We are very thankful to God for continuing to provide for His Work through our members, coworkers and donors. The Living Church of God (International), Inc. and Affiliates audit is complete and the entire, independently audited statement is available online. On the lcg.org website, go to the "About Us" page, and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Then click on "Living Church of God: 2016 Consolidated Financial statements." The statement is published in its entirety—meaning the document on the webpage includes all the "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements" at the end of the report. The Church strives to maintain the highest quality of accounting and reporting procedures.
The audit was performed by Cherry Bekaert, CPA and Advisors, a large southeastern independent auditing firm. Once again, they have issued an "unqualified opinion" on the Church's financials. When an auditor issues an unqualified opinion, it means that, in the auditor's judgment, a company's financial records and statements are fairly and appropriately presented and are in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
Some highlights follow. For those interested in more details, please see the full report on the website.
The Church had total revenues of $19,455,806, which is 5.8% above 2015. Expenses were $18,934,733 for the year, and the net income was $521,073.
It is important to note that the Cherry Bekaert audited statement includes only figures for our U.S. entity. The various international entities under which the Church must organize in other countries report separately and at different times, and comply with the laws of the countries in which they are organized. Their incomes are spent on God's Work in their local regions and add considerably to the total world effort of the Church. We plan to report world totals at some time in the future.
As in past years, in 2016 about 40% of all income received was spent on preaching the Gospel, as noted by the accompanying chart.
The faithfulness of our members, coworkers and donors makes it possible for the Church to preach the Gospel to the world as a witness and to feed the flock that God is calling in this difficult time. As God opens the doors, our collective effort helps in so many ways. It purchases television time and pays for the effort needed to process viewer requests, as well as for all the material we send around the world. It supports the Internet effort, which is a vital ingredient in getting our message of hope to all corners of the globe in multiple languages. At any given time, everything we produce can be accessed worldwide. Our collective effort also allows for God's people to meet around the world on the Sabbath and Holy Days and to be served by dedicated ministers. It allows us to support the elderly and those who need help, and it even allows for a vibrant youth program.
Under the leadership of Presiding Evangelist Gerald E. Weston, we are poised to drive the Work forward, and we are thankful to God for the solid base that He prepared through Dr. Roderick C. Meredith. We will continue to do the Work with growing power to preach God's truth around the globe and to feed the flock in an end-time world that greatly needs this message.