12th Annual Mission Conference in Pahokee, Florida
It is always such a blessing to be able to attend the missions conference at the Good Shepherd Church of God in Pahokee, Florida as this year marked its’ 12th year. A great number of missionaries from South America, Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, as well as from local organizations attend the conference regularly, which makes not only a valuable resource, but an eagerly expected homecoming for the missionaries.
Bulgaria was first represented in 1999 with the building project for the Central Church of God in Sofia and has been a focus of the fervent prayers and generous support of the Pahokee congregation for over a decade now. With special guests from all over the world our team was also able to connect with their various ministries and arrange for further partnering projects.
We were encouraged to hear the reports of fellow missionaries as the Lord is doing a great work beyond the walls of the church and the barriers of denominations. After the parade of national flags and an anointed time of worship on Sunday morning, we were privileged to share our ministry report and deliver a word to both the congregation and missionaries present.
This Pahokee missions’ conference personally has always been a refreshing time of fellowship and reunion. We extend a special thanks to the pastor and his wife for the gracious invitation once again and to our host family for their warm hospitality.
8 Simple Rules for Doing Missions in the Spirit
1. Never put a price on the human soul, which you are not willing to put on your own.
2. Unsubscribing from missions’ newsletters may result in unsubscribing from the missional letter of God.
3. By no means raise an offering because a missionary needs it, do so because it’s needed for the survival of the church.
4. Not giving to missions is far better, than committing to give without any intention to do so.
5. Before using a missions’ offering to pay a church bill, think of whose offering a missionary should use to pay their bill.
6. Don’t wait on a missionary to ask you for what God has already commanded you to give.
7. Pray for missionaries without ceasing. For it could be your prayer that saves a soul.
8. Never delay sending a missions offering for tomorrow. After all, it was you who preached that tomorrow may be when the Lord comes back.
Bulgarian Video Bible
Cup & Cross Ministries is proud to announce the beginning of a new media project entitled Bulgarian Video Bible. The project purposes the production of a Bulgarian language Bible in video format. The project is hosted by the Bibliata.TV video website also directed and administered by Cup & Cross team members.
The video website was released in September, 2008 to promote Christian education and spiritual upbringing through creative arts and new technologies. For the past several months it has become a dynamic internet community for Christians in Bulgaria and abroad. The project will be presented at the upcoming BibleTech 2009 conference organized by Logos Bible Software with which Cup & Cross Ministries have partnered in various Bible study related projects.
The first Bulgarian Video Bible is expected to be released by 2010. The completed modules of the projects can be viewed now at: http://video.bibliata.tv/
More Important Bulgarian Books
Rev. Dr. Hristo Kulichev, The Contribution of Protestants for the Bulgarian People (Sofia: University Publishing House “St. Clement of Ohrid,” 2008).
P-r D-r Hristo Kulichev, Zaslugite na protestantite za bulgarskia narod (Sofia: Universitetsko izdatelstvo “Sv. Clement Ohridsky,” 2008).
The book is the latest published work of Bulgarian evangelical pastor Dr. Hristo Kulichev, who is also the editor of the monograph on Bulgarian protestant history Heralds of the Truth: A History of the Evangelical Churches in Bulgaria and the autobiography Imprisoned for Christ, which tells his story of being persecuted and imprisoned by the Communist Regime in Bulgaria.
Prof. Dr. Dechko Svelenov, The Past, the Present and the Future of Humanity According to the Bible. What Everyone Must Know About the End of the World (Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Science, 2008).
Prof. Dr. Dechko Svelenov. Minaloto, nastoiashteto I badehsteto na chovechestvoto spored Bibliata. Tova, koeto vseki triabva da znae za kraia na sveta (Sofia: Bulgarska academia na naukite, 2008).
Prof. Dr. Dechko Svelenov, Evolution or Creation. What Does Science Say? (Sofia: Slance, 2008).
Prof. Dr. Dechko Svelenov, Evolutsia ili satvorenie. Kako kazva naukata? (Sofia: Slance, 2008).
Dimitar Kirov, Dechko Svelenov and Dimiter Korudzhiev. Christian Ethics (Sofia: Slance, 2007).
Dimitar Kirov, Dechko Svelenov and Dimiter Korudzhiev. Hristianska Etika (Sofia: Slance, 2007).
BibleTech:2009
Bulgarian Church of God in the City of Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora has been a center for mission work since the 1860s when American missionaries began a Christian school for girls. Since then, the city has been the home of many churches and ministry centers. In first half of the 20th century, a Pentecostal congregation was established in the town. It faithfully served the local community even during the 45 years of the Communist Regime. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the young Pentecostals in Stara Zagora began a new congregation which was registered as the Zion Foursquare Church. A few years later the Messiah Church of God was started in the city. Today, the Church of God congregation in the city of Stara Zagora is successfully pastored by Rev. Demeter (Jimmy) Lutchev whose leadership has led the church to a new level of ministry. Our frequent visits with the Stara Zagora Church of God in the past few years have always brought great joy to our hearts, as we have been able to minister to people who have proven their faithfulness to God and the church. It has been exciting to watch the congregation advance in ministry, as the families of the church grow with a new generation of Church of God believers who will in term continue with faithfulness to the legacy and the ministry of the church.
Police Clash with Demonstrators in Downtown Sofia; Tension Escalates
The Police have clashed with the demonstrators in downtown Sofia and are trying to disperse them by using force, the Darik radio reporters said mid-day Wednesday.
There are reports of Police beatings, Police in special gear using teargas and batons, people covered with blood, being pushed out of the square and dispersed into the neighboring streets. The protesters have responded by throwing rocks and snow balls. A number of police cars have been damaged. There are reports of several arrests.
The Darik radio reporter further said that the 1,800 policemen literally “smashed the demonstrators”, adding that many of them have already left, but some are still before the Parliament shouting “Resignation Now!!!” and fighting the Police.
25 PROJECTS COMPLETED IN 2008
Resume of the 2008 Annual Report Published by Cup & Cross Ministries International
Leadership
1. National Leadership Seminar for the Bulgarian Church of God
2. National Leadership Seminar for the Bulgarian Church of God of Prophecy
3. National Seminar for Gipsy Pastors in Stara Zagora
4. Days of Open Doors Press Conference in Varna
5. Regional Church of God Meeting for Pleven
6. Annual Conference of Bulgarian Evangelical Churches in North America
Youth
7. X 2008 Youth Event on the Uzana Mountain near Gabrovo
8. Days of the Bible in the Kurdjali public schools
9. Released a series of children’s music videos in the Bulgarian vernacular
Education
10. Series on Bulgarian Protestant History for the Evangelical Newspaper published in Bulgaria
11. Chaplaincy Degree Offered at the Newly Accredited Bulgarian Evangelical University
12. Published the International School of Ministry curriculum in Bulgarian
Preaching
13. Bible study series on the Gospel of Mark with the Yambol Pentecostal Church
14. Preached a total of 86 sermons in 52 locations in Bulgaria and 18 sermons in 10 locations in the United States
15. Completed a six-month mission trip to Bulgaria
Publications
16. Published the 1940 Revised Bulgarian Bible
17. Published a revision of the 1871 Constantinople Bible
18. John: Gospel, Epistles and Apocalypse: A New Bulgarian Translation Released
Media
19. Bibliata.TV National Christian Broadcast Website
20. Revival Bulgaria 2 Film Released
21. Website for Church Leaders and Holiness Research website released
22. The Story of Jesus for Children and the Jesus Film Project in the Bulgarian language online
23. Developed a new Bible study software in the Bulgarian vernacular
Research
24. Research Trip to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
25. Research Trip to the Southern Baptist Historical Library & Archives in Nashville, TN
Bulgarian Church of God in the City of Sliven
Our last ministry visit to Sliven was at the Church of God congregation there. Pastored by brother Mitko, the church has grown as an active ministry in the community serving both adults and children. The vision of the pastor is to create a Christian care center which can offer an alternative for the residents of the Gipsy ghetto of Sliven who are constantly bombarded by various religious teachings. Although the context of ministry is implausibly difficult, pastor Mitko has continued to work his secular job to support his family and minister without being a financial burden to the congregation. He was excited to share with us his plans for purchasing property near the church and turning in into a safe heaven for the children of the Gipsy community in Sliven. He is already working toward the realization of this dream through inviting various ministry teams from around the world to help him with his work. Even as we ministered to his congregation, they were preparing to host a women’s conference addressing the issues of Roma women.
Church of God Eastern Europe Missions: Leadership, Economics and Culture
By the end of 2003, in a dissertation proposal for the Church of God Theological Seminary, which dealt with Bulgarian American congregation from an evangelical point of view, we suggested that there is not just one single problem that contributes to the struggle of these congregations to establish themselves permanently in the North American culture. The research which followed in the next couple of years, further showed that a multilayered dilemma consisting of economical, cultural and leadership factors was the reason for both the success or failure for the church communities established by Christians emerging from a postcommunist context.
The research results confirmed the originally proposed problem in ministry, not only within Eastern European congregations in North America, but also by partnering ministries, research foundations and practicing colleagues working in the former Soviet satellites. The majority agreed, that not only the existence of the described tridementional dilemma, but the lack of a properly applied solution for it, constrained Christian congregations emerging from this context from reaching their potential in their respective communities. Rather symbolic in this discussion still remains the remark made by one of the leading Bulgarian experts in religious freedom and human rights, who elaborated our statement that Bulgarian evangelical congregations remain “beggars in a land of plenty” not only in America, but in the European Union as well, being held prisoners of their own mentality formed by the communist past.
Our work in the Bulgarian evangelical context, gave us the opportunity to extend this research beyond the North American scope into Bulgarian immigrant communities in Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. The study repeatedly confirmed that these congregations struggled with the same dynamics we had proposed originally, which naturally led to applying the research model in a native Bulgarian context.
Our direct work in the past five years with over 400 hundred Bulgarian congregations from various evangelical denominations has confirmed that the problem of ministry for the majority of Bulgarian protestant churches both in and outside of Bulgaria, emerges from three groups of factors related to (1) leadership, (2) economics and (3) culture. Problems and solutions of this nature or their lack thereof, conforms the work of any missional organization ministering in an Eastern European context. The work of the Church of God European Mission makes no exception to this rule, as the proper timely address of these issues with applicable and unambiguous resolutions defines the very foundation of the state of the Bulgarian evangelical church in the beginning of the 21st century.
