria for a new level of ministry in the armed forces, medical establishments and correctional institutions. The theology module incorporated various subjects from several schools of thought giving the students a solid theological background on a master’s seminary level for their future ministry. We are now ready to approach the last of the three modules, which deals with clinical psychology and Christian counseling, which will involve the students in a set of research assignments and practicum curriculum contributing directly to the writing and defense of their masters’ thesis prior to graduation from the chaplaincy program. Selected thesis will be published by the university’s press as a new volume in their innovative series and turned to NATO’s research foundation as a proposal to consider chaplaincy within the Bulgarian Army, which still remains the only armed force within the Alliance’ structure which does not implement chaplaincy into their missions.