Mississippi Triumph Churches
The Mississippi Triumph Churches have chosen Cup & Cross ministry’s training materials for the development of their ministers and congregations. Our ministry has offered a series of training materials including 20 Ways to Kill Your Church, 30 Ways to Kill Your Youth Ministry, etc.
Easter Report
The following message is a report of the Easter 2004 ministry activities of Cup & Cross Ministries International in the area of Yambol, Bulgaria.
This year Easter in Bulgaria was on the same date as in the United States. Our team spent three weeks in organizing the events for the Easter week of April 4-11, 2004.
The week began with special services on Palm Sunday in eight of the churches. They were followed by a three-day fast (Monday through Wednesday) along with the regular weekly program of traveling and ministry on these days.
On Thursday, April 8, the congregations gathered in the Kamenetz church. A special lunch was given for the 70 children who are a part of the Sunday School program of the churches. Our team held a prayer service between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm. At 5:00 pm everyone participated in a special ceremony of lighting newly installed neon cross on the front wall of the church.
The evening service began at 6:00 pm with an Easter play and lasted over four hours. Several worship teams from the churches in Yambol (approximately 15 people) traveled to Kamenetz to help in the music program that followed. The music program turned into a spontaneous worship service where people were singing, crying and kneeling on the floor in prayer. Several of the ministers preached about Christ’s sacrifice. The sermons were followed by a Communion service in which both Protestant and Eastern Orthodox believers participated. The service ended with reciting of Psalms, testimonies, singing and payer for the sick.
On Easter Sunday the congregations joined all protestant churches in Yambol. The meeting was held in the city cinema as approximately 800 were present.
The Bulgarian Easter
Bulgaria became a Christian country in 864 AD. under the reign of Kniaz Boris I. However, in the middle of the 19th century, Bulgaria was under Ottoman oppression and under the influence of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchy which dictated the religious expression of the Bulgarian church.
On April 3, 1860, during Easter Sunday service in Constantinople, the Bulgarian bishop Illusion of Makariopol expressed the will of the whole Bulgarian people by solemnly proclaiming the separation of the Bulgarian church from the patriarchal in Constantinople. The day commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ coincided with the resuscitation of the Bulgarian people. However, the struggle continued for another ten years when Russia forced Turkey to legally recognize the independence of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. In 1870 a firman of the sultan decreed the establishment of an autonomous Bulgarian church institution – the Bulgarian exarchate.
Easter in Bulgaria
This year Easter in Bulgaria is the same date as Easter in the United States. Our team has been working hard for the past several weeks to organize an Easter celebration with the participation of 15 churches we provide with pastoral care. The first celebration service was on Palm Sunday in the village of Kamenetz where we have one of the strongest Pentecostal churches in the area. There were three simultaneous Palm Sunday services including Sunday school, youth rally and adult service. The people from three village churches gathered separately for the Easter preparation which will continue through Wednesday. Two lamp stands have been made for the special communion service on Thursday. They will be burning day and night until the Resurrection morning service. Protestant as well as Orthodox believers are expected to attend the Communion service. Such event of common gathering of Protestant and Orthodox congregations is unprecedented for Bulgaria. All congregations, including the Orthodox ones, are in a common fast until Easter. There will also be a special service where church members who have learned Psalms through the year will recite them for mutual edification of the congregation. Of course, there will be a testimony service as well. As we have reported, in the past several years Cup & Cross Ministries has held a variety of services in the Eastern Orthodox temples. After their unprecedented success and prayerful consideration this year we were led to hold a common service for all present churches and denominations. Please join us in prayer for a successful Easter week of ministry.
Cup & Cross in Bulgaria
30 Ways to Kill Your Youth Ministry (for Senior Pastors)
1. Assume that the youth ministry is not your responsibility.
2. Assume you know all problems of your youth without taking the time of surveying them.
3. Never attempt to become a role model.
4. Preach messages irrelevant to youth.
5. Do not attend youth services and activities.
6. Give up on the youth in your congregation.
7. Never plan and work toward hiring a youth pastor.
8. Do not authorize your youth pastor with full responsibility for the youth ministry.
9. Appoint a person to communicate between you and your youth pastor.
10. Allow the influence of church members’ opinions and wishes over the vision for the youth ministry.
11. Allow people distanced from youth problems to take leading positions and/or decisions concerning the youth ministry.
12. Do not include the youth ministry in your annual church budget.
13. Deny the involvement of parents in youth work.
14. Do not allow youth representation in the decisions concerning the future of the youth ministry.
15. Blame or allow the youth to be blamed for problems beyond their control and comprehensions.
16. Never deal with change.
17. Use youth ministry techniques older then 2½ years.
18. Do not provide enough room for growth.
19. Underestimate the influence of drugs, alcohol, premarital sex and peer pressure.
20. Ignore the topic of sex.
21. Ignore technology as a ministry tool.
22. Restrict youth ministries to church activities alone ignoring fun and playing as a ministry tool.
23. Never allow youth to participate in spiritual and ministry activities like prayer, fasting and preaching.
24. Limit your youth ministry only to activities organized by your church/denomination.
25. Do not expect the youth ministry to grow beyond the limitations of your personal agenda or limitations.
26. Do not expect the youth ministry to grow beyond the limitations of your congregation.
27. Do not provide age transition mechanisms for youth to enter and exit the youth ministry.
28. Do not treat youth as if they were to remain in church for the rest of their earthly lives.
29. Do not treat youth ministry as the most important ministry of your church.
30. Refuse to be a pastor of youth.
Church in Polyana
In February 1997 Cup and Cross Ministries visited the village of Polyana for the first time. Due to the lack of building and the resistance of the local authorities to allow us to meat in an available auditorium, the first service there was held in the local bar. As the Lord blessed richly the meeting, 26 were saved and 3 were baptised in the Holy Spirit.
The following week we arrived at the village for another service. The mayor met us personally to let us know that because of different complaints we were restricted from ministering in the area of his jurisdiction. We referred to the National Constitution, which gives officially recognized and registered religious groups and ministries the right to hold meetings and minister. Yet, we were not given the opportunity to preach at Polyana.
Four years later the situation has changed radically. After the Lord touched the mayor and his family, our Mission Team was allowed the freedom to hold meetings in the Polyana village. Due to the lack of own building the team has often held services in the local Orthodox Church, an event which is a precedent for Bulgaria.
The group of believers quickly grew and we had the opportunity to rent the House of Council, a building built for the purposes of the local Communist Structure, for the church meetings. The building has a meeting room, Sunday school room which turns to a children’s church during the service hours, church office and food pantry. The congregation has over 50 members and a number of sympathizers who visit regularly. Each week the Sunday School gathers additional over 20 children in the age of 3-14 years. The children are taught the Bible and fed in the services. We are praying that one day we will have the opportunity to purchase the building to be owned by the church.
Smoky Mountain Winterfest 2004
Cup & Cross Ministries provided a helping hand at this year’s Winterfest in Knoxville, Tennessee. More than 20,000 young people and youth workers gathered in the Thompson Boling Arena for a spirit-filled, dynamic three-day weekend of worship and praise. Special guests included Jentezen Franklin, Karen Wheaton and Chosen, Reggie Dabbs, Heather Mercer, Christian Music Artists Kirk Franklin, and Israel Houghton and New Breed. Many spoke on how we are to be “real” in our Christian walk and that a religious experience alone will not suffice, but we need to have a personal relationship with an Almighty God.
The theme for this year’s event was “It’s a New Season”. This was taken from the scripture verse in Joel chapter two, “It shall come to pass in the last days that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, your sons and daughters will prophesy…” In this “New Season” the word did not return void. Hundreds of lives where changed at Winterfest and many were Baptized with the Holy Spirit. The corridors and aisles of the arena were filled with young people weeping before the Lord and speaking in a Heavenly language. The anointing and convicting spirit was so strong that it even drew into the service a man who was passing by the arena. After listening to the message, he asked to be prayed for and received Christ as his personal Savior.
In the midst of the hyped crowd and loud music with the big named guests, the most important of all and the purpose for such an event is that lives were changed and people were saved. Numerous resources and hours of hard work and preparation were invested into making such possible, but the end results were what made it all worthwhile. Cup & Cross Ministries is grateful and privileged to be a part of such a wonderful event
Pneuma Foundation
The Pneuma Foundation has chosen to include research materials developed by Cup & Cross Ministries. The topics of the research are predominantly Biblical, including doctrinal research on the subjects of glossolalia, pneumatology, missiology and New Testament books. For more information please visit the Pneuma Foundation website: Pneuma Foundation
Child Interaction Observation
by Kathryn N. Donev
I have always found it intriguing to stand back and observe human interactions. For me personally, the most fascinating type of human interaction is the manner in which a child interacts with his or her environment. I continue to be amazed at all that can be learned through simple observation. Dibs in Virginia Axline’s book, Dibs in Search of Self, said it best when he stated that by hanging “around out of the way on the edge of things close enough to watch … and hear … you can learn lots of interesting things that way”.
There are many adjectives which can be used to describe a child; some positive and others negative; some universal, yet many are unique to each child. Children are diverse yet at the same time are similar in many ways. In my observations I have found that children are impressionable, innocent, resilient, loveable, creative, curious, spontaneous, attention seeking and above all are gifts from God which are to be cherished.
According to Albert Bandura’s social learning model, we know that we learn through observation. I have found that this is especially important to have in mind when working with children and I am reminded on every occasion when I am around children. Children are impressionable and emulate what they observe. I have discovered that a child learns many different behaviors by observing others; they model actions, words, behaviors and mannerisms. I have seen this demonstrated in games such as “Follow The Leader” and “Simon Says” or when children play activities such as house or school. I have noticed that some children will imitate behaviors and directly experience the consequences yet others will wait and vicariously experience the consequences of a behavior. However, whether directly or indirectly, it is my opinion, modeling is a way a child attempts to explore.
I have found that children are very curious of their surroundings and are in a constant quest for knowledge. I have noticed that it appears that this quest is intrinsic due to the fact that a child will explore even when there is no reward given in return. However, I have also noticed that this seems to change with age. In attempts to explore, children might do so through modeling, observing, playing or by asking “why” and “what” questions. On a more personal note, it is my opinion that a child should be encouraged to ask questions and be curious. I am persuaded that if such curiosity is ignored or not viewed as important then a child will begin to lose his or her inner child or exploratory nature of intrinsic motivation and begin to avoid asking questions and lose interest in novelty and take life for granted.
I have observed that children have this innocence about them which makes them appear to be oblivious and without fear. When I use the expression that children are innocent, I mean that they have not yet been flooded with the concerns which adults have. Children are not yet skeptical of circumstances, perhaps due to the fact they have not been given any reason for distrust.
I have also observed many ways in which children are resilient. I have noticed that there appears to be a difference in the physical aspects of the resilience of boys and girls. This perhaps is because of what they had been modeled or taught. For instance, on one occasion, I observed a boy playing on the playground when he bumped heads with another boy. The boy stopped, clinched his fist, made a grunt, and went back to playing. On this same occasion, when I noticed a girl fall on the playground, she began to cry but quickly went back to playing. However, when it comes to emotional aspects of resilience when overcoming verbal abuses, such as name calling, I have noticed that the reaction appears to be consistent across gender. Overall, both boys and girls bounced back from both pain and words and appeared to quickly forget the wrong that had been done.
I have learned that every child is unique in his or her own special way. Therefore, what has influenced me the most is the realization that there is no formula for working with children. However, I do feel there are some absolutes when working with them. In my observations, I have noticed how children desperately long for attention, whether positive or negative. I feel that children need to be given attention and they must know that one truly cares. Children need to be loved and this can be accomplished by spending time with each child. They need to have someone who will take time to answer questions such as “Why is the sky is blue?” or “Why is the earth round?” Each child needs to be allowed the freedom to explore but also needs to be guided in the right direction and with the proper role model in which to emulate this can be accomplished.
As parents, teachers and childcare workers, we owe it to ourselves and each precious child, who is truly a gift from God, to be the best role model that we can possibly be. Each child must be encouraged to be the most that he or she can be and given direction by our examples and through our guidance. This is appropriately stated in Proverbs 22:6, which states, train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. From these observations I realize that as an adult I have a great responsibility not only when working with children but also anytime I come in contact with any child.
