Creating Web Identity for Ministry
For the past 20 years, our team has envisioned and created web communities around the globe, as a part of our ministry and in helping churches and Christian organizations build their internet brand and web identity. Here are just several examples:
- Missionary video sharing website (WorldMissions.TV)
- Social network community for the Church of God (ourCOG.org)
- Networking platform for Biker Churches (BikerChurch.US)
- Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God in Chicago (BGnewLIFE.com)
- LaFrance Church of God (LaFranceCOG.com)
- Bulgarian Christian Church in Las Vegas (LasVegasChurch.TV)
Furthermore, we have contributed to various churches and organizations through:
- Hosting our annual X Event for youth exploring the role of internet for youth and youth ministries in the 21st century
- Lecturing on WebMinistry 2.0 for Churches at the Leadership Development Institute
- Guest speaking at the BibleTech conference organized by Logos Bible Software
- Publications on web branding for churches and non-profit organizations
In the country of Bulgaria alone, our team envisioned and created the largest Bible internet community with:
- Dedicated Bible Study website (Bibliata.com)
- Christian video sharing community (Bibliata.TV)
- Bulgarian Christian social network (Bibliata.net)
- Bulgarian Video Bible (Bibliata.mobi)
See also how we help churches grow through:
School Project in India
We write this report only to give thanks for what God is doing through faithful servants. For over a decade now Cup and Cross Ministries has worked closely with the efforts of the Bulgarian Missionary Network (BMN) and over the last several years its founder has been tirelessly promoting a project to build a school in India. The Lord led us to partner with this project on a personal level and we are thankful to see the results of the many hours of travel and hard labor which has been invested.
Consulting and Coaching
Empowered by the vision for a continuous revival within the church of the 21st century, we have chosen to make the mission of our work this one statement: We help churches grow.
One of the approaches we have taken to accomplish this ministry goal is Consulting and Coaching:
- We have successfully worked with over 50 churches toward their effective missions programs and growth through (1) leadership training and team building seminars, (2) in-depth case study of church and ministry evaluations and (3) implementing individually designed strategies for ministry development
- Currently, our team provides continuous education to over 200 church leaders and ministry teams around the world through teaching and lecturing on a weekly basis along with daily prayer support
- We extend our efforts toward church growth by helping build strong family connections through relations counseling and parenting classes implementing play therapy as Board Certified LPC
Beside personal presence and team building strategies, we implement the media in virtually every approach of ministry. We have published several research monographs as well as film series about our ministry work. Our team holds a weekly TV program called the Bible Hour. (Learn how we help churches build their own and unique web presence)
See also how we help churches grow through:
Research and Teaching
May 1, 2012 by Cup&Cross
Filed under Featured, Media, News, Publication, Research, Video, What we do
Empowered by the vision for a continuous revival within the church of the 21st century, we have chosen to make the mission of our work this one statement: We help churches grow.
One of the approaches we have taken to accomplish this ministry goal is Research and Teaching:
- Our historical research through the years has examined the archives of leading Pentecostal movements like the Church of God and Assemblies of God, British and Foreign Bible Society Archives at Cambridge University, Harvard University Archives, Southern Baptist Historical Archives, Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley, as well as various original Bulgarian and Russian sources
- In the area of chaplaincy we have worked with various government agencies, US Army commanders, NATO chaplains and Special Forces representatives in establishing the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association comprising over 100 active Bulgaria chaplains and founding the first ever Masters’ in Chaplaincy Ministry Program in Europe
Beside personal presence and team building strategies, we implement the media in virtually every approach of ministry. We have published several research monographs as well as film series about our ministry work. Our team holds a weekly TV program called the Bible Hour. (Learn how we help churches build their own and unique web presence)
See also how we help churches grow through:
Evangelism and World Missions
Empowered by the vision for a continuous revival within the church of the 21st century, we have chosen to make the mission of our work this one statement: We help churches grow.
One of the approaches we have taken to accomplish this ministry goal is Evangelism and World Missions:
- We have ministered for over 30 years now on three continents, 25 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico (Map of our global ministry)
- We have spent seven consecutive years in missionary work in Bulgaria ministering to over 300 local congregations (Map of our ministry in Bulgaria)
- Since 1990, we have helped in the planting and team training of over 25 churches in Bulgaria as well as the Bulgarian congregations in Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Atlanta, London, Spain, Cyprus and Palma de Mallorca
Beside personal presence and team building strategies, we implement the media in virtually every approach of ministry. We have published several research monographs as well as film series about our ministry work. Our team holds a weekly TV program called the Bible Hour. (Learn how we help churches build their own and unique web presence)
See also how we help churches grow through:
Bulgarian Video Bible Project Launched for Easter
50% of the Video Bible is already recorded. See it at http://bibliata.mobi/
For several years now, our team has been working on a brand new project featuring unconventional technology, which combines social media and the message of the Bible. We call it simply VIDEO BIBLE – a complete video recording of the Bible text through reading, expository preaching, drama, congregational reading, visual arts and many other ways of incorporating the Bible with modern media. It is easier to use compared to the common reading and listing of text.
How does it work?
The introduction of this unconventional media model to the social networks is much more appealing and user friendly than texting the Bible or broadcasting it as an audio stream. But even more powerful than the message itself, is its effect on the people as the church comes together in a community of faith to fulfill the Biblical commandment for reading and living the Book. This internet ecosystem is truly Bible based and everyone can see it on the recorded videos.
Where do we stand?
Over 250 people, youth groups, whole churches and ministries have participated in the project until this point. Over 50% of the Biblical text has been recorded and published via our video sharing stream at http://bibliata.tv and this number is increasing daily. Every recorded and broadcasted chapter of the Bible brings new participants to the community thus exponentially increasing the effect of the project.
What’s next?
The completion of the Bulgarian version of the Video Bible is set by the end of 2012, when our team will introduce the API for other languages and Bible versions. The idea is to create a global community of believers who introduce the message of the Bible in a user friendly video format, thus making it available to anyone who wants to read through the Bible. And something more – through its unique technology, mobile capabilities and social networking, the Video Bible is a genuine evangelism tool that could be used by anyone.
Walter Brueggemann: Christianity & Culture
Bulgarian Churches in North America
Bulgarian Churches in North America results from a comprehensive dissertation work on emerging Bulgarian American congregations. The book incorporates some twenty years of research, which the author began while involved with the establishment of the first Bulgarian Church of God in North America initially located in the city of Chicago. The work presents an overview of the historical presuppositions and immigrant dynamics associated with Bulgarian churches is offered to enlighten the current problem of ministry. Next, a detailed contextual analysis describes the churches participating in the project. The project model design explains the research methodology and the study’s findings, which provide the first ever statistical overview of Bulgarian American congregations. The work concludes with a series of prognoses of the explored movement of evangelical churches, various considerations and an A-to-Z church planting proposal to serve as a paradigm for ministry and church planting among Bulgarian immigrant communities in North America.
Increase of Religious Non-Identifiers in America
There is a documented and marked decline since 1990 in the number of Americans espousing a religious identity, from less than one-tenth of the public to nearly one in every six adults today. Far from being randomly distributed in the population, the data portray non-identifiers as more likely than those expressing a religious affiliation to be young, male, living in the West and New England, moderate-to-liberal politically, and unmarried.
A lingering question for this research is whether the decline in psychological affiliation with any church or denominational organization will persist, level off, or reverse course. Will the decline in religious identification observed in this research continue or prove to be a temporary phenomenon?
If the question is meant to refer to the traditional, established churches and faith systems that have been with us for some time, the answer is very likely to be yes, it is likely to continue. But if we expand the concept of “religion” to include the increasingly popular forms such as New Age religions, EasternWestern blends, multi-stranded hybrids, the “small-group movement,” pseudo-scientific spiritual formulations, and other types, then maybe no.
This study is an excerpt from the larger report on The Decline of Religious Identity in the United States by Sid Groeneman & Gary Tobin published in 2004 via the Institute for Jewish & Community Research (http://jewishresearch.or)
