It’s hard to believe the Fall Holy Days will be here in less than two weeks—the summer really has flown by! Mr. Meredith and Mr. Ames taped new Tomorrow’s World programs this week. On Tuesday, Mr. Meredith taped program #378, “Your Ultimate Destiny,” offering the booklet by the same title, and tomorrow he will tape program #382, “The Truth About Divine Healing,” offering the booklet Does God Heal Today? Mr. Ames taped program #383, “Who Is Jesus?” offering the booklet What Is a True Christian? Mr. Wallace Smith will be in Charlotte next week to tape additional programs. Mr. Rod McNair, Dr. Wilner Pierre and Mr. Bud Jersett have returned from a very encouraging and informative visit with our brethren in Haiti. Living University classes are off to a good start for the Fall semester.  This weekend, I will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, and in Memphis, Tennessee, to give two more TWSPs entitled “What’s Ahead for America?”

This week we conducted a Council of Elders phone meeting and a Living University Board meeting. In the Living University Board meeting, Dr. Germano reported that last year was a very positive year for LU with the addition of a new computer program for managing student information and a generous response to fund raising appeals. We also had a very profitable discussion about the future of Living University. In addition to conducting meetings, Mr. Meredith has been writing and preparing to tape another TW program next week. Mr. Rod King and Mr. Mario Hernandez arrived safely here in Charlotte. Mr. King reports that the Summer Camp in the UK went very well. The Living Youth Camp in Pennsylvania is going well and will conclude tomorrow. This Sabbath and Sunday, I will be in Tulsa and Edmond, Oklahoma to make two TWSPs titled, “What’s Ahead for America?” Your prayers for these presentations will be appreciated.

This week a new e-mail subscription list—the LCG Weekly Digest—was added to the Church website, www.lcg.org. This will allow subscribers to the LCG Weekly Digest to receive an e-mail each Saturday which provides an overview and a link to each of the featured items added to the website in the previous week. This will include the website Commentaries, News & Prophecy briefs, as well as a sermon from Headquarters. This new e-mail subscription list will provide an alternative to the Commentary e-mail list which is programmed to be delivered automatically each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. These e-mail lists provide a way for interested individuals to stay abreast of the new content added to the website each week. Since January 2008, these e-mail campaigns have resulted in more than 670,000 clicks to our websites!

To start receiving the LCG Weekly Digest in your e-mail inbox, simply visit the website—www.lcg.org and click the “Subscribe for E-mail Updates” link at the top of the page.

In our role as stewards of the resources that God provides, we constantly seek to improve our efficiency and ability to get the Work done with our limited number of personnel. For example, until recently, we had to make up to three trips per day to haul outgoing mail to the post office mailing facility that handles bulk mail. This was time consuming and expensive.

We have now purchased a diesel truck with a 16 foot van body to haul our daily output of mail. With this vehicle, we can usually haul all of the day’s output in one load and the lift gate greatly speeds up the loading and unloading of the truck.

As an added bonus, we have added signs to the sides and rear of the truck advertising Tomorrow's World television program and magazine. The signs give the web address of TomorrowsWorld.org. We hope that as the truck travels about the busy streets of Charlotte, many will become aware of the Work when they see our Web address and the name of our program displayed in this way.

I am happy to announce that Mr. Richard Ames’ Tomorrow’s World telecast titled, “You Can Understand Prophecy,” has been awarded the Aurora Platinum Best of Show / Competition Award from the 2010 Aurora Film & Television Awards. This is the highest award that the Aurora Awards presents. In fact, according to the numbers from the Aurora Awards, only a very small percentage of the entries received are judged, and awarded at the Platinum level. Congratulations to the presenters of the Tomorrow’s World Television Program—Dr. Meredith, Mr. Ames, Mr. Wallace Smith and Mr. Rod King on their Platinum Aurora win! While we are not doing the Work for human awards, it’s nice to have an independent, professional panel of judges working in the film and television industry, gauge the overall impact and quality of our telecast. The judging committee actually made notes complimenting the effectiveness of the program, calling it “excellent” three times. We know that any excellence with the telecast comes from He who is The Most Excellent—God! We know that God is guiding His Work through correct government, and the tremendous leadership He has chosen—under Jesus Christ and Dr. Meredith. Time is short brethren, and the time is now—let’s fully surrender to God and His will, and let’s finish the Work while it’s still day!

This past weekend evangelists from the Living Church of God conducted three Tomorrow's World Special Presentations, making personal contact with more than 400 non-member Tomorrow's World subscribers and more than 200 Living Church of God brethren.

In Dallas, Texas, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith spoke on July 10 to more than 280 brethren and visitors, sharing a powerful message on the topic, "What's Ahead for America?" Visitors described the presentation as uplifting and inspirational, some saying that it called to mind the powerful evangelistic campaigns Dr. Meredith first conducted more than 50 years ago. Many of the 150 non-member guests lingered after the presentation to fellowship with brethren and to meet one-on-one with Dr. Meredith. Regional Pastor Mr. Dan Hall will give a follow-up presentation in Dallas next week.

On Sunday, July 11, Evangelist Dr. Douglas S. Winnail gave an exciting illustrated presentation, "What's Ahead for America?" to more than 70 guests in Roanoke. Here is how a deacon from Bluefield, Virginia described the event. "One could sense God's Holy Spirit working in creating a welcoming atmosphere. There was a great deal of excitement among the guests about finding a Church that taught God's truth. Many expressed a desire to attend the next presentation [on July 18, by area pastor Mr. Paul Shumway], and to learn more about God's way of life."

Also on Sunday, July 11 -- while hundreds of millions around the world watched the championship game of the 2010 World Cup -- Evangelist Richard F. Ames spoke to approximately 240 non-member guests and 80 Church members in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, delivering his message, "Prophecy and the Coming Kingdom." Dr. Scott Winnail will be conducting a follow-up presentation on July 18.

This week at Headquarters, Dr. Roderick Meredith recorded his Last Great Day 2010 message to be sent to our 45 Feast sites around the world. This week also, we mailed brochures for TWSPs in Thomasville, Georgia, and Lake City, Florida, scheduled for the end of July. Fifty-five presentations have been held so far this year. Meanwhile, Dr. Douglas Winnail and Mr. Charles Ogwyn have been in Europe to lead an Internet Conference. Dr. Winnail wrote yesterday from England, “The trip to Belgium for the Internet Conference went very well…” Dr. Winnail and Mr. Ogwyn have safely arrived in Charlotte this afternoon. Thank you for your prayers for their travels.

It is encouraging to report that responses to Mr. Meredith’s recent semi-annual letter are coming in strong. Mr. Meredith has had a number of meetings this week and is writing articles for the Living Church News. This Sabbath, we will start a new congregation in Braselton, Georgia (about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta). Mr. Jonathan McNair and Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka will be conducting Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations in Rochester, New York and in Mountain View, Arkansas this weekend.

Dr. Roderick C. Meredith's strong message to the British people was heard by 94 LCG members and nearly 200 guests (mostly Tomorrow's World subscribers) from the greater London area on the Sabbath of May 29.

His presentation was held at the Kings College Auditorium, Waterloo, just across the Thames River from the Houses of Parliament. It was an outstanding success, with more than 90 guests requesting additional literature via the literature request forms that were provided, and more than 20 asking for personal visits from the London pastor, Mr. Rick Stafford.

Monday morning, witnessed the second Living University Commencement exercise in Charlotte, North Carolina. This year we honored eight graduates from five nations: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. Four students were physically present for the Commencement. Graduates completed the Certificate in New Testament Studies, the Diploma in Biblical Studies, and the Associate of Theology programs. We also conferred our first Bachelor of Theology degree on Mrs. Kathleen Wollin from Wisconsin. Mrs. Wollin was further presented with the Herbert W. Armstrong Excellence Award. The commencement address was powerfully delivered by Dr. Roderick Meredith. Following Commencement, a fine reception was held for graduates, guests, faculty and Headquarters staff.

Greetings from Charlotte, In the past, back in Pasadena, when we had numerous ministerial conferences, we used to receive many positive comments. But this year’s conference in Charlotte brought more positive feedback than ever before, to my recollection. We are thankful to God. This week, Dr. Roderick Meredith’s first semi-annual letter of 2010 is being mailed to subscribers around the world. In it, he offers a DVD titled, Tomorrow’s World: Behind the Scenes. Your prayers for the impact and success of this letter are much appreciated.

The Tomorrow’s World website continues to expand its audience, now, with a 41% increase in the number of people visiting www.tomorrowsworld.org in the first quarter compared to last year. The use of social media has contributed to the expansion of our audience. Many regular readers of our website post articles, commentaries, and our TV program to their Facebook wall, or email our website to their friends. Although each individual contribution may be small, the cumulative effect is tremendous. It is exciting to see how God has blessed and multiplied our efforts to deliver His message through the Internet.

A total of 232 ministers and wives from 18 countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Martinique, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Switzerland, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and the United States) attended the conference here in Charlotte. Dr. Meredith led the conference with inspiring messages that featured instruction, exhortation, and vision. This was our first general conference since 2006. Highlights included a presentation given by British political analyst Adrian Hilton (pictured below with Dr. Meredith), and the special awards given to Messrs. Apartian and Weston for their many years of service to God’s people. Response by our visiting ministers, wives and widows was very positive, as typified by the comments below:

“Having attended conferences for the past 43 years, I can say this conference was most outstanding in the spectacular weather, beautiful facility/meals/dinner dance we enjoyed. However, even more impressive was the material presented to us, and finally the unity, focus and kind and loving spirit that dominated this event!”
–Mrs. Renee Walden

“The conference was stimulating and exciting. The various sessions were informative, substantive, and relevant. They were also uplifting and inspiring, reasserting focus into why we are all here and motivating the ministry to charge forward with the work God has given us to do.… The fellowship was outstanding and exemplified “Philadelphia” love. There was a sense of togetherness and harmony not often felt in such a large and diverse gathering. While we had people from all over the world from many different backgrounds and languages, everyone was rooted in the same foundation and hope working, speaking, and learning together as a family. It was quite evident that the spirit of Christ was leading this conference.”
–Mr. James Ginn

“Not only was the Conference informative, but it seems to me to be the most unifying tool we have for the ministers and wives. It gives us direction, in that we all… can feel the pulse and vision for God's Work.”
–Mr. Don Wood

In the first four months of 2010, the Tomorrow's World telecast received responses from all 210 of the U.S. Designated Market Areas as defined by Nielsen Media Research! From January 1 - April 30, out of 67,546 Tomorrow's World telecast responses in the U.S., the top five response areas were: Chicago (3,689), New York (3,287), Charlotte (1,998), Atlanta (1,279) and Baltimore (1,146). The largest number of public-access responses came from the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota DMA (467) and from New York, New York (465). We thank the brethren for their ongoing prayers and support of the telecast!

The Top Ten pages are part of a 10 week series highlighting the most popular downloads from our website in several different categories.

Top 10 2009 - #1  |   #2  |   #3  |   #4  |   #5  |   #6  |   #7  |   #8  |   #9  |   #10

News 14 on Time Warner Cable was looking for a local connection to the problems in international travel caused by the volcanic eruptions in Iceland. While searching on the Web for a connection, she found several of our members on Facebook had posted prayer requests for our ministers to be able to get to Charlotte for the Council of Elders meeting and conference. She found our Website and called us for an interview.

She came to the office, took pictures of the front of our building, and then interviewed me on camera (Tuesday, April 20, 2010) asking questions about the church, our meetings and the difficulties in travel caused by the volcanic ash. On the way out she took pictures of our international map showing the location of our congregations and Regional offices.

Click Here to see the news segment aired by News 14

Another major earthquake (this week in China); a volcanic eruption in Iceland that closed major airports in England, Scotland and Ireland; the threat of wars in the Middle East and the growing financial uncertainties in the world certainly fit Jesus Christ’s prophecies of events that will mark the arrival of the last days! Scoffers who assume that New Testament prophecies were only for the days of Jesus and His disciples might want to reconsider their claims. Here, in Charlotte, preparations for the Feast of Tabernacles registration in the USA and Canada are underway. Mr. Meredith has been writing and conducting meetings. Last week, more than 175 invited guests attended Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations in the vicinity of Toronto, Canada; in Bluefield, West Virginia; and in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

This has been a busy week here in Charlotte with meetings and getting ready for the Passover and Spring Holy Day period. A number of us will be traveling to other areas for the Holy Days. Last weekend, Dr. Scott Winnail had a very encouraging visit with brethren in Barbados where he and Mr. Fitzroy Greeman conducted services, a Bible Study and a Leadership Conference.

In other exciting news, last week, more than 240 new people attended Tomorrow's World Bible Lectures: about 190 in Canada (in British Columbia), 26 in Bordentown, New Jersey and 33 in Jacksonville and Ocala, Florida. This coming Sabbath, Mr. Jonathan McNair will conduct a TW lecture in Cranford, New Jersey. Your prayers for these lectures, for safe travel and for God's blessing on the Spring Holy Days are appreciated.

God continues to bless our websites with increasing response. In February we had a 54.73% increase in the number people visiting www.tomorrowsworld.org, compared with February 2009! These visitors on the website requested 5,891 subscriptions to Tomorrow's World magazine. This is a 184.45% increase in the number of subscriptions requested online over February of 2009!

This past weekend was another exciting one. A total of 300 people attended three more Tomorrow's World Bible Lectures, one by Mr. Ames in Atlanta, Georgia and two by Mr. Pieter van der Byl in South Africa-167 of those who attended were visitors. Next weekend (March 13-14), we have another series of lectures scheduled for Huntsville, Alabama, and Jacksonville and Ocala, Florida. This week in Charlotte, Mr. Meredith has been busy conducting meetings, making phone calls and preparing for his travels during the Spring Holy Days. Mr. Rod King, Mr. Gerald Weston and Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Pyle have been in Nashville attending a convention for the National Religious Broadcasters. Last weekend's Sabbath service and Sunday's mini-conference on Leadership Training in Chattanooga were very encouraging and inspiring.

God protected all our members in Chile from harm during last Saturday's 8.8-magnitude earthquake, and we have heard of the safety of all the members of the United Church of God, for which we are very grateful to Him. At the time of the quake, one of our Church families was south of Santiago, closer to the epicenter. The quake was a frightening experience, but they witnessed God's mighty intervention for their protection.

Our elder in Santiago, Mr. Sergio Carvajal, has personally visited all our brethren there and has assessed their situations. Only one widow suffered material damage, as the wall separating her house from her neighbor's succumbed to the tremor. The roof to our meeting hall also suffered damaged. Please continue to remember the brethren and people of Chile in your prayers.

After some difficulty, Mr. Hernandez was able to contact some of the brethren in Chile and learned that all our members there are safe. Although, some have might have sustained material damage. We are very grateful to God for His protection. Thank you for your prayers. More details will follow later on.

Some sunny weather has returned to the southeastern part of the USA this week, after last weekend's snow. Mr. Meredith taped another Tomorrow's World program today, titled "Will America Cease to Exist?," offering The World Ahead booklet. Mr. and Mrs. Ames have returned from a very successful TW Bible lecture in Kingston, Jamaica. Dr. Scott Winnail is currently attending the annual meeting for the Association for Biblical Higher Education in Orlando, Florida, and will fly to Jamaica to give a follow-up Bible lecture in Kingston this Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. Gene Hilgenberg are visiting the office in Charlotte this week. Mr. Hilgenberg pastors congregations in Oklahoma and northern Arkansas. Dr. Germano is also here this week to tape lectures for Living University and to work on university-related matters. I had a very positive trip to the Los Angeles area last weekend for Sabbath services and a leadership mini-conference.

Judging from the reactions to President Obama’s State of the Union message, there are growing concerns in the nation and abroad over the America’s ballooning deficit and the implications for the global financial system. The months ahead could be interesting. Here in Charlotte, Mr. Meredith has been holding meetings and staying in touch with ministers in the field. He will be writing a co-worker letter and preparing another television script in the days ahead. Mr. and Mrs. Ames will be in Kingston, Jamaica, for services on the Sabbath and a Tomorrow’s World Bible Lecture on Sunday. Your prayers for their safe travel and a good turnout for the lecture are appreciated. Dr. Fall reports an encouraging response to the second TW Bible Lecture in Sacramento last Sabbath (see below). I had a very profitable visit with congregations in Columbus and Akron, Ohio, last weekend. While the weather was quite cold, the attitudes of the brethren were warm and positive. We are happy to have Mr. and Mrs. Rod Reynolds visiting Headquarters on the “HQ visit program” this week. Mr. Reynolds is the Area Pastor for congregations in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Mr. Meredith and Mr. Ames both recorded new Tomorrow’s World television programs this week. Mr. Meredith recorded, “Why Earthquakes?” offering the booklet Who Controls the Weather? Mr. Ames recorded, “Prove the Bible,” offering the booklet The Bible: Fact or Fiction? Mr. Rod McNair and Mr. Crockett conducted a teleconference with Festival Site Coordinators from around the world on Wednesday afternoon. Dr. Germano was in Charlotte this week to record lectures for Living University and to take care of university-related business. Last Sabbath, I was with about 100 brethren in Sacramento, California and conducted a Tomorrow’s World Bible Study. Dr. Fall will follow-up with a presentation this Sabbath, titled “Where Is God’s Church Today?”

All of our members are safe. The homes of two Church families were completely destroyed by Haiti’s January 12 earthquake. The homes of additional families were damaged and are unfit to inhabit. We are making arrangements for a new place for our members to meet for services, as well as assisting the families.

We have made contact with our brethren in Haiti. All are alive, but some will have rebuilding to do, and we are exploring ways to assist them. Meanwhile, world events continue to move in sobering directions. Severe weather, widespread corruption and threats of violence continue to dominate headlines. In the USA, news items are beginning to appear in the press that “the hand writing is on the wall” for a President and his party who have been pushing a liberal socialist agenda that advocates same-sex marriage and government spending that threatens not only America’s financial stability, but the financial stability of the global economic system. Here in Charlotte, Mr. Meredith has been writing and holding meetings. We have had a number of planning sessions regarding the budget and anticipated activities for 2010, and yesterday we held a Regional Pastors meeting over the Internet. This week, Living University started a new semester in its third year of operation with more than one hundred students. On Saturday, we will hold a Tomorrow’s World Bible Lecture in Sacramento, California. Your prayers will be appreciated for that event.

The tragic aftermath of Haiti’s January 12 earthquake is unfathomable. We are, however, comforted to know and deeply grateful that God protected the lives of all our Church members, and their families, in Port-au-Prince. Last Sabbath, all the brethren except one prospective member met at the place where services used to be held, our deacon’s home, which was completely destroyed by the earthquake. From there, a member with a working cell phone was able to communicate with Dr. Wilner Pierre, our elder in Charlotte, to give him the good news of the brethren’s well being! When Dr. Pierre shared the news with the Charlotte congregation during his sermonette, the moved headquarters brethren erupted in applause.

Our brethren in Haiti didn’t have much, physically speaking, before the earthquake. Now they have less. We are thankful, though, that they are all alive! We are in the process of finding ways to send them all the material help that they need, and we thank God for continuing to protect them. Please keep them in your prayers, since strong aftershocks are still occurring on the fault line that runs through the Caribbean.

Thanks to God, all of our members in Haiti are alive. Most of them even gathered for the Sabbath at the place were services used to be held. We are in the process of finding ways to send them direct aid.

Yesterday afternoon my secretary, Debbie, was able to make contact with one of our members in Haiti. Dr. Wilner Pierre was also able to talk to him. This member wasn't hurt during the earthquake and all his family was protected as well. Because of the chaos, he hasn't been able to make contact with our other brethren but he said he would try to travel to the location where our deacon lives and where the Church meets, to see how conditions are there. We will keep you informed. Please keep Haiti in your prayers. Have a nice Sabbath.

The incredible devastation in the island nation of Haiti has touched everyone as scenes of massive destruction and human suffering are playing out in all the news media. At present, the situation in the country is chaotic and delivery of aid is going painfully slowly. The Church does have a Disaster Relief Fund and a donation will be made for general relief of the populace through a reputable organization that is equipped to deliver the aid. In addition, as soon as the needs of our members in Haiti can be determined we will do what we can to get financial aid to them. You prayers for this to be accomplished very soon will be appreciated.

2009 was a record-breaking year for our websites in the U.S. and also around the world. Mr. VG Lardé reports that our French website, www.mondedemain.org, set several new records. The number of visitor sessions exceeded the 200,000-mark for the first time with 222,463 visitor sessions, which represents an increase of 22% over the previous year. The number of articles, booklets, radio broadcasts, sermons, and commentaries downloaded from the website passed the 300,000-mark, with 328,489 items downloaded. From a different perspective, these figures represent more than 600 visits to the website and 900 items downloaded each day! People from 123 different countries visited the Le Monde de Demain website last year. It is exciting indeed to see how God has blessed and multiplied our efforts to deliver His message through the Internet.

We have recently passed a major milestone with more than two million views of our videos posted on YouTube. We currently have 560 videos on our YouTube channel. Dylan King updates our YouTube channel and first began posting the Tomorrow’s World telecast videos to YouTube back in March of 2007. We now have more than 1,800 subscribers to our channel who receive an e-mail notification each time a new video is added.

Social video sites, such as YouTube, provide a convenient and popular way for videos to be viewed and shared with friends. It has been exciting to hear from some individuals, now attending services with us, who first found out about us as a result of seeing the Tomorrow’s World program on YouTube!