Church Awakening - Articles

We are happy to announce the beginning of the fund raising campaign for the “Awakening” Inner City Worship Center. Building an Inner City Worship Center downtown Stara Zagora was a vision which God planted in our hearts several years ago. We needed more than two years to allow the idea crystallize in our minds and before we introduce it to our sponsors and friends.

The initiative of the ICWC belongs to two organizations who will partner in the realization of this project – “Care for All Ministries” and “Awakening” Church of God. As you all know through the years we have started number of ministries. Today we have them all under the title “Care for All”. “Care for All” runs all of our educational projects like the Bulgarian Bible College as well as our care ministries like “Wholesome Life” and “Create a Smile” ministries. Awakening Church of God is our major partner in the project. The church was started almost 3 years ago by staff members and students of the Bulgarian Bible School. In a way this inner city plant is considered to be the “College Church”. That is the reason why we can hardly differentiate our church from all of the other things we do. Awakening is the major donor of volunteers and project coordinators for all of our ministries. Today “Awakening” has more than 150 in regular attendance and a Sunday school of 30 kids. Awakening became one of the most influential churches in town and the only Evangelical church in down town Stara Zagora. Since there is a great harmony in the vision, the strategy and the leadership of “Awakening” and “Care for All” both organizations decided to join efforts and resources in building the Inner City Worship Center. The building of such center will be a significant expansion of our ministries and influence upon our community. It is the most natural growth process, which is to take place in both institutions. They share one faith – Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and one passion – the salvation of lost.

Stara Zagora is the 5th largest city in Bulgaria and despite the fact that in our town of 150 000 there are significant number of churches, the percentage of born again Christians in our town is as low as 1%. Our town is very secular. There are thousands of people who have not been reached. The traditional way of evangelizing people seems to not bring much fruit nowadays. Churches progressively become closed and aging communities, who care very little about the problems of the wider community. So far there have been great interest from both Bulgarian and International missions in our town but their work could never grow roots and truly influence the life of the community because of the lack of buildings and facilities. The building of the ICWC is the largest building project of the Evangelical Community in Stara Zagora ever since the first missionaries came to our town 120 year ago. That is why the building of such center is of great historical value not only for the evangelical churches in our town but for the community itself. The people of Bulgaria, who are traditionally Eastern Orthodox, have great respect for buildings and facilities. That is the reason why evangelical churches who always gather in cinema theaters and public halls never received enough attention. The fact that those churches did not own sanctuaries and temples became a serious hindrance to impact the society in a lasting way. On the other hand those churches who were able to build small parishes use them only for church services and nothing else. They did not manage to offer other ministries and make the people from the community feel welcome. The building of ICWC is a break through in our thinking and strategy as far as the influence of the church in the society is concerned. The Center stands for a “paradigm shift” which is needed if we want to see the Good News of Salvation truly get to the heart of a post-Communist nation like Bulgaria. Our Worship Center is to become a model for holistic ministry that offers spirituality, education and care throught variety of cutting edge ministries.

In the Worship Centre we would like to initiate new ministries and expand the ministries we already have. Our primary goal has always been to reach the lost and hurting community which we live in. That is why we have always tried to be good stewards of our talents and invest them in the best way possible. We desire to build a multifunctional building which would be a spiritual center where people are nurtured and encouraged in the faith through church services, conferences and seminars, Christian education, family and youth meetings, prayer groups, etc. but we want to build something that is more than a church and a bible school. We want to build a building which belongs to the community in which every citizen feels welcome and compelled to come.

is also a substantional part of Care for All. Wholesome life aims to help senior citizens from our city daily with warm food and an environment in which they can socialize. Through this program we have won number of people for Christ who are now members of our College church – “Awakening” CoG. Because of the great success of this ministry we would like to enlarge the capacity of our kitchen. So far we have fed only 30 people per day because of the lack of space. In the new building we envision a kitchen for at least 100 people.

is also a ministry which we are very proud of. It is a ministry that aims to help orphanages. Through this ministry we are helping several orphanages with food, clothes, blankets, bed sheets and toys on a regular basis. The ministry also helps some of the children with minor health problems to get the necessary surgery. The ministry also needs an office if it is to grow and expand its reach.

Church of God- Since its beginning in march 2003 “Awakening” Church of God became the spiritual shelter of the students and the staff of the BTC and Care for All ministries not only because it was started by them but because it quickly became a community reaching church. Dimitar Luchev, one of our professors at the College is the senior pastor at that church plant which has now more than 150 members and about 30 children in its Sunday school. “Awakening” is the only inner city church in Stara Zagora which has the vision to penetrate and influence the community of people who live in the down town area. For the last three yeas, “Awakening” has been renting number of public halls. The steady growth of the congregation makes its leadership consider having a sanctuary on their own. A sanctuary that seats 450 to 500 people will be one of the most important parts of the new Worship center we want to build. The sanctuary will allow the church to grow and reach far more people than now. We believe that the closeness of the church to the College will provide the students at BTC with a home church and will positively influence the educational process.

Food bank ministry – two years ago Awakening CoG started a food bank ministry which was well accepted in the church. Our food bank which is entirely sponsored by our church members provides for those who are poor with food bags, clothes, home furniture and appliances. So far the ministry operated in a very small facility with a small capacity. We need larger facilities in which we can store more goods and minister to more people who are in need. We envision that the food bank in the new Worship Center would be open at least twice a week for people from the community and those who are in need to receive different goods.

Two years ago “Care for All” launched an evangelization and church planting ministry. The ministry aimed to evangelize the villages around Stara Zagora and plant churches in the places where there has been a positive response. So far the ministry was based in the building of BTC. In the new building we will have more room for a separate office and storage room for the ministry.

It has always been our aim to reach the young generation of Bulgaria. A youth center where young Christians and youth from the community can get together in a safe Christian environment is at the core of our vision for the Inner City Worship Centre.

We would like to open the first Christian day care center in Stara Zagora. We would also like to offer free baby sitting. This way we would like to serve the people from our community and show them the love of Christ.

So far in the building of the BTC we have offered free computer courses for the people from the community. They proofed to be very successful that is why we would like not only to continue doing that but offer more courses. We would also like to organize community seminars related to different social issues like drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, trafficking, child abuse etc. For such purposes we need a large community hall and a larger computer laboratory.

Our Bible College has been running for more than 8 years and we have never had a student dormitory. Our students live in the city in apartments that they rent. This has in many ways crippled the spiritual atmosphere in the College because living on campus creates certain togetherness that is vital for the Christian education. That is why a major part of our worship center will be a dormitory for our College students. The dormitory should have approximately 20 rooms and host up to 50 students.

Since Dinko, who is the president of BTC and an assistant pastor at Awakening CoG, was elected as a regional overseer both BTC and Awakening have expaned their influence both regionally and nationally. Both BTC and Awakening have become the driving force in the spiritual development of the region. We do not only host the regional administration, but organize seminars and conferences, pastoral breakfasts, leadership prayer meetings for the pastors and ministers of the 92 churches in Stara Zagora region. We believe the the building of the ICWC will not strengthen the ministry of a particular local church but the ministry of the Church of God in the region.

We realize that the building of such Center is not an easy endeavor. It is something way beyond what we can accomplish with our own strength and resources but we believe that “Awakening” Inner City Worship Center is at the heart of God for Stara Zagora. We believe that it is a God given vision that we are to pursue. And since it is God given we believe that God will provide the necessary funds. We also believe that many of you who have been here with us and seen the things God does in our city have been brought with a purpose. We are so thankful you have helped us in so many projects and thanks to your support we have been able to accomplish much but now we need your support for something greater that will have a lasting impact on our community and who knows it might change the history of our city.

Here you can download and see on video, what people that saw the land and all the elements of this project first hand think about our venture in planing.

1. Kevin Howerd - 300$
2. Zeus Ebio - 100$



We are happy to announce the beginning of the fund raising campaign for the “Awakening” Inner City Worship Center. Building an Inner City Worship Center downtown Stara Zagora was a vision which God planted in our hearts several years ago. We needed more than two years to allow the idea crystallize in our minds and before we introduce it to our sponsors and friends. The initiative of the ICWC belongs to two organizations who will partner in the realization of this project – “Care for All Ministries” and “Awakening” Church of God. As you all know through the years we have started number of ministries. Today we have them all under the title “Care for All”. “Care for All” runs all of our educational projects like the Bulgarian Bible College as well as our care ministries like “Wholesome Life” and “Create a Smile” ministries. Awakening Church of God is our major partner in the project. The church was started almost 3 years ago by staff members and students of the Bulgarian Bible School. In a way this inner city plant is considered to be the “College Church”. That is the reason why we can hardly differentiate our church from all of the other things we do. Awakening is the major donor of volunteers and project coordinators for all of our ministries. Today “Awakening” has more than 150 in regular attendance and a Sunday school of 30 kids. Awakening became one of the most influential churches in town and the only Evangelical church in down town Stara Zagora. Since there is a great harmony in the vision, the strategy and the leadership of “Awakening” and “Care for All” both organizations decided to join efforts and resources in building the Inner City Worship Center. The building of such center will be a significant expansion of our ministries and influence upon our community. It is the most natural growth process, which is to take place in both institutions. They share one faith – Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and one passion – the salvation of lost. Stara Zagora is the 5th largest city in Bulgaria and despite the fact that in our town of 150 000 there are significant number of churches, the percentage of born again Christians in our town is as low as 1%. Our town is very secular. There are thousands of people who have not been reached. The traditional way of evangelizing people seems to not bring much fruit nowadays. Churches progressively become closed and aging communities, who care very little about the problems of the wider community. So far there have been great interest from both Bulgarian and International missions in our town but their work could never grow roots and truly influence the life of the community because of the lack of buildings and facilities. The building of the ICWC is the largest building project of the Evangelical Community in Stara Zagora ever since the first missionaries came to our town 120 year ago. That is why the building of such center is of great historical value not only for the evangelical churches in our town but for the community itself. The people of Bulgaria, who are traditionally Eastern Orthodox, have great respect for buildings and facilities. That is the reason why evangelical churches who always gather in cinema theaters and public halls never received enough attention. The fact that those churches did not own sanctuaries and temples became a serious hindrance to impact the society in a lasting way. On the other hand those churches who were able to build small parishes use them only for church services and nothing else. They did not manage to offer other ministries and make the people from the community feel welcome. The building of ICWC is a break through in our thinking and strategy as far as the influence of the church in the society is concerned. The Center stands for a “paradigm shift” which is needed if we want to see the Good News of Salvation truly get to the heart of a post-Communist nation like Bulgaria. Our Worship Center is to become a model for holistic ministry that offers spirituality, education and care throught variety of cutting edge ministries. In the Worship Centre we would like to initiate new ministries and expand the ministries we already have. Our primary goal has always been to reach the lost and hurting community which we live in. That is why we have always tried to be good stewards of our talents and invest them in the best way possible. We desire to build a multifunctional building which would be a spiritual center where people are nurtured and encouraged in the faith through church services, conferences and seminars, Christian education, family and youth meetings, prayer groups, etc. but we want to build something that is more than a church and a bible school. We want to build a building which belongs to the community in which every citizen feels welcome and compelled to come. is also a substantional part of Care for All. Wholesome life aims to help senior citizens from our city daily with warm food and an environment in which they can socialize. Through this program we have won number of people for Christ who are now members of our College church – “Awakening” CoG. Because of the great success of this ministry we would like to enlarge the capacity of our kitchen. So far we have fed only 30 people per day because of the lack of space. In the new building we envision a kitchen for at least 100 people. is also a ministry which we are very proud of. It is a ministry that aims to help orphanages. Through this ministry we are helping several orphanages with food, clothes, blankets, bed sheets and toys on a regular basis. The ministry also helps some of the children with minor health problems to get the necessary surgery. The ministry also needs an office if it is to grow and expand its reach. Church of God- Since its beginning in march 2003 “Awakening” Church of God became the spiritual shelter of the students and the staff of the BTC and Care for All ministries not only because it was started by them but because it quickly became a community reaching church. Dimitar Luchev, one of our professors at the College is the senior pastor at that church plant which has now more than 150 members and about 30 children in its Sunday school. “Awakening” is the only inner city church in Stara Zagora which has the vision to penetrate and influence the community of people who live in the down town area. For the last three yeas, “Awakening” has been renting number of public halls. The steady growth of the congregation makes its leadership consider having a sanctuary on their own. A sanctuary that seats 450 to 500 people will be one of the most important parts of the new Worship center we want to build. The sanctuary will allow the church to grow and reach far more people than now. We believe that the closeness of the church to the College will provide the students at BTC with a home church and will positively influence the educational process. Food bank ministry – two years ago Awakening CoG started a food bank ministry which was well accepted in the church. Our food bank which is entirely sponsored by our church members provides for those who are poor with food bags, clothes, home furniture and appliances. So far the ministry operated in a very small facility with a small capacity. We need larger facilities in which we can store more goods and minister to more people who are in need. We envision that the food bank in the new Worship Center would be open at least twice a week for people from the community and those who are in need to receive different goods. Two years ago “Care for All” launched an evangelization and church planting ministry. The ministry aimed to evangelize the villages around Stara Zagora and plant churches in the places where there has been a positive response. So far the ministry was based in the building of BTC. In the new building we will have more room for a separate office and storage room for the ministry. It has always been our aim to reach the young generation of Bulgaria. A youth center where young Christians and youth from the community can get together in a safe Christian environment is at the core of our vision for the Inner City Worship Centre. We would like to open the first Christian day care center in Stara Zagora. We would also like to offer free baby sitting. This way we would like to serve the people from our community and show them the love of Christ. So far in the building of the BTC we have offered free computer courses for the people from the community. They proofed to be very successful that is why we would like not only to continue doing that but offer more courses. We would also like to organize community seminars related to different social issues like drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, trafficking, child abuse etc. For such purposes we need a large community hall and a larger computer laboratory. Our Bible College has been running for more than 8 years and we have never had a student dormitory. Our students live in the city in apartments that they rent. This has in many ways crippled the spiritual atmosphere in the College because living on campus creates certain togetherness that is vital for the Christian education. That is why a major part of our worship center will be a dormitory for our College students. The dormitory should have approximately 20 rooms and host up to 50 students. Since Dinko, who is the president of BTC and an assistant pastor at Awakening CoG, was elected as a regional overseer both BTC and Awakening have expaned their influence both regionally and nationally. Both BTC and Awakening have become the driving force in the spiritual development of the region. We do not only host the regional administration, but organize seminars and conferences, pastoral breakfasts, leadership prayer meetings for the pastors and ministers of the 92 churches in Stara Zagora region. We believe the the building of the ICWC will not strengthen the ministry of a particular local church but the ministry of the Church of God in the region. We realize that the building of such Center is not an easy endeavor. It is something way beyond what we can accomplish with our own strength and resources but we believe that “Awakening” Inner City Worship Center is at the heart of God for Stara Zagora. We believe that it is a God given vision that we are to pursue. And since it is God given we believe that God will provide the necessary funds. We also believe that many of you who have been here with us and seen the things God does in our city have been brought with a purpose. We are so thankful you have helped us in so many projects and thanks to your support we have been able to accomplish much but now we need your support for something greater that will have a lasting impact on our community and who knows it might change the history of our city. Here you can download and see on video, what people that saw the land and all the elements of this project first hand think about our venture in planing. 1. Kevin Howerd - 300$ 2. Zeus Ebio - 100$

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