eNews from Ministerial and Member ServicesIssue 399

November 21, 2019

Personal From the President...

Dear fellow servants of God,

We completed a most wonderful session of the Pastoral Development Program yesterday. We are impressed with the caliber, zeal and character of the 32 men and women who came from around the world. We look forward to their continued service to our congregations.

Participants of this year's Pastoral Development Program

We continually refine our presentations to offer the most relevant material needed to do the work of the ministry in speaking, doctrine, counseling, integrity, time management, administration and much more. We believe that we have provided effective tools and guidance for those who came to learn and interact with us and with one another.

In the almost two weeks of the program, we were able to spend a lot of personal time with our new ministers and ministerial candidates. We appreciated having two long-

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time pastors, Randy D'Alessandro and Vince Szymkowiak, provide healthy reinforcement and a positive spirit to the program. I recorded podcasts with three of the attendees that will be available online in the coming weeks.

On the last day of the program, in the question and answer session, we discussed the next 25 years of the United Church of God and what we could do reinvent ourselves to become more effective and relevant. If you have any thoughts about these subjects, please write me directly at victor_kubik@ucg.org.

German Beyond Today recording

Paul Kieffer came to the home office this past week to record two new Beyond Today programs. This now makes 18 programs available online in the German language. They have been drawing good response and have resulted in new baptisms in Germany.

North Central Regional Ministerial Conference

This coming week we will meet with our North Central ministry in southeastern Minnesota for a ministerial conference. We have six regions in the United States and we hold a conference with the ministry in each region every two years.

Encouraging Comments

I want to share this encouraging note regarding the Beyond Today television program from a Church member in Mississippi:

"I'm late writing, but this letter is to everyone that has had a part in the Beyond Today television programs. I applaud the vision that is evident in the content, in the presentation, and in the studio design. They work! The messages excite me and I have been in the church for 40 years. I try to listen as if I have never heard the truth of God.

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The presenters go right to the core of the topic they will cover with powerful but simple words that grab the attention of anyone within earshot. These programs speak to the masses, the elite and the simple. They are so easy to understand that it almost seems that anyone could understand them except that we know that God calls whom He will. I believe that God and Christ are pleased with the work that all of you are doing to carry this message of hope and of warning to this world. Thank you."

Here is another note from a member in Minnesota:

"I just finished reading What Does the Bible Teach About Grace? and found it to be excellent. Thanks for all of your hard work at the home office!"

No eNews Next Week

Due to the ministerial conference and Thanksgiving holiday in the United States next week, the next edition of the eNews will be published on December 5.

Giving Thanks for our Brethren

One week from today, we will observe Thanksgiving Day in the United States. We have much to be thankful for. I always thank God for His calling in this age; I thank God for my wife, Bev, and for our children and grandchildren. I thank God for my dear friends and for those I work with. I'm most grateful for the relationships. We all need to be thankful to God for our dear brethren who share in this age the greatest of callings to a fellowship with the true God. I would like to conclude with these appreciative comments from the Apostle Paul that describe how he felt about the Church in Philippi:

"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

"So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

"I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation-the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ-for this will bring much glory and praise to God" (Philippians

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1:3-11 New Living Translation).

In Christ's service,

Victor Kubik

Personal from Ministerial and Member Services...

It was a real pleasure to host the 2019 Pastoral Development Program. The 10-day program was held November 11-20. We had a healthy mixture of seasoned pastors, newer pastors, ministerial trainees and elders, along with their wives--totaling 32 dedicated servants. Several were from various countries outside the U.S.--Haiti, United Kingdom, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malawi and Canada.

The attendees enjoyed the coziness of a home for the 10 days, as employees from the home office and the Cincinnati East congregation hosted the participants. Many wonderful bonds of fellowship were developed and strengthened. We all had such a marvelous time getting to know each other better!

Comments from the participants were overwhelmingly positive and there is no question in my mind that the many classes throughout the program has served "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."

In God's love and service,Mark Welch

Inside United Podcast

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Peter Eddington - The Problem With Evolution and the Return of God

Peter Eddington and Victor Kubik debunk evolution and detail God's plan for bringing mankind into the truth, as Peter also covered in a recent article featured in the November-December 2019 issue of Beyond Today magazine.https://www.ucg.org/inside-united-podcast/inside-united-podcast-140-peter-eddington-the-problem-with-evolution-and-the-return-of-god

Listen to past episodes or read the transcripts:https://www.ucg.org/inside-united-podcast

Winter Camp Announcement

Pastors, please announce in your areas:

Winter Camp is coming up fast! We still have space for some campers, so if you are interested please get your application in soon. Camp runs from December 26 to January 1st. You can find all the information at http://uyc.ucg.org/camp/winter-camp. You can call or e-mail Aaron Creech if you have any questions: Aaron_Creech@ucg.org or 513-374-9392.

Guyana Update

In 2016, we reached out to Guyana after the home office received letters from several people inquiring about our biblical teachings and beliefs. Things have progressed to the point that a small local Feast was held there this year.

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The following is a report from Stanley Braumuller, who has been visiting them.

"While visiting Suriname in 2016 for the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, I was able to combine a short 3-day trip to personally contact the inquirer, who lives in the interior of Guyana.

"After the 2017 Feast of Tabernacles in Brazil, pastor Jorge de Campos re-introduced us to a longtime member of the Church of God, who resides in the capital of Guyana, Georgetown.

"Currently, our friendship, brotherly love for one another and our understanding of the word of God, is not only progressing, but also the mission and vision of the United Church of God is being taught.

"We are maintaining regular contact with 15 prospective members. Sabbath services are held once a month. Church booklets, sermon DVDs and the Beyond Today magazine are regularly mailed to them. Though there remains much more to be done, these brethren insisted on observing the commanded holy days, including the Feast of Tabernacles 2019. We managed to secure a facility in Georgetown, based on 3 hours per meeting, for the entire Feast.

Feast of Tabernacles 2019

"They were able to connect with Panama City and Cincinnati, by way of the webcast, to listen to sermons and the reception was very clear. Though the attendance fluctuated, we can look back to a very unified, harmonious and rewarding gathering of brethren who fully intend to become part of the existing body of Christ."

I will add that several people who attended the Feast came from Guyana's interior, a

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rough 4-5 hour bus ride.

An interesting side note is that Guyana may be at the beginning of an economic boom. From The New York Times:

"Guyana, the tiny English-speaking South American country, is poised to become the next big oil producer in the western hemisphere, attracting the attention and investment dollars of some of the biggest oil companies in the world. Exxon-Mobil announced a sixth oil discovery off the shore of Guyana, bringing estimates to more than 3.2 billion recoverable oil-equivalent barrels."

--Chuck Smith, senior pastor, Caribbean

Post Feast Survey

A post-Feast survey was sent out a couple of weeks ago via e-mail to all who registered for the Feast. Please encourage your members to complete this quick survey. The survey is required by the strategic plan approved by the GCE for this year. If members did not receive the survey, the link is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2019FOTSurvey. You can also find the survey link from the UCG Feast webpage at ucg.org/members/feast.

Family Study Guide Available

The latest Family Study Guide, The Armor of God: The Breastplate of Righteousness is ready for your use. In this study guide, we determine what the breastplate of righteousness does, and how to use it to combat Satan's attacks. We review what our vital organs represent and why God's righteousness protects us from a spiritual death. We use Psalm 4:4-5 as a scripture for guidance: "Think long; think hard. When you are angry, don't let it carry you into sin. When night comes, in calm be silent. From this day forward, offer to God the right sacrifice from a heart made right by God" (The Voice Bible).

You can find the guide on the Family Study Guides webpage or in the Family Guides Dropbox. (Note that this lesson may not be available until the beginning of next week.) Let us know if you have questions or need support with implementing the Family Study Guides or youth instruction.

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We hope that your families continue to find value in the UCG's Youth Instruction Family Study Guides.

-- Randy and Kay Schreiber, Youth Instruction Coordinators

"Beyond Today Interviews" Now Available!

We are pleased to let you know that the first three "Beyond Today Interviews" are now available to stream. A total of six episodes cover the following topics:

Ben Light about the modern challenges we face educating our teenagers in high school.

Steven Britt about the possibility of other life in our universe. Andi Chapman about end of life choices, hospice and palliative care.

The format of these interviews (split into two, 20-minute parts each), allows for a wide range of topics to be discussed in a broader way than is possible with our

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formal Beyond Today television program.

You can stream them online at https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-television-program/beyond-today-interviews and also from our Beyond Today apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TVs, Android devices and iOS devices. They are also available on our Beyond Today YouTube channel in a separate play list at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFdzkubakh8Yd19_o3IAVb_2K_7IzwGj1 .

As we progress, plans are to interview a wide range of experts on a variety of topics of interest to our membership and the public at large. This format also allows for interviews with experts on scientific, historic and other matters who are not members of the United Church of God.

Please pray for God's blessing on this project, and upon all of our proclamation efforts to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God.

-- Peter Eddington, Media and Communications Services

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