Greetings from Charlotte,
This weekend, Mr. Jonathan McNair is scheduled to give Tomorrow’s World Presentations in Montgomery and Birmingham, Alabama. The current Tomorrow’s World subscription list now stands at 559,000, and so far this year, in less than two months, we have over 20,000 people requesting Lesson One of the Bible Study Course. We are also ramping up Facebook ads in Israel, Europe, and Canada. I will repeat here something I mentioned in this week’s video update. Mr. Jake Boyer reported that we plan to post every Thursday a new dubbed telecast in order to build our Le Monde de Demain YouTube channel and website, where we currently have more than 25,000 subscribers to our French language YouTube channel. It is encouraging to see and hear of our members remaining strongly focused on doing the Work God has called us to do. Let us all keep that focus and put our hearts into our prayers for our efforts to produce fruit, for new doors to open, and for the faith and ability to walk through those doors.—Gerald Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow's World Presentations Update
A total of 372 visitors have attended TWPs in 2022 year-to-date, with 93 last weekend alone. Below is a summary of last week’s TWPs and results.
Thank you, brethren, for your in-person support as helpful ushers, cheerful greeters, literature table volunteers, audio/visual technicians, etc., and most of all, for your prayers for the success of these presentations!
- Kennesaw, Georgia – Mr. Richard Ames – 32 guests
- Dublin, Georgia – Mr. Richard Ames – 14 guests
- Van Buren, Arkansas – Mr. Wallace Smith – 13 guests
- Russellville, Arkansas – Mr. Wallace Smith – 13 guests
- Bay Area, California – Dr. Jeffrey Fall – follow-up – 7 guests (1 first-time; 6 repeat)
- Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina – Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka – follow-up – 6 first-time guests
- Jackson, Mississippi – Mr. Ed Breaux – follow-up – 3 guests (2 first-time; 1 repeat)
- Hattiesburg, Mississippi – Mr. Ed Breaux – follow-up – 4 guests (1 first-time; 3 repeat)
- Big Sandy/Tyler, Texas – Mr. David Crockett – 2nd follow-up – 1 repeat guest
Seven new TWPs are being planned in Canada for April and May—stay tuned!
Passover 2022—Repeat Announcement
Important Notice to All Pastors: In 2022, the Passover Service will be observed on Thursday evening, April 14. Please let us know as soon as possible if any of the congregations you serve will need additional Passover Service supplies (bread trays and/or wine trays or glasses) or a copy of the Passover Service recording and letter instructions (available in English, French, and Spanish). To ensure timely delivery and to save on shipping costs, we need this information before March 18 for U.S. congregations. International requests should already have been sent in.
Also, please let us know of any scattered members who are unable to keep the Passover with a congregation and who need to receive the Passover Service recording and letter instructions for observing it at home, and whether they will need a CD or a DVD. International requests should already have been sent in and U.S. requests should be here before March 18. Please direct your requests to the Church Administration Department at [email protected] as soon as possible.
Living Education
Men’s Training Camp—Texas: Registration Deadline February 27
We have had a very strong response for our MTC Texas program. More than 50 men have registered we are approaching capacity. Again, our site for the program, Camp Cho-Yeh, is just an hour north of Houston. The program will begin on Friday evening, March 18, and conclude at noon on Sunday, March 20. The cost for the two nights, five meals, and priceless education will be just $125. Any men who are interested in being part of this program need to register right away. Registration deadline is February 27. Login to MyLCG for more details and a link to register. All men, ages 16 and up, are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Mr. Rick Stafford at [email protected].—Jonathan McNair
Living Youth Program
Register for Preteen Camps in Missouri, Texas, and West Virginia, and Texas Teen Camp
Registration is now open for the Texas Teen Camp and West Virginia Preteen Camp, and it opens on Sunday for Preteen Camps in Missouri and Texas. Please see specific announcements below for more details or go to our Living Youth website: https://camp.livingyouth.org. Details and registration will soon be available for two Teen Wilderness Camps.
Missouri Preteen Camp Registration Opens This Sunday!
Come join us this summer in beautiful Lake of the Ozarks State Park. The largest state park in Missouri will serve as host to preteens from all over the Midwest and beyond as they gather together for a week of fun, fellowship, and new experiences. In the peaceful setting of Camp Clover Point, campers will have opportunities to acquire new skills, build confidence, and deepen their knowledge of God, while reconnecting with old friends and making new ones!
- Arrival will be Sunday, July 31, and departure Friday, August 5
- Application deadline for staff is Tuesday, May 17
- Application deadline for campers is Tuesday, May 31
For more details, costs, and to register, please visit https://camp.livingyouth.org/. If you have questions please contact me by email ([email protected]) or phone (765-243-4715).—Yancy Taber, Camp Director
Texas Preteen Camp
Registration for Texas Preteen Camp opens this Sunday, February 20. Preteens from ages 8 to 12, are invited to the beautiful Lone Star Camp from Monday, July 25, to Friday, July 29, for fun-filled days in the summer sun! Campers will make new friends, renew old friendships, and learn more about God’s wonderful way of life. We will be offering a variety of activities this year, and many unique opportunities for fun and excitement! For more details, go to https://camp.livingyouth.org.—Phil West, Camp Director
West Virginia Preteen Camp
Campers ages 8–12 and families with 8–12-year-old children are welcome at the Preteen Camp held at the 4-H camp in Princeton, West Virginia. Older sibling-campers who are teenagers are also welcome. We are also looking for staff to support the camp as counselors, kitchen, dishwashing, laundry, and other areas. Arrival will be Sunday, July 31 and departure Friday, August 5. Deadline for application is Tuesday, May 31, 2022. If you have questions, please contact me ([email protected]; phone: 240-707-6280). For further information including camp fees and to apply, please go to our website https://camp.livingyouth.org.—Scott Winnail, Camp Director
Weekly Content for Teens at the Living Youth Website
The LivingYouth.org website now features fresh, weekly content for Church youth. A mix of written posts, videos, and podcasts are being added, with two to three new items posted every week. We hope teens, young adults, and their families will check it out and give us feedback.—Wallace Smith
Comments
Importance of Prophecy: Today, many are anxious about the future. People are told that no one can accurately predict the future and that the Bible is just a collection of myths and stories. Yet, the Bible actually reveals the future. The Bible plainly states that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16)—and that includes nearly one-third of the Bible that is prophecy. We also read that only God can predict the future and bring it to pass (Isaiah 46:8–11). The Apostle Peter writes to the Church, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy” that needs to be recognized, especially as we approach the end of the age (2 Peter 1:16–21, KJV). God has given His servants an understanding of prophecy so they can warn this world of coming events and offer hope for the future (Isaiah 58:1; Revelation 1:1; 10:7; 22:6). However, the Scriptures also reveal that the people and leaders of Israel will be blind to what lies ahead because they have turned away from God (Isaiah 56:10; Jeremiah 2:17–19; 5:20–21). Let’s be thankful for what God has opened our minds to understand about the future (Matthew 13:10, 16–17), and let’s use this knowledge to fulfill our mission of warning the world and preaching the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God!
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—February 17, 2022
Eroding American-European Relations: The relationship between the United States and Europe has been suffering, especially since 2016, and contrary to what many hoped, it has not improved with the arrival of a new American administration in 2021. As the U.S. continues to pivot toward Asia, it also pivots away from Europe (Politico, January 10, 2022). Actions like America’s unilateral withdrawal from Afghanistan and the creation of the AUKUS security pact among Australia, the UK, and the U.S. have kept Europe on the outside. 2022 will put increasing pressure on the transatlantic partnership, as will the added stresses generated by Russia and China.
Many Europeans are worried about the tenuous nature of American democracy. According to the Pew Research Center, “a median of only 18 percent of the publics in nine European nations believes that American democracy is a good example for other countries to follow.” A concerned New York-based foreign policy expert recently noted, it is no longer the sick man in Europe people are talking about, “it’s America that is the sick man.”
It should be no surprise to see the eroding relationship between Europe and America and the rapid decline in respect for the U.S. Bible prophecy has long foretold that as we approach the end of the age, the influence of and respect for the Israelite-descended nations (such as the U.S., Britain, several western European nations, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and others) will dramatically fall, as their allies turn against them (Jeremiah 4:30) and they become the “tail” instead of the head (Deuteronomy 28:42–44)—events that will happen very suddenly (Deuteronomy 28:20; Isaiah 30:13). To learn more about what lies ahead for these nations, be sure to read “Sudden Calamities Ahead!”
Hunger Producing Premature Babies in Afghanistan: Since the U.S. and coalition forces pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban regained control, hunger has dramatically increased in that nation (Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2022). Half the country’s population—about 20 million people—are facing conditions of acute hunger as the economy continues to collapse following the Taliban takeover and the Western sanctions that have followed. While Taliban officials blame drought from God for the famine, there are additional challenges. Relief efforts are complicated by the sanctions and the government’s lack of international recognition, and the Taliban has focused most of its resources toward military control rather than relief efforts. Food prices are soaring, and many must choose between food, fuel, or medicine.
Extreme hunger has many consequences. Pregnant mothers are giving birth prematurely to babies with very low birth weights. “The Wardak provincial hospital’s director in Maidan Shahr, Muhammad Nadir Rahmani, said the hospital is seeing the birth weight of babies reduce alarmingly, as the bodies of malnourished mothers are unable to carry their children to full term.” Many of these little ones are too premature to live. Breastfeeding mothers who lack food lose their milk supply and cannot feed their own infants. As one mother said, “We have always been poor, but things have gotten so bad I don’t have words to describe it.”
Many other nations around the globe, especially in the horn of Africa, are also experiencing extreme hunger (UN News, February 8, 2022). Sadly, it is often the youngest who are hardest hit. While many in the Western world suffer from “first-world problems”—such as not having their favorite brand available at the grocery store—those in developing nations are far worse off. Such conditions should move us to “sigh and cry” for the suffering we see in the world around us and pray that God will hasten the return of Jesus Christ to set up the Kingdom of God that will bring peace and abundance—and an end to hunger. To learn more about signs of the end of the age, be sure to read “The Black Horse of Famine.”—Scott Winnail and Francine Prater