Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ,
The year 2017 is over. How time passes! In this letter, I will share with you a few of the many letters and e-mails we receive from real people whose lives are being positively affected by this Work that you are a part of. In addition, I have some encouraging statistics and comments regarding our worldwide Work. Let’s begin with some of those letters.
Kathy from North Carolina wrote, “Thank you for all you do to prosper the truth of scripture. You are one of the few that do not twist and taint the Father’s instructions that protect humanity from opening the door to our enemy through politically correct lies and corruption that allows evil to rise above and overcome those that are falling into the darkness and destruction.”
Willie from Mississippi comments on the Tomorrow’s Worldtelecast, “I try to watch the show as often as I can and I’m always encouraged from the consistency in which all the speakers provide on the program. In such a lost and dying world we need more Godly programs like yours being conducted by Godly men like yourselves. Thanks for caring and for using the platform you’ve been given to reach out to all people.”
Here is a letter that really warms my heart as I had a few personal communications with this man from remote Arviat in Nunavut during my 13½ years serving in God’s Work in Canada. “I got my November-December Magazine and as always, I flip through the pages to see what we got. When I got to the ‘Oh Canada’ page, my eyes were very quick to see the community name just north of us, Gjoa Haven, and thought to myself, ‘What’s Tomorrow’s World or word of God got to do with one of the Inuit communities up here?’ I began to read it and then think again, ‘What’s going on here? Franklin?’ Then read on and when I got over half of the page, it really hit me what the magazine is getting into. Then, my eyes start to fill up with tears reading something I didn’t expect to read, the Inuit. It is really humbling to read something like that…Thanks for seeing we Inuit that way. God bless everyone who works with Tomorrow’s World ministry.”
Barry is from South Africa and appreciates the late Roderick C. Meredith’s series on the Protestant Reformation. “I live in Boksburg RSA and have become aware of your organization recently…via the magazine with its articles on the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther. Please add me to your mailing list. I was a member of the Worldwide Church of God many years ago. I would also be interested in getting your pamphlets on Restoring Original Christianity and God’s Church Through the Ages.” Barry is only one of many who express appreciation for having their eyes opened to the truth of the Protestant Reformation. I hope all of you are reading and profiting from this informative series in the magazine.
Regarding our free 24 lesson Bible Study Course, Carla from Florida writes, “I just want to thank you for your Bible Study Course. I have learned so much from it. Every time I sent in my completed lessons, I would anxiously wait for the next set. There were many things that I was pleased to be able to refer to my Bible with confidence. There were also things that had previously been confusing to me but I now understand. I now have more confidence when having a biblically based conversation and I have the scripture to back me up. May God bless you.”
Brenda from Pennsylvania appreciates the fact that you have made it possible for her and others like her to receive the Truth of God without charge: “Other than the Holy Bible itself, I have been searching for a teaching program that teaches ‘sound Christian doctrine.’ I applaud your ‘FREE’ teachings that other programs want to charge a lot of money for. How else would poor people be able to understand this wicked world?”
Only a very small fraction of those who subscribe to Tomorrow’s World and/or receive our literature ever donate to this Work. You are among the few and so I especially wanted to share these letters with you, as their thanks is not only to those of us here in Charlotte, North Carolina, but to all of you who support this Work. There are so many more letters that we receive from all over the world. You are making a difference in the real lives of hundreds of thousands. In fact, I think we can safely say millions. Many follow this Work, but never let us know they are doing so. Here are a few facts to show the extent to which we are reaching people in all parts of the world.
Did you know that Mr. Rod King, one of our former telecast presenters, speaks Spanish? Well actually, he doesn’t, nor does Richard Ames, Wallace Smith, Rod McNair or I. Thankfully, we have a man who does an outstanding job of voicing-over our English-language programs for the Spanish-speaking world. To give you an idea of how rapidly our Spanish YouTube channel is growing, our subscriber list has grown from 26,000 in 2016, to more than 39,000 last year, but this does not reflect the total impact. Many more view and follow our programs online who never subscribe.
For example, Mr. King’s voiced-over program, “Seven Proofs that God Exists” has exceeded 1,320,700 YouTube views. Mr. Wallace Smith’s “Seven Signs of the Antichrist” has been viewed more than 692,600 times. And my program asking, “Will You Go to Heaven?” has exceeded 532,800. Tomorrow’s World in the Spanish language is now reaching more than 200 countries, including Israel!
Visits to the Tomorrow’s World English-language website were up more than 18 percent for 2017 over 2016 and Le Monde de Demain (French language website) was up 47 percent. Visits to our Dutch site were up 129 percent and to the German site up 16 percent. We also have websites in Afrikaans, Chinese, and Spanish. And our Tomorrow’s World hardcopy magazine in English goes to more than 280,000 subscribers around the world. We also publish Tomorrow’s World in French and Spanish.
The work we accomplish, by working together as a team, far surpasses what one would expect from so few. We do not, as all of you know, solicit funds from the public and only send these member and co-worker letters to those who have willingly, from a generous heart, chosen to help in this end-time Work.
I think we all know that our world is in trouble. Stock markets around the world may be up for the time being, people in some countries may have full wallets and purses, but this does not indicate all is well. Precious few people are alive today who remember the “Roaring ’20s” of the last century, but we might do well to remember that those days were followed by the Great Depression and World War II.
We are living in a world filled with conflicts, moral degradation, and in our Western World, a lack of awareness of God. God is lampooned at every turn, and those who stand up for morality and godly values are equally despised and put down. Where this is leading, is not good! God will not put up with this depravity forever! “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:7-10).
Dear brethren and co-workers, let us work while it is day, for “the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). Jesus referred to His own Work, but if He is living within us, it must surely be a message for us to take to heart. The Work He refers to is “the works of Him who sent Me….” God calls us to do a Work. It is difficult to see in every detail how events will play out, but free speech is under assault, and there is this sobering prediction: “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord God, ‘That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it’” (Amos 8:11-12). Is this a warning for us?
Let us work the Work of God while we have time. And thank you for your prayers and generous support. I look forward to that day when we will stand together before the throne of God and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servants!” May that day come quickly!
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,
Gerald E. Weston