Greetings from Charlotte!
All plans are proceeding nicely for the upcoming Ministerial Conference. If you intend to come and have not notified us yet, please do so without delay (only Living Church of God ministers will be attending). We thank all of you who sent back your conference registration forms by the deadline. Almost all of you did, and that has helped us greatly with preparations. It appears that we will have a record attendance at the Conference this year.
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Randall Kobernat will retire from the full-time ministry in February. He will continue to serve as an Elder in the Church. We sincerely appreciate his diligent and dedicated service to God and His people over many years and we know we can count on him to continue to serve whenever and wherever he can.
Prayer Request from Mr. Tex Benitez (LCG Minister)
Mrs. Melvine Dillehay, a member of LCG who attends in Little Rock, is the daughter of Mr. Tex Benitez, a faithful minister in the Philippines. Mr. Benitez has been in declining health with a number of problems including diabetes and liver problems. Mrs. Dillehay advises that her father has taken a turn for the worse, and is very ill. She and the Benitez family request your prayers for God's intervention on behalf of Mr. Benitez –Mr. Davy Crockett
German Work Update
Following is a report of the Work in Germany, sent in by Mr. Adrian Kaefer:
In 2003 the Web site www.weltvonmorgen.org/ had: A total of 4449 booklet downloads (+ 92.2% compared to 2002), 11586 article downloads (+ 109.4% compared to 2002), and 1302 Bible Study Course lesson downloads (+ 76.4% compared to 2002).
Additionally, in 2003, the following printed publications were sent out by mail:
A total of 269 booklets (+ 88.1% compared to 2002), 374 articles for the entire year (+ 77.3% compared to 2002), and 60 Bible Study Course lessons (+ 200% compared to 2002).
In total, the German Web site has now distributed 29947 publications (95% via Internet) since its beginning in August 2000 - 3 1/2 years ago. Of these, more than half were distributed this year alone (+ 101.3% compared to 2002). This was without placing any advertising in a magazine or newspaper.
Canadian Work Mailing Address
The new mailing address for the Work in Canada is:
LIVING CHURCH OF GOD
PO BOX 409
MISSISSAUGA, ON L5M 2B9
CANADA
Must Play Video Sermons
Just as a reminder, video sermons marked "Must Play" are—must plays! These sermons are so designated because Mr. Meredith feels strongly that the information is spiritually or administratively important for everyone in the Church to hear. It may be a doctrinally powerful sermon or contain special information about the Work of God.
A tape marked "Must Play" has precedence over other tapes, regardless of the dates they were recorded. Please be sure these sermons are shown to the congregations and video groups, at the earliest opportunity. These tapes are not optional or discretionary.
Must Play tapes help LCG members keep in touch with teaching that comes from the Church's Headquarters, and are a powerful tool in unifying the people of God, doctrinally, spiritually and administratively. Pastors with large congregations, and all those that have elders who give sermons, should schedule at least one Sabbath a month for a Headquarters videoed main message, so the Must Play tapes don't pile up. Regular taped sermons that are not shown during services should be made available to the membership in your congregation's library as soon as you receive them. They have already been reviewed and approved at Headquarters before being sent out. Please also ensure that the libraries in your congregations do not contain materials or tapes from other fellowships.
Since so many of you ministers speak every Sabbath, you should try to listen to the audio cassette versions of Must Play sermons as you travel. This will help us all maintain doctrinal consistency with HQ. This way, we will all be speaking the same thing, which is what God has instructed us to do. (1 Cor 1:10)
Thank you all for your faithful and diligent support in this important aspect of your duties as servant overseers in God's Church. —Mr. Don Davis
Keep warm, drive carefully and have a happy Sabbath!
Charles E. Bryce