My First Free Easter
I remember my First Free Easter. It was in the spring of 1991 immediately after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The Bulgarian Church of God had just emerged from its underground status taking its respectful place in the Bulgarian social life. As a powerful transformational force, literally over night, the denomination rapidly grew from 800 to some 8,000 members. The First Free Easter was to be held in the largest auditorium in Bulgaria, the National Palace of Culture and Rev. Floyd Louhan traveled all the way from the United States to deliver the Easter message. Read more
East Coast Bible College Alumni Reunion August 29–31, 2008 Charlotte NC
For over twenty years, East Coast Bible College was a place which left a great legacy of training as well as wonderful memories for many students, staff, local pastors, and denominational leaders. It was a place where students and faculty grew in a deeply intimate relationship with our Great Father. It was a place where we were trained and prepared to step out into places of ministry that still continues throughout the world. It was also a place where many were able to see God move with great demonstration in spiritual gifts, miracles and forthright testimonies of God’s power. Through these faculty and students, East Coast Bible College still lives today! Read more
The Season for Giving
In cooperation with various local businesses and partnering churches, Cup and Cross Ministries was able to donate several hundred toys during this Christmas season. We want to especially thank Wildwood Wholesale and the Spartanburg Church of God for there contributions.
In a country of plenty we often take for granted the simple things in life such as the small gift under the tree on Christmas morning. But in a foreign country where most families live in economic hardship with the reality of a past of 45 of years persecution, from the communist regime, in which Christmas was strictly forbidden, this small gift is cherished.
Our team on location was able to personally give out these blessings and transform the faces of many during this Christmas Season. We thank all who were able to participate.
Merry Christmas
Holiness Website Released
For several years now our team has envisioned a new website as part of our website ministry, a website that deals exclusively with the subject of holiness. For over a month now, this vision has been a reality bringing thousands to the teaching of Biblical sanctification and holiness lifestyle through www.Osveten.com (meaning “sanctified” in Bulgarian).
I know that many would object to the idea of preaching holiness in the beginning of the 21st century. Who needs holiness in the world today, anyway? After all people today have more important issues with which to deal. In my opinion, perhaps many of the issues humanity deals with today, can be resolved though acquiring a lifestyle of Biblical holiness.
Historically, the Bulgarian evangelism lacks the evolvement of sanctification as a second work of grace, as it was present in North America at the end of the 19th century. Missionaries to Bulgaria did not concentrate on the teaching of holiness, as other important issues were being addressed. It was not until the dawn of Bulgarian Pentecostalism, that definite holiness movements within among Bulgarian evangelicals began appearing. And of course, since the Assemblies of God was the major organized Pentecostal denomination, sanctification was viewed as part of the experience of salvation and Holy Spirit baptism, and never as a separate second work of grace as described by Wesley.
Yet, the strife toward Biblical holiness was ever present in the Bulgarian context ever since Christianity entered the Balkans in the 10th-11th centuries. Since then, Eastern Orthodox Christianity has taught, although practiced very little, the doctrine of holiness. During the Communist Regime, various Pentecostal groups declared their holiness stand, thus bringing the attention of the government along with extra persecution upon themselves. The national Pentecostal revival after the Fall of the Berlin Wall increased the interest in sanctification, and the issue of how to live a holiness life often became a point of separation between older and younger believers.
And although holiness is not often preached today, it still remains the standard of God. For this very reason, we released www.Osveten.com with the vision to bring Bulgarian evangelism back to the basics of Biblical sanctification and to lift up the standard of holiness as a lifestyle among the Bulgarian people.
Ministering at Holmes Bible College
After the successful completion of the Deliverance Revival at Pendleton, we traveled to Holmes Bible College. Holmes is the oldest active Pentecostal college founded in 1898 in the old Altamont Hotel on Paris Mountain in Greenville, SC. The long term success of the college has resulted from its dynamic leadership and its solid setup as an independent Pentecostal educational institution. These factors, along with God’s provision, have guaranteed that Holmes Bible College has remained active and effective in a time when most Bible colleges are closing their doors.
Upon the invitation of the faculty, we visited the college and participated in the annual mission’s week held their. The time spent in ministry and fellowship was a blessing, as to most of our surprise, we were able to reunite with schoolmates and teachers who now serve in faculty positions at the college. We delivered a message on “The Liberty of the Spirit” and prayed with the faculty and student body, that the ministry and legacy of Holmes Bible College continues into the future.
November Deliverance Revival
Covenant of Faith Church of God – Pendleton, SC
This Sunday, November 4, 2007, we are starting a Deliverance Revival at the Covenant of Faith Church of God in Pendleton, SC. Pastor Marion Snider and his congregation have extended a kind invitation to us for a time of ministry and spiritual renewal. Services will begin at 10 am and 6 pm on Sunday and 7 pm on Monday through Wednesday. If you are in the area, make plans to attend the services and experience anew the power of God.
The revival comes after we have been blessed with the opportunity to minister in a number of South Carolina churches this past month. We were privileged to hold missionary services at the Vineyard Church of God in Spartanburg, Newberry Church of God, La France Church of God, Liberty Church of God and the Seneca Church of God. We were also able to travel to Florida and minister at the Chokoloskee and Bradenton churches there.
Local Vote 2007 Results
Sofia incumbent mayor Boyko Borissov won re-election by a landslide on Sunday after securing 53.43% of the vote, shows data with 100% of the election protocols in the capital processed. A total of 202 800 citizens of the Bulgarian capital cast their vote for the popular mayor Borissov, who describes himself as centre-right.
Former deputy central bank governor and rightist candidate Martin Zaimov came in second with 17,77% (67 454 ballots), while Bulgaria\’s former top spy and Socialist runner Brigo Asparuhov ranked third with 15,48% (58 774 ballots). Nationalist Ataka party nominee Slavi Binev came in fourth with 4.02%, while ex-king Simeon Saxe-Couburg\’s NMSP candidate Antonia Parvanova won 2.55%, according to the final results.
Borissov, a former bodyguard to communist dictator Todor Zhivkov, was appointed secretary-general of the Interior Ministry in 2001 after ex-king Simeon Saxe-Coburg won the parliamentary elections and took charge of the cabinet. He has immediately won numerous supporters with his direct and uncompromising style, as well as his tough stance on organised crime, but his opponents accuse him of being too brash and lacking expertise. Even though that stands to change with GERB poised to win a plurality of seats, Borissov has repeatedly hinted he sought to knock the Socialists out of power and has not committed himself to seeing out his second term.Tip-offs about buying and selling of votes at Bulgaria\’s local elections on Sunday heated the situation throughout the whole day, with most of them being anonymous, officials from the Central Electoral Committee said Monday. The vote buyers have targeted once again the Roma districts the most, and the money offered for a vote ranged from BGN 15 to BGN 100 in Sofia, while in Bulgaria\’s second largest city of Plovdiv the offered pay-off reached BGN 50. More than 20 people were arrested around the country on charges of attempting to buy votes, but later all of them were released.
Public Administration Minister Nikolay Vassilev admitted Bulgaria had a serious problem with this issue, which could only be overcome by introducing mandatory voting. The biggest percentage of electoral law violations was recorded in the Black Sea town of Nessebar, where the percentage reached almost 70%. In the town of Silistra on the Danube River, vote-buyers found another way to pay for the “goods” – they offered bags with flour to the voters. In the capital Sofia tip-offs for attempted vote-buying were reported in the districts of Ilinden and Vladaya.
Municipal Elections 2007
The commission for declassification of the secret services archives announced on October 25 that of the candidate mayors registered by the election committee, 420 had collaborated with the former secret service, BTA said.
Of the candidates in Sofia and its regions, 10 had worked with the service, Focus news agency said. Only two candidates for the central city had worked with the secret service, Brigo Asparuchov, candidate for the Bulgarian Socialist Party and Radko Hadzhiev, , candidate for United National Front.
The other eight former agents were candidates for regions and included Boyan Boyadzhiev, GERB candidate for Vitosha, Dimitur Dimitrov, candidate for Bulgarian Socialdemocrats in Krasna Polyana, Ibrahim Karahasanov, candidate for the Green Party in Lyulin, Ivan Petro, candidate for the Green Party in Lozenets, Lyudmil Yordanov, candidate for GERB in Oborishte, Plamen Krustev, candidate for BDNIE in Ilinden, Boiko Koichinov, candidate for BDNIE in Krasno Selo and Stefan Gulubov, candidate for BDNIE in Triaditsa.
Two of the members of the Central Election Committee (CEC) collaborated with the communist-era secret services, the commission for declassification of the secret services archives said on October 23 2007.
The two are Roumen Elenski and Tsvetozariya Iosifova-Krusteva, mediapool.bg said. Iosifova-Krusteva was a secret collaborator and held agent quarters. She worked for the services until 1990. Elenski was on the staff of the services. In 1982, he become an intelligence agent and in 1985 was sent to the KGB school in the USSR. In 1989, he became senior intelligence agent. National Movement for Stability and Progress nominated Iosifova-Krusteva for the CEC in 2003, while Elenski was nominated by Bulgarian Socialist Party in 2005.
Some 15 000 to 20 000 voters are to arrive to Bulgaria’s Kurdjali on October 28, the day of the municipal elections, Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (CEDB) informal leader Boiko Borissov said on October 21 2007.
Bulgarian Parliament and the three ruling parties, Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Movement for Rights and Freedom (MRF) and National Movement for Stability and Progress (NMSP) made that possible, Borissov said as quoted by mediapool.bg.
Borissov called “nasty and foul insinuation” the statements that if CEDB nominee for Blagoevgrad mayor Kiril Pandev won the elections, he would agree to storage of Sofia’s waste in Blagoevgrad. In the beginning I enjoyed these statements, there were similar rumour about Vidin and other cities as well, Borissov said. The administrative potential of Bulgarian cities, including Sofia, was small and European funding remained unutilised. “Only 10 to 15 per cent of the money is utilised and in the same time we complain that we are poor, hungry and weak,” Borissov said.
2008: Year of the Bible in Bulgaria
Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance, Bulgarian Bible Society and the Bulgarian Bible League are preparing to celebrate 2008 as the “Year of the Bible.” The preparation and some of the events, organized by the Bulgarian Bible Society and the Theological Faculty of Sofia University, will begin in 2007. The project will be achieved in partnership with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church in Bulgaria and the Evangelical denominations and organizations. The event purposes to uplift the role of the Bible in the Bulgarian society and raise the interest of the Bulgarians toward the Word of God.
