Police surveillance of phone and internet now allowed under new pandemic law in Bulgaria
Police surveillance of phone and internet now allowed under new pandemic law in Bulgaria
Those of you that are receiving our monthly printed report, already know of several proceedings in Eastern Europe and beyond as following. The new Bill on Religions voted in Bulgaria 2019, allows only “registered” ministers to minister in their respective denominations. The Social Service Act (Jan-Jun, 2020) allows social services to act upon an anonymous complaint to cease children and put them in a foster-home for up to 30-days until the legal parent is proven innocent in court. But none of these matches this current development…
As of today (March 25, 2020) under the current COVID-19 quarantine, the newly voted emergency law allows for the authorities to monitor telephone and internet activities. Data obtained from internet or telephone monitoring will be stored for six months, not twelve as had been previously provided. There will be judicial control over the requests for extension of the period for data storage, but no judge or court order is needed for obtaining of the initial phone or internet records.
The good news?
They tell us this is just a temporary measure until the virus goes away.
The rest is yet to come…
Children’s Coloring Cookbook
Kariyana’s Kitchen: Children’s Coloring Cookbook
A coloring cookbook for children with recipes, blank cards, conversion charts and more!
- Paperback: 37 pages
- Publisher: Independently published (November 28, 2019)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1704006821
- ISBN-13: 978-1704006826
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.1 x 9 inches
Virtual Real Estate for the Kingdom Conference
Cupandcross.com launched in the fall of 1999. Our first public letter went out for Thanksgiving exactly 20 years ago and snice then has reached thousands of readers, partners and friends each week.
Since these humble beginnings, nontraditional means of increase have provided Cup and Cross with unique opportunities to serve in times of hardship. Investing in Virtual Real Estate (VRE) in the 90s has not only provided an e-pulpit to minister to millions of people, but it has been an unprecedent venture. Acquiring and popularizing top level internet domain names has been a long-time focus of ours and its return to the ministry has been irreplaceable.
Our intent for acquiring domain names has been to allow other ministries or organizations to benefit from and use them for a period of time before sale in order to be a good Stuart of the e-space realty. With the wild fluctuations in the .com market, the potential value also alternates. It has been only with the Lord’s help of seizing the right moment within the divine destiny, that this unique venture has paid off.
Your Website Does Matter
Even if you’re fully engaging your members in church, you still need a church website. Why? According to Grey Matter Research, 17 million Americans who don’t regularly attend church visited a church website. While most are searching for church hours or programs, 26% are streaming video and another 26% are streaming audio. So yes, a website is vital for reaching more people and increasing your members.
Consultation
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 media presence. For more information about such opportunity feel free to reach out to Cup and Cross. We can provide Internet conferences on the topic or come and visit with you at your church
The ProBible Project Renewd, Revised and Released
Original published date: November 15, 2010
Tag: http://ProBible.net
Cup & Cross Ministries’ web research team has just released a new internet Bible study project called ProBible.Net. ProBible integrates an extensive Biblical Greek knowledge database of the scholarly b-Greek mailing list. The new website archives in real-time panel discussions led by Greek scholars, university professors and Bible researchers and places them as commentaries to their respective Bible passages. The result is a new kind of integrative online research, which has the original languages of the Bible text discussed in dept by scholars and experts in the field. The best part is that all users can participate in the online discussions via the website or the b-Greek list. The hope of the developing team is to create a fully annotated online study Bible, which includes a commentary to all important parts of Scripture.
The Voice 2015 Jordan Smith – Finale: “Mary, Did You Know”
Rapture of the Church
Annual Conferences of Bulgarian Churches in America
In the summer of 2002 the pastors of the Bulgarian churches in North America came together for their first meeting in Dallas, TX. As a result, an organization called the Alliance of the Bulgarian Evangelical Churches in North America was established as a first step toward networking between the churches. The churches within the Alliance has met over Memorial Day weekend every year since then as follows:
2002 – Dallas
2003 – Chicago
2004 – Minneapolis
2005 – Los Angeles
2006 – Dallas
2007 – Chicago
2008 – Minneapolis
2009 – Los Angeles
2010 – Houston
2011 – Las Vegas
2012 – Chicago
2013 – Dallas
2014 – Minneapolis
2015 – Las Vegas
2016 – Houston
2017 – Chicago
READ ALSO:
- The story of the first Bulgarian Church of God in the Untied States
- San Francisco Springs
- Prognoses about Bulgarian Churches in North America
5 Essential Free Tools for Ministry on the Internet
1. Blogging: You make about 100 educated comments during the week. You have afterthoughts and comments after the Sunday sermon. You encounter life stories and personal testimonies. Blog them. It is the easiest way to:
- Give a global voice to your ministry
- Network with other ministers
- Popularize your church website and affirm presence on the internet
- Connect with people on their own level
Use WordPress, BlogSpot or even Posterous. There are many more out there to fit your taste and best of all they are free!
2. Live broadcast your church service: You’d be surprised how many people would like to see it. And different than a few years back when you needed expensive equipment set up, all you need is a laptop with a camera or even a mid-level smart phone and you can broadcast in a matter of minutes.
a. Make your church service accessible for the ones who cannot attend
b. Your message will reach people in your community and around the world
c. Receive feedback from friends, colleagues and even people you never knew
uStream and LiveStream are just two of the many options out there. And for the basic user, they are all free.
3. Social networking: The world is moving away from common trends of communication. Get involved! Social networking is the way to do it.
a. Provides a constant stream of communication toward your followers
b. Establishes your church equally in the local and internet community
c. Makes you accessible to the people who need you
Sign up for Facebook and Twitter. They are popular and free. A Facebook page is a must for any branding or marketing strategy today.
4. Mail lists are outdated, time consuming and quite costly. Except if you use the internet to do them.
a. Create a mail list of subscribers with your followers and the visitors of your website
b. Use RSS feed to combine all your publications from church announcements, blog posts, tweets and Facebook statuses
c. Send it automatically to RSS pools which can multiply your reach
Use FeedBurner. It is very fast and effective and also free to use.
5. Monetize your web presence creating a steady stream of profit for your ministry beside traditional tithes and offerings.
a. Bring your fundraisers online and promote online giving
b. Sell books, music, sermon videos and other products online
c. Use direct advertising sales and advertising networks
Use Google AdSense, eBay partners, Amazon Associates or any other affiliate program that fits your marketing approach. Not only they are free, but using them can support your ministry!
Need assistance? Learn how we can help you with your church branding on the internet.
Churches and Social Media
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:
