Greetings from Charlotte,
This weekend, Mr. Gerald Weston and several other ministers will be conducting a Men’s Training Camp in Caroline, Alberta. Mr. Simon Roberts, pastor in southern England, also cares for scattered members in the Nordic countries. He recently completed a trip visiting all of them. His report (see below) is a reminder that we have scattered brethren all over the world who are extremely isolated and yet faithful, devoted to serving God. If we are able to gather with others in a local congregation this Sabbath, let’s be deeply grateful for the opportunity—and let’s all remember to pray for those who are scattered and isolated.
—Rod McNair
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week, we announced that we would hold three Tomorrow’s World Presentations—we actually held five. The two that were not announced were in Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Last week’s events drew a total of 30 guests. This week, we will hold initial presentations in Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada and Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom. We will also hold a follow-up presentation in Helena, Montana. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
The Work in the Nordic Nations
Mr. Simon Roberts, who pastors congregations in southwest England and in Wales while also caring for brethren in the Nordic countries, reports that he and his wife visited individuals across five countries in May: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia. These included six members, three prospective members, and a family who used to attend the Worldwide Church of God. While in Norway, Mr. Roberts held a Sabbath service on May 17th via Zoom with eight in attendance, followed by extended fellowship. These ten visits in May were encouraging and very much appreciated by the brethren, especially after a two-year gap.
Mr. Roberts also reports that Facebook advertising in Norway and Denmark in 2022 was expanded in 2024 to include Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. These countries have a total of 315 subscribers, 198 of whom were added in 2024. As of February 2025, 47 subscribers are actively requesting literature. It will be interesting to see how the Work continues in the Nordic countries.
Feast of Tabernacles
Port Barcarès, France, Closed for Transfer
The Feast site in Port Barcarès, France, has reached capacity and is closed for further transfer. Here is the full list of sites closed for further transfer:
- Branson, Missouri
- Fernandina, Florida
- Gulf Shores, Alabama
- Pebbles Beach, Barbados
- Port Barcarès, France
Living Youth Program
TrainRight Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Training
All Living Youth Camp staff members who are 18 years of age or older are required to participate in an online training program for awareness and prevention of child abuse: TrainRight Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Training Program. It is an online training course that takes about one hour to complete. Once you have been accepted as a staff member at one of the LYP camps, you will receive an email from [email protected] titled “Invite - Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Training Program” with a link through which you must register for and complete the training online.
Note: The Certification for this TrainRight course is good for two years: the year it is taken plus the next year. For example, if you took the course in 2023, the Certification was valid in 2023 and 2024—therefore, you would have to retake the course in 2025 to receive Certification for 2025–2026.
If you have any questions, please contact Jill Ewers ([email protected]).
First Aid/Lifeguard Certificates
If you have a current Certificate in First Aid, Lifeguarding, etc. and will be serving in this capacity at any of the U.S.A. camps in 2025, please send a copy of your Certification to Jill Ewers ([email protected]). Your Certification must be current and valid through the entirety of the camp(s) where it will be used.
Food Handler Training Program
If you have received certification through an ANSI-accredited food safety program for the State of Texas as a Food Handler or Food Manager and will be attending the Texas Teen Camp or Texas Preteen Camp in 2025, please send your certificate to Jill Ewers ([email protected]), copied to Joshua Penman ([email protected]).
Comments
Stay Focused on Our Mission: History records that mankind and God’s chosen people have drifted off course again and again—due to Satan’s deceptive influence. Adam and Eve made wrong choices that sent human societies off in a wrong direction (Genesis 3). Ancient Israel turned from God and suffered serious consequences. Today, modern Israelite nations are heading down the same path. Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach the Gospel (Mark 1:14–15; 16:15), warn the world of the consequences of sin, and announce the signs of His return (Matthew 24). The mission of God’s Church also involves preparing a people to reign with Jesus Christ in the coming Kingdom of God (Luke 1:17). To qualify for this exciting reward, we must avoid being distracted by the trials, temptations, and cares of this world (Matthew 13:18–23). Let’s stay focused on our God-given mission.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy – June 12, 2025
Germany Grows in Power and Influence: Germany’s former foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has been elected as the president of the United Nations General Assembly (AP News, June 2, 2025). In spite of Russia’s call for a secret ballot, Ms. Baerbock won the election with an overwhelming 167 votes—nearly double the 88 necessary to win. Ms. Baerbock’s one-year term will begin in September, at the opening of the 80th session of the organization. She may be the highest-profile leader to fill this role in recent decades, and her election is a major win for both Germany and the EU.
Germany’s presence and influence is also growing around the globe. The country recently deployed 5,000 troops to Lithuania. This is Germany’s first permanent foreign troop deployment since World War II (Deutsche Welle, May 22, 2025). The nation recently signed a defense agreement with the Philippines (Reuters, May 14, 2025) and concluded another deal with Singapore to provide submarines (NavalNews.com, May 8, 2025). Germany and Nigeria also recently pledged to strengthen ties for future mutual benefit (Deutsche Welle, May 22, 2025).
Although currently struggling economically, Germany seems to be on the rise. Its leaders are increasingly respected and trusted internationally and appear to be growing in confidence and ambition. Few today realize that Bible prophecy has long foretold Germany’s rise to prominence at the end of the age. It has dominated European and global politics in centuries past and will do so again. But who are the German people—and what exactly does the future hold for this industrious, driven, and highly organized nation? To learn more, you can read or listen to Germany in Prophecy.
Mexico’s Diabolical Drug Gangs: Mexico’s infamous drug cartels are known around the world. They skirt the law. They violently defend their illegal interests. They control officials and pay off law enforcement personnel. And they recruit children to assist in their schemes (Reuters, May 28, 2025).
Security experts believe Mexico’s gangs intentionally recruit children, taking advantage of their desire for friends, family, status, and even the basics of life, like regular meals. As Reuters’ columnist Lizbeth Diaz writes, these child recruits are “cheap, burn bright, and don’t live long.” Gang leaders know that children are easy to replace when they are killed in the line of “duty.” Gangs groom some of these children to become assassins. Many come from homes destroyed by violence and drugs, and many are themselves addicted to drugs. Child recruits often know they will die one day in service to the gang, yet they are motivated by the sense that they are a part of a family and the fact that they have plenty of food to eat. While many recruits are in their teenage years, one Mexican government report noted that some are as young as six years old. By age eight they can handle a gun, and some are recruited through violent, multiplayer video games.
Stories like this are heartrending. What kind of a person would consider involving innocent children in such dastardly work? King David once observed that an evil person “devises wickedness on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not abhor evil” (Psalm 36:4). The Apostle Paul also warned that many at the end of the age would be “lovers of themselves, lovers of money… unloving… brutal, despisers of good” (2 Timothy 3:1–5). Seducing children into violent lives certainly fits these descriptions.
To learn more about a future when children will be safe and their innocence protected, you can read or listen to Armageddon and Beyond. —Scott Winnail and Francine Prater