4 Points to the Glory of God
1. Every time God renews His covenant with His people, He shows His presence.
2. We know that God is present in the covenant, because He shows His glory. It happened to Moses and his generation. And it also happened to Solomon several hundred years later.
3. When a generation looses the vision of the glory of God, God begins renewing His covenant again with a new generation.
4. God is not satisfied with a people who know the signs and the blessings of the covenant. He rests not until He is revealed as the God of the covenant.
Glance Back at 2011: Be Still and Know That I Am God!
This past year has been personally a very difficult one. There has been much heartache, much pain and much worry. No need to mention details because in the midst of every trial, I found peace and know that I serve a God who is still The God and more powerful than all chaos.
After being in Bulgaria for 6 months and out of the States for a bit longer this past trip, the transition of returning was peculiarly unsettling. We were coming back to the disaster area and aftermath of six tornadoes; however the Lord did not allow us to go immediately “home” when we arrived.
This was not strange because with our ministry it is typical for us to constantly be traveling going from one home to the next. We traveled an over 2,000 miles route of ministry by literally trains, planes and automobiles and even this was still normal for us.
At what we thought would be the last leg of our journey, we found ourselves trying to leave but unable to do so. We tried everything physically possible and for some reason all of our attempts were stopped abruptly even to the point we got stuck in a “rare snow storm” as reported by the national weather advisory.
This was strange to me. It was during this time that after more than a week of trying to leave and asking time after time, why is this happening, that I was reminded three times to “Be still and know that I am God”; once in the Spirit, the next day during a televised 20/20 special and finally with an online verse of the day the following day.
This is something hard to do when you are so used to moving. I know that He is God but being still is a challenge. Yet, I felt that the Lord was saying more than just to be still in the physical sense but in the mental sense as well; not to worry because He is still God and this is a lesson with which I will conclude out my year.
The year 2011 has been in the true sense a whirlwind, moving us thru over a dozen US states and a half dozen countries surviving tornadoes, earthquakes and floods. So I embrace this scripture as the year comes to an end and proclaim that regardless of the heartache, pain and worry I will be still, I will be calm, because He is still God.
Does the God To Whom You Pray Answer?
Response to Rev. Jesses Jackson’s “There’s Still More to Be Done” lecture at the University of Nebraska | by Kathryn Donev
We as a society, as a culture, have come a long way indeed. And this is a good thing. Equality is a good thing. Independence is a good thing. Rights are a good thing. Voice is a good thing. And here comes the “however”. When our right to all of this freedom becomes perverted into selfishness is when I begin to question this idea of social justice. What is the purpose of such? Is it not for equality and solidarity together? When the latter is lacking there is no social justice. When your rights begin invading on mine then there appears to be a contradiction with neither social nor justice. Does freedom of speak serve it’s function when it invades on the opinions and belief system of another? In the midst of this rising post modernistic mentality, it appears that there is freedom for all but one group called Christians whom are becoming the minority not even standing up for themselves.
We have turned into a culture who is loyal to nothing and everything at the same time; those whom occupy for a purpose unknown to themselves, those who fight for the right to be right. All values are acceptable, all beliefs are true, all gods are God. This protest for social justice confuses and in turn controls. I do believe that everyone should have the right to fight for the right to fight but when we are fighting for acceptance of no absolutes and only objective truths there is something wrong and I cannot remain silent sitting at the back of the bus. Of course I agree with the stand against classification however a line needs to be drawn when we begin to fight against the distinction of right and wrong, of good and evil. I remember a time when right was right and wrong was wrong; when white was white and black was black and I am not talking about the color of your skin. If there is no distinction between good and evil, righteousness is obsolete. With all being relative, there is no literal Heaven or Hell. Spirituality is no longer synonymous with religious. You can pray to which ever god you choose or all gods at the same time just in case. Yet, regardless of your beliefs, the true test will be if the god to whom you are praying answers. There most definitely is still more to be done.
Obeying God at Obelya Church of God
Church of God 125th Anniversary
August 19th, 1886 eight people stepped forward and covenanted to “set together as the church of God.”
They committed to take the New Testament as their only rule of faith and practice.
They committed to “giving each other equal rights and privilege to read and interpret for yourselves as your conscience may dictate”
They expressed their desire to be “free from all man made creeds and traditions.”
Thus, there are four foundations in the Church of God: 1) Liberty 2) Biblical 3) Equality 4) Diversity
These eight people were: Richard Spurling, John Plemons, Polly Plemons, Barbara Spurling, Margaret Lauftus, Melinda Plemons, John Plemons Jr, and Adeline Lauftus
BC/AD 2011 (Bible Camp/All Denominations) in Bulgaria – A New Generation Called to the Presence of God
In order to provide spiritual upbringing for the young ministers, each day followed a carefully prepared schedule beginning with prayer at 6:00am. Dr. Dony Donev delivered the morning messages at 10:00am which continued with a personal time of prayer and reflection. Every afternoon at 4:00pm the youth broke into small groups on the topics of preaching, prayer and fasting, leading worship and healing and deliverance. Missionary Ivo Shatrovsky who has been a guest speaker at previous meetings held a group on Tuesday and spoke about foreign missions. Regional Bishop Vassil Petrov of the Gabrovo Church of God led a study group on the subject of Spiritual Ministry through Healing and Deliverance, Pastor Anton Penev of Reformation Church in Haskovo taught on prayer and praise, while Dr. Dony Donev lectured on preaching and teaching from the Word of God.
During our morning fellowship after prayer, the youth shared their unique calling for the ministry. Some where called to be worship leaders, others to be preachers, several even had a prophetic calling upon their lives and three shared their calling to missions in the Middle East. One of them received a confirmation during the camp that she was accepted to an Arab language studies program at the Bulgarian University of Velik Tarnovo, where she would receive further preparation for her calling.
On Wednesday afternoon six young ministers from our group displayed the results of their week of training and delivered a sermonet on Psalms 23. It was encouraging to see the dedication of these young men and women as throughout the day you would see them reading their Bibles in preparation and hear their prayers coming from unknown places.
A water baptism service was held at 2:00pm on Wednesday where after receiving instruction, 17 were baptized while all sang a Bulgarian hymn with the words “Come to the river with waters of life…”
The water baptism and all other results from the camp came with a direct testimony of experiencing the Glory of the Lord on the mountain. During the alter call following the service on Tuesday night in particular, the presence of God was so evident and powerful that prayers continued long after closing into the night. It was a moment like we have never seen before in our ministry of 21 years. This is a report which is not given lightly and was confirmed by various testimonies. A few follow:
“It has been a long time since I have witnessed a time like this and have felt God’s Glory so powerfully.” ~ Young minister from Haskovo
“From small to large were all one, and Jesus himself was among us. I personally am encouraged by this camp.”~ Regional Bishop Vassil Petrov of the Gabrovo Church of God
“I have never in my life experienced the presence of God so powerfully” ~ Panayot Budinov, Youth Pastor from the Assemblies of God Church in Yambol
“I am certain that the Word that was delivered at this camp will have global results”~ Young person with a Calling for Missions
“Mightily blessed! Outpouring of the Holy Spirit! Prayer, worship and anointing! Baptisms in the Holy Spirit and 17 water baptisms! What else could be said?” ~Pastor Anton Penev
We are waiting and believe that we will continue to receive praise reports from miracles and transformations that happened as a result of Bible Camp 2011. We thank all of those who made this camp a success and as always extend a special thanks to the Eco Complex Katunishte for graciously hosting our event and allowing us to use their facilities.
ALL ABOUT BIBLE CAMP 2011 BULGARIA:
BC/AD 2011 (Bible Camp/All Denominations) in Bulgaria – A Vision of Purpose
BC/AD 2011 (Bible Camp/All Denominations) – God’s Favor Realized
BC/AD 2011 (Bible Camp/All Denominations) in Bulgaria – A New Paradigm for Ministry in the Spirit
Bulgarian Church of God in Cyprus
For the past three years the community of Bulgarian immigrants on the island of Cyprus has been swept by a Holy Ghost revival much similar to the revival which brought freedom in Bulgaria some 20 years ago after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Similar phenomenon was observed in the mid 90s in the Chicago Metro area, where several Bulgarian churches spurred up into a revival and as surveys showed years later, this has become the main characteristic of the establishment of Bulgarian immigrant churches across the world.
But the similarities with the Chicagoland revival of the 90s do not stop here. Just like in Chicago, some 65,000 Bulgarians live and work on the island of Cyprus. And this is the number of only the registered ones. But while the Bulgarians in Chicagoland are spread across only 220 sq.m. of the city, the island area of Cyprus has 3,500 sq.m., which makes their networking and communication much harder.
Pentecostal ministry among the Bulgarian Diaspora began somewhere around 2005 with small groups that reached 30-40 people. In this context of ministry, in the spring of 2008, the first Bulgarian Church of God congregation was formed in the city of Nicosia (Levkusia) with Bulgarian trained Church of God minister Rumen Metodiev as the pastor, under the supervision of Bishop Michael Charalambous, overseer of the Cyprus Church of God of Prophecy.
After a series of deliverance revival meetings, the growth of the congregation exploded and within a few months reached some 200 people. When special services are held once or twice a month over 300 people show up, making it impossible for the congregation to meet in their current location. Bulgarians from other parts of the island reached out to the new church and soon a new Bulgarian congregation was started in Limassol, a Mediterranean resort an hour way from the capital Nicosia. And then another Bulgarian Church of God was started only a few months ago in the city of Paphos and already numbers some 55 parishioners.
As the network of Bulgarian churches in Cyprus is growing, congregations are facing important decisions that demand immediate answers in the areas of leadership training, finances and cultural contextualization. After successfully recovering from some initial dilemmas through the establishment of a strong leadership team, the congregation in Limassol is already looking for a new larger building to rent in order to accommodate their growing attendance. The congregation in Nicosia is at a point where they need to acquire their own building for their meetings, but with their rapid growth, such may be difficult to find on the small island.
Our purpose in visiting with the Bulgarian churches in Cyprus was to hold a two week revival and to train leadership teams to assist the local pastors. We had a total of 14 services with the Bulgarian congregations and one with the Greek Church of God of Prophecy congregation in Nicosia. Our team held over 20 training sessions covering the areas of Bible study, the ministry of preaching, types of ministry, team building and church leadership. Pastor Iliya Panov joined us during the second week of training and covered the topic of praise and worship as well as provided a powerful presence of worship during our time together.
During the course of the revival, a Bulgarian pastor from Paralimni attended the meetings. Upon their invitation, we held an evangelization meeting on Saturday night, which brought many new souls to Christ and strengthened the faith of this new congregation.
Now, after having our annual “X” youth events in Bulgaria for four years in Sofia (2006), Bourgas (2007), Uzana in the Balkan Mountains near Gabrovo (8.8.2008) and the city of Samokov (9.9.2009) we are anticipating this new level of global ministry on 10.10.2010 in Cyprus, when “X” will be held for the first time outside of Bulgaria. The event will be hosted in partnership at the Cyprus Church of Prophecy in cooperation with all Bulgarian congregations on the island.
Ministering at Rouse Church of God
For many years we have wanted to minister with the Rouse Church of God, but for one reason or another we were never able to do so. Therefore, it was with grateful hearts that we were finally able to do so during the National Leadership Conference in cooperation with the Bulgarian Church of God of Prophecy. Upon the invitation of pastor Rumen Bonchev and his family, we ministered to the church accompanied by Bishop Peter Georgev, pastor of the Rouse Church of God of Prophecy, Bishop Clayton Endecott and director of the Tomlinson Center, Dr. H.E. Cardin. It was a very prophetic time confirming a word Bishop Peter had received several years ago that the time would come when both Church of God and Church of God of Prophecy congregations would come together again regardless of denomination and worship side by side. After the word was delivered all gather at the altars and prayed fervently together. Barriers were broken and spiritual walls came down that night as it was a time which will remain in the hearts of the people to never be forgotten.
Church of God Regional Seminar
One of the fastest growing regions within the Bulgarian Church of God has been the Central Gabrovo region led by Bishop Vasil Petrov. The mother church in Gabrovo has become a dynamic congregation, operating in the gifts of the Spirit and active evangelism with a strategy that has resulted in a regional revival. Two more congregations were established in years past in the close-by cities of Sevlievo and the Old Bulgarian capital Veliko Tarnovo. We have been privileged to be a part of this process through regular training seminars and revival services at these churches located in the very center of the country of Bulgaria.
This year our team was invited to conduct a seminar for new believers who have joined the church. Some 25 people joined us on a Saturday to participate in the seminar. Many of them have received Christ, water baptism and joined the church less than a month ago and every topic of doctrine and praxis sparks their interest. We spent the whole day in teaching and answering question after question. Such process might be overwhelming for some, but the years of training and preaching are always helpful in persevering and fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples among the nations.
Sunday after the seminar we held two services with the churches in Gabrovo and in Veliko Tarnovo. The morning service turned rather prophetic as a word for the condition of the church and the people was rightly delivered and promptly received. The afternoon service at the Charisma Church of God in Tarnovo had more of an evangelistic approach, as it also reached a world wide audience via the internet.
Overall, Bishop Vasil Petrov and his team have made great use of the limited resources in the budget, buildings and media they have in their possession to execute with great effectiveness a regional ministry that can serve as a model within our Church of God denomination. Both services were broadcasted LIVE via our websites, which brought a great deal of response from viewers in Bulgaria and abroad, and set the stage for the Tuesday night evangelism program which the Gabrovo church holds LIVE on the internet. This was their 52nd broadcast marking one year from its conception, and it was our privilege to host the program, giving an opportunity to the regular host, Bishop Vasil Petrov, to be the guest of honor.
Reclaiming the Roots of the Bulgarian Church of God
The Bulgarian Church of God started in the 1920s north of the Balkan Mountains as part of the Bulgarian Pentecostal movement. They came to be known as the “northern brethren” and “free churches.” They had received the message of Pentecost under the ministry of first Assemblies of God missionaries to Eastern Europe Zaplishny and Voronaev and kept their faith fervently through the early years of persecutions. The first Church of God members were Holy Ghost baptized, Bible believing believers who walked in the Spirit of prophecy and practiced the supernatural gifts God had given them.
Their theology was conservative and their practices strict. But their prayers could be heard all through the night as they tarried in fervent persistence, testing themselves against the Word in a constant search for the holiness of God in their hearts. And humbled themselves when they had found it, they experienced miracles ever unseen, knew things of matters untold, saw visions no man was allowed to utter and heard from the throne room in glory, from God, receiving the words to be spoken to their generation. Their tears became rivers of life that watered the seed of the Gospel they sowed, and slowly but surely God blessed their work and brought back revival in the soul of the land.
When the Assemblies of God trained and sent Bulgarian born Dr. Nick Nikoloff in 1928 to bring to order the growing Bulgarian Pentecostals, the Church of God people set themselves apart refusing to register with the secular state, thus loosing their legal status and were forced to go underground. But their prayers were still heard in the darkness of persecution. The stories of the gifts they practiced were told and when only a miracle could have answered a need, it was brought to the people who practiced the gifts, who prayed without ceasing and waited on God till He gave the answer from Heaven above.
Some 90 years have passed since these humble beginnings and times have now changed. Now, new things, new people, new orders and such are taking new rule of soul and of life. And slowly but surely the story is forgotten. The glory of old is long gone in the past.
But it is said that in crises, when times are too hard, someone should return to the basics of life, to reclaim the old roots of the faith from the past, and save again people and free them at last. This time is right now … and this chance must not pass.
