Sanctuary Gateway Cities for Eastern European Slavic and Bulgarian Immigrant Churches in North America

April 5, 2017 by  
Filed under Featured, Missions, News

bulgarian-churchSince 1994 Cup & Cross Ministries International has assisted churches across the United States and has strategically planned and developed a process which incorporates Bulgarian Evangelical Churches in North America. The first success of this endeavor was the establishment of the Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God in Chicago in 1995.

The Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago followed a rich century-long tradition, which began with the establishing of Bulgarian churches and missions in 1907. (read the history) Consecutively, our 1995 Church Starting Paradigm was successfully used in various studies and models in 2003. The program was continuously improved in the following decade, proposing an effective model for leading and managing growing Bulgarian churches.

Based on the Gateway cities in North America and their relations to the Bulgarian communities across the continent, it proposed a prognosis toward establishing Bulgarian churches (see it here) and outlined the perimeters of their processes and dynamics in the near future (read in detail). Since 1995 twelve more Bulgarian churches have been started in strategic immigration gateways across the United States and Canada. For the past four years our team have been involved in the process of establishing Bulgarian congregations in Atlanta, Phoenix and San Francisco. Read complete paper (PDF)

Toward Context of Ministry Applications
In the beginning of the 21st century the Protestant Church in Bulgaria is entering a new constitutional era in the history of the country. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the political and economic challenges in Eastern Europe have strongly affected the Evangelical Churches. More than ever before, they are in need of reformation in doctrines and praxes in order to adjust to a style of worship liberated from the dictatorship of the communist regime. In order to guarantee the religious freedom for our young, democratic society, the Protestant Movement in Bulgaria needs a more dynamic representation. Such can be provided only by people who will create a balance between the old atheistic structures and the new contemporary, nontraditional style of ministry.

Similar is the case among Bulgarian Evangelical Churches in North America which also share analogue dynamics with congregations of Latin American immigrants. Several facts are obvious from such comparison. It is apparent that Bulgarian immigrants come to North America in ways similar as other immigrant groups. Large cities which are gateways for immigrants are probable to become a settlement for Bulgarian immigrants due to the availability of jobs, affordable lodging and other immigrants from the same ethnic group.

The emerging Bulgarian immigrant communities share religious similarities and belongingness which are factors helping to form the communities. As a result of this formation process, the Bulgarian Evangelical Churches in North America emerge. It also seems natural to suggest that as this process continues, Bulgarian Evangelical Churches will be formed in other gateway cities and other large cities which meet the requirements to become a gateway city. Such has been the case with Latin American churches. If this is true, it should be proposed that the Bulgarian Churches in North America follow a strategy for church planting and growth which targets these types of cities.

It is encouraging, at the same time, to observer that one of the positive estimates provided by our doctoral project is also coming to reality. In 2002-2004, based on analyses provided by the New Religious Immigrants Project, our research suggested that the next Bulgarian Evangelical Church will be established in the last of the Seven American Gateway Cities which was still without a Bulgarian Church, namely the city of San Francisco. Our resent visit in the area of the Bay Area showed that this prediction is already progressing into a reality as the Bulgarian Diaspora there is already producing a Bible study group out of uniting Bulgarian college students from Barkley and young computer professionals in the area.

Geographical Location of Bulgarian American Churches and Gateway Cities.

Currently, Bulgarian Evangelical Churches are located in cities which have a high concentration of foreign-born immigrants. Such cities are called gateway cities, a large immigrant point-of-entry city to the United States. Immigrants typically enter the United States through one of these cities and settle there. Such cities contain over half of the foreign-born population in the United States. There are Bulgarian Evangelical Churches active in six of the seven gateway cities as follows:

Bulgarian Evangelical Churches in Gateway Cities

Gateway City Foreign Born Percent of Foreign Born Bulgarian Church
1. New York, NY 3,657,269 18.7% Yes
2. Los Angeles, CA 3,944,828 27.1% Yes
3. Houston, TX 460,380 12.3% Yes
4. Washington, DC 578,786 8.6% No
5. Miami, FL 1,072,843 33.6% Yes
6. Chicago, IL 914,58 11.1% Yes
7. San Francisco, CA 1,250,693 20.0% No

usmap

Several facts are obvious from the above comparison. It is apparent that Bulgarian immigrants come to North America in ways similar to other immigrant groups, channeled through the listed gateway cities. Large cities which are gateways are more probable to become a settlement for Bulgarian immigrants due to the availability of jobs, lodging and other immigrants from the same ethnic group. The emerging Bulgarian immigrant communities share religious similarities and belongingness which are factors helping to form the communities. As a result of this process of formation of Bulgarian immigrant communities, the Bulgarian Evangelical Churches in North America emerge. It also seems natural to suggest that as this process continues, Bulgarian Evangelical Churches will be formed in the remaining two gateway cities (Washington, D.C. and San Francisco) and other large cities which meet the requirements to become a gateway city (for example, the city Atlanta). If this is true, it should be proposed that the Bulgarian Churches in North America follow a strategy for church planting and growth which targets this type of cities. With all this in mind, the Unrealized Spiritual Harvest of Bulgarian Churches in North America remains unforgiving in history…

 

Resources for Further Study:

 

 

 

Ministering to the Slavs

August 25, 2016 by  
Filed under Featured, News

Ministering to the Slavs

95 SLAVIC CHURCHES and 8 BIBLE SCHOOLS in the United States

  1. House of Bread Church (Sacramento, CA) https://www.facebook.com/hofbchurch
  2. Bethany Slavic Missionary Church (Sacramento, CA) https://www.facebook.com/bethany.slavicmissionarychurch
  3. Bethany Youth https://www.facebook.com/BethanYouth
  4. Missionary Gospel Church (Sacramento, CA) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Missionary-Gospel-Church/151514864873051
  5. House of Prayer, Rochester NY https://www.facebook.com/pages/House-of-Prayer-Rochester-NY/249103651804095
  6. Living Stream Church (Jacksonville, FL) https://www.facebook.com/livingstreamchurch
  7. Sulamita Slavic Evangelical Church (Portland, OR) https://www.facebook.com/sulamitachurch
  8. Life Christian Church https://www.facebook.com/pages/Life-Christian-Church/350358664991387
  9. SGC Youth (Federal Way, WA) https://www.facebook.com/sgcyouthpage
  10. Light To The World, Bellevue WA https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithchurch
  11. Awakening Church https://www.facebook.com/1awakening
  12. Light of the Gospel Missionary Church, Sacramento, CA https://www.facebook.com/logmc
  13. Bethany Church (Seattle WA) https://www.facebook.com/bethanychurch.seattle
  14. Paradise Youth https://www.facebook.com/ParadiseYouthWA
  15. Grace Slavic Church https://www.facebook.com/GraceSlavicChurch
  16. Slavic Christian Church of Salem https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slavic-Christian-Church-of-Salem/573544672704540
  17. Slavic Youth of Spartanburg https://www.facebook.com/Slavicyouth
  18. Voice of Hope Church (Portland OR) https://www.facebook.com/VOHCC
  19. City of Rain Church (Kent, Tacoma WA) https://www.facebook.com/pages/City-of-Rain-Church/109176399100701
  20. UFGPC Youth (Tacoma WA) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ufgpc-Youth/160358890697017
  21. Slavic Full Gospel Church https://www.facebook.com/SFGoneway
  22. JC Healing House Youth https://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Healing-House-Youth/395744683877949
  23. Living Stream Youth (Jacksonville, FL) https://www.facebook.com/LSYJAX
  24. House of Prayer (Utica, NY) https://www.facebook.com/houseofprayerutica
  25. New Life Church (Atlanta, GA) https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Life-Church/181065961957787
  26. Choose Life Church https://www.facebook.com/ChurchChooseLife
  27. Upstream Youth Ministry https://www.facebook.com/upstreamyouth
  28. Revelation of Jesus Christ Church https://www.facebook.com/cerkov
    First Slavic Pentecostal Church (Florida) https://www.facebook.com/fspcflorida
  29. Voice of Hope Youth (Tukwila WA) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Voice-of-Hope-Youth/102800069772958
  30. Slavic Pentecostal Church (Ashville, NC) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slavic-Pentecostal-Church-Asheville-NC/202376667836
  31. Messenger of Truth Slavic Pentecostal Church https://www.facebook.com/pages/Messenger-of-truth-Slavic-pentecostal-church-Весник-Истины/160101984021265
  32. First Slavic Evangelical Baptist Church https://www.facebook.com/fsebc.org
  33. Christian House of Worship (Chicago, IL) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-House-Of-Worship/244999968853222
  34. Center of Life Youth (Spokane, WA) https://www.facebook.com/COLyouth
  35. River of Life (Dallas, TX) https://www.facebook.com/riveroflifeDFW
  36. Salvation Baptist Church (Edgewood, WA) https://www.facebook.com/salvationbaptistchurchWA
  37. Good News Church, Tacoma WA https://www.facebook.com/GNCtacoma
  38. City Youth (Sacramento, CA) https://www.facebook.com/CityYouthPage
  39. Russian Church of Texas https://www.facebook.com/pages/Russian-Church-Of-Texas/177474895634789
  40. Word of Grace Bible Church (Vancouver WA) https://www.facebook.com/islovo
  41. LTTW Youth https://www.facebook.com/pages/LTTWyouth/123040017759998
  42. Church of Truth (Vancouver WA) https://www.facebook.com/churchoftruth
  43. Generation 4 Truth Youth (Vancouver WA) https://www.facebook.com/Generation4Truth
  44. Reality Church https://www.facebook.com/pages/Reality-Church/150568224999961
  45. NW House of Prayer Youth https://www.facebook.com/NWHOP
  46. Slavic Gospel Church (Federal Way, WA) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slavic-Gospel-Church-SGC/144695832250368
  47. Ecclesia Church https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ecclesia-Church/139221649433334
  48. LCC Youth (Federal Way WA) https://www.facebook.com/lccyouth
  49. Marysville Youth https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marysville-Youth/152581284812247
  50. The Slavic Church Orange County https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Slavic-Church-Orange-County/204476786293337
  51. Bread of Life Christian Church (Springfield, MO) https://www.facebook.com/BreadOfLifeMO
  52. Crosslight Youth https://www.facebook.com/CrossLightYouth
  53. SGC Youth (Bellingham, WA) https://www.facebook.com/sgcyouth
  54. Image Church (Lynnwood WA) https://www.facebook.com/imagechurchwa
  55. New Testament Church (Seattle WA) https://www.facebook.com/NewTestamentChurchOfSeattle
  56. Seattle Sulamita Youth https://www.facebook.com/SeattleSulamitaYouth
  57. Bethel United (Everett WA) https://www.facebook.com/bethelunited
  58. Harvest Christian Center, Everett WA https://www.facebook.com/harvestcci
  59. The Reign Youth Ministry https://www.facebook.com/thereigntv
  60. Pilgrim Slavic Baptist Church https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pilgrim-Slavic-Baptist-Church/191063207603466
  61. Revival Christian Center https://www.facebook.com/RevivalChristianCenter
  62. Church of the Living God https://www.facebook.com/churchofthelivinggod
  63. Christian Faith Church https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithchurch
  64. New Life Church, Sioux Falls https://www.facebook.com/NewLifeSF
  65. Stream of Life Slavic Church, Salem OR https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stream-of-Life-Slavic-Church-Beaverton-OR/1562572783958882
  66. Life of Victory Church (Renton, WA) https://www.facebook.com/lifeofvictory
  67. LOV Impact Youth Ministry https://www.facebook.com/lov.impactministry
  68. Russian Church of Atlanta https://www.facebook.com/pages/Russian-Church-of-Atlanta/118629801519020
  69. Voice of Hope Youth (Portland, ORG) https://www.facebook.com/vohyouth
  70. New Beginnings (Portland OR) https://www.facebook.com/ChurchNN
  71. Slavic Church Emmanuel IGNITE YOUTH https://www.facebook.com/IGNITEYOUTHMN
  72. Revival Youth https://www.facebook.com/pages/Revival-Youth/116468545048864
  73. Христианская Церковь https://www.facebook.com/ztchurch.pp.ua
  74. Sulamita Youth Boise, ID https://www.facebook.com/Sulamitayouth
  75. SFG Youth Minsitries, INC https://www.facebook.com/pages/SFG-Youth-Ministries-Inc/104986232913764
  76. Russian Church, NY https://www.facebook.com/RussianChurchNY
  77. Russian Speaking Church https://www.facebook.com/ChurchNT
  78. Russian Baptist Church of Auburn (WA) https://www.facebook.com/beinchurch
  79. FUBC Youth https://www.facebook.com/FUBChurch
  80. Spokane Slavic Baptist Church https://www.facebook.com/SpokaneSlavicBaptistChurch
  81. Harvest Church (Atlanta, GA) https://www.facebook.com/sccharvestchurch
  82. New Life Christian Center https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Life-Christian-Center/421531024606715
  83. Youth of Grace Church MN https://www.facebook.com/gracechurchmn
  84. Light of the Gospel Youth https://www.facebook.com/logmcyouth
  85. New Life Christian Church (Mount Vernon, WA) https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Life-Christian-Church/125171360847142
  86. Voice of Victory Christian Center https://www.facebook.com/VoiceofVictoryCC
  87. New Life Youth (Mount Vernon, WA) https://www.facebook.com/new.lifeyouth.5
  88. BYM Bethesda Youth Ministries https://www.facebook.com/pages/BYM-Bethesda-Youth-Ministries/146983352017824
  89. Hungry Generation https://www.facebook.com/hungrygen
  90. Spring of Life Youth (Mukilteo, WA) https://www.facebook.com/sol7pm
  91. Zachary Worship Center https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zachary-Worship-Center/213673752032634
  92. SBS Ministry https://www.facebook.com/pages/SBS-Ministry/107726752660587
  93. Bryte Youth https://www.facebook.com/bryteyouth
  94. Christian Cultures Center https://www.facebook.com/christiancultures
  95. First Slavic Pentecostal Church (North Port, FL) https://www.facebook.com/fspcflorida

BIBLE SCHOOLS:

  1. SMBS Jacksonville FL https://www.facebook.com/SMBSJax
  2. Центр Христианского Образования https://www.facebook.com/ChristianEduOnline
  3. Teens Bible School (Jacksonville, FL) https://www.facebook.com/tbsjax
  4. Bethany Bible School, Sacramento, CA https://www.facebook.com/BethanyBibleSchool
  5. Slavic Bible College, Tacoma WA https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slavic-Bible-College/232529120120565
  6. God Will Provide Missionary Bible School, Portland OR https://www.facebook.com/GodWillProvideMissionarySchool
  7.  Slavic Theological Seminary https://www.facebook.com/SlavicSeminary
  8.  Light To The World Missionary Bible School, Sedalia MO https://www.facebook.com/pages/Light-to-the-Word-Missionary-School/181729235191926