Dear Brethren and Co-Workers with Christ,
Greetings from Charlotte, NC! Hopefully, your life is being changed by what you read in Tomorrow’s World magazine, our booklets, the Bible Study Course and what you see and hear on the Tomorrow’s World television program. For very specific prophetic events affecting your family and your life are beginning to occur with increasing frequency. With God’s help, we at Tomorrow’s World intend to stay on top of these events and help you learn about them and truly understand their meaning.
I have tried to dedicate my entire adult life to this ministry and to this mission. By the time most of you read this, I will have celebrated the 55th anniversary of my ordination as a minister of Jesus Christ. For I was ordained—along with Herman L. Hoeh, Raymond Cole, Richard David Armstrong, Dr. C. Paul Meredith (my uncle) on December 20, 1952, by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. Many of you realize that Jesus Christ used Mr. Armstrong more than any man in modern times to discover the full Truth of the Bible—especially Bible prophecy—and to do a powerful Work of proclaiming that Truth to many millions of people in the United States, Canada, Australia and many other nations. He “revived” the Church of God. He did a truly powerful work. He established Ambassador College to train ministers and leaders in the Church—where I graduated in 1952 and where I taught for about 35 years. Mr. Armstrong helped countless thousands of individuals to learn about true Christianity—the original Christianity of Christ and the apostles—and about the importance of actually keeping the Ten Commandments and the entire way of life which Christ and the apostles taught.
As a 19-year-old student when I first came to Ambassador College after one year of college in Missouri, I was privileged to learn that “way” directly from Mr. Armstrong. And I spent thousands of hours with him personally—probably much more than any other person still living. I regularly thank God for that opportunity!
So we—in this present Work—are carrying on the Work which Christ began through Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Armstrong so many years ago. And it is exciting to see that prophecy after prophecy which Mr. Armstrong proclaimed has already come to pass—and that the rest are on the way to being fulfilled! Most of you realize this, and I thank you for joining us as co-workers with Christ. Without your help and prayers, and your tithes and offerings, we would not be able to carry this message around the world. But I know how easy it is to be distracted by worldly things and to become “lukewarm” in supporting the end-time Work of the living Christ. At this “Christmas” season, many become so involved in shopping and in giving gifts to one another that they fail to give generously to the greatest Friend of all, Jesus Christ!
Dear brethren and co-workers, this Work of God needs your help and support more than ever! For this world desperately needs the Message which only this Work is actually proclaiming to increasing millions of human beings. As this world’s human society becomes more and more degenerate and sinful, all nations need to learn and to understand the Truth about God’s soon-coming intervention and how He will literally send Jesus Christ back to this earth as King of kings (Rev. 11:15).
As the misguided leaders of our nations try to cobble together a New World Order, men and women everywhere need to learn about the soon-coming World Government—the Kingdom of God which will soon crush the final world ruling dictatorship and set up “a kingdom which shall never be destroyed” (Dan. 2:44).
You and I are now being given the precious opportunity to learn about, to really understand, and to prepare ourselves through Christ in us, to assist Him in bringing genuine peace and joy to this entire world! The inspiring words of Daniel tell us of that soon coming time, “Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Dan. 7:27).
Yes, my friends and brethren, within a comparatively few years “all dominions”—all governments on this earth will be taken over by the living Christ whom we now serve! Each of us needs to be truly excited by that reality. We need to be enthusiastically preparing ourselves to serve under Christ in His coming Government. We need to genuinely study the Bible so we may understand the mind of God and are better able to assist Christ in ruling the nations. We need to fervently pray for real understanding, for spiritual knowledge and for the faith, the love, and the spiritual strength and the wisdom to do our part as kings and priests assisting Christ on this earth in bringing genuine peace and prosperity as never before. We need to “cry out” that God will help us serve and assist Christ in truly “rescuing” the millions of people who now live in squalor, who are now starving, who are being murdered, raped and humiliated by the forces of evil.
Let us not flag nor fail, my friends, but let us put our shoulders to the wheel and proclaim the real message of Jesus Christ with increasing power to this blinded and confused world! And let us thank God that, even now, the Work which each of us is a vital part of is producing much “fruit.”
God is blessing His Work with an ever-increasing reach in a world that is desperately in need of Christ’s message of hope. In November we had a record 88,244 visitors across our primary U.S. websites. This shattered the old record of 82,763 visitors set only four months earlier, and represents a 30 percent increase over November of last year! Through our various Internet websites, we are able to reach people all around the world. The Tomorrow’s World Bible Study Course was made available online in April of this year and already has students enrolled from 81 different countries. As God continues to guide us and lead us forward, we will be able to have a greater impact in reaching and touching the lives of millions around the world.
The Tomorrow’s World telecast continues to expand its reach around the world. This year we added 37 additional TV stations to our worldwide TV Log, including 20 commercial TV stations and 17 leased access or public access stations. According to Nielsen data, government reports, local TV station surveys, and our own response data, the Tomorrow’s World program was viewed by more than 2.2 million new households in communities around the world this year—up 21 percent over last year. Since our start-up in 1999, the Tomorrow’s World telecast has now been viewed by more than 13.7 million households.
We are set for even greater strides. This past month we began airing on a new satellite system, LoveWorld, which reaches additional millions of households in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, and parts of the Middle East. And on January 6, 2008, we will begin airing on a regional superstation, Fox station WUTV, in Buffalo, New York, which reaches over three million households in the United States and Canada.
The Tomorrow’s World magazine print run grew more than 14 percent this past year, reaching a circulation of 343,000. This was the biggest year yet for the Tomorrow’s World magazine, with nearly two million copies circulated in the past 12 months. In addition, we sent out 473,000 booklets, reprint articles, Bible Study Courses, audio tapes, compact discs and other publications this past year. The volume far exceeded all previous years.
Dear brethren and co-workers, through the Spirit of Christ helping and guiding us, we must proclaim His message with increasing power so that our friends and relatives may have a truly powerful “witness” even before the darkness falls! We are God’s “tools” to do His Work among men today. We are the “co-workers with Christ” whom God is using. We have an awesome responsibility. But, at the same time, we have a truly awesome opportunity and reward just ahead if we do our part whole heartedly. For, please remember, describing our very time, God inspired Daniel to tell us, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3).
After 55 years in Christ’s full-time ministry, I am still driving myself to serve Him more effectively. And I always need to do better! With all my heart, I want to go “all out” for what is absolutely the most important activity on this earth! May God inspire you to see the really “Big Picture” and to go “all out” for your Savior and for His Work.
With Christian love,
Roderick C. Meredith
P.S. Please remember that any December contributions that are postmarked with a December date will be counted as year 2007 donations, even if we receive them in January 2008, and may be tax-deductible in 2007. So be sure any December donation is postmarked no later than December 31.