Greetings from Charlotte,
Most of the 44 participants in the all-Africa ministerial conference near Nairobi, Kenya, have returned home, although Mr. Peter Nathan, Mr. Simon Muthama, and perhaps one or two others are still away on important business. The conference was our first to bring all the ministers from Africa together at one time. The sessions were mostly in English but were translated into French and Swahili for some of the men. To say the least, it was a daunting undertaking, and we thank all of those who worked behind the scenes to make it a wonderful success.
There was an online Francophone Ministerial Meeting this week, on February 13. French-speaking ministers and office staff from the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Africa, the UK, and Europe logged in. In addition, we had English-speaking Regional Directors, Assistant Church Administration Director Mr. Rod McNair, and a few others participate to bring all areas of the Work into harmony.
Church Administration Director Dr. Douglas Winnail leaves this week for business and conferences in the Philippines, Australia, South Africa, and the UK. International travel can be challenging, with frequent time zone changes, packing and unpacking as one moves from one hotel to another, climate changes, and long hours in airports and in the air. As I remind Dr. Winnail, he is not getting any younger, so your prayers for his health and for a profitable trip will be appreciated. —Gerald Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week we held two follow-up presentations in Columbia and Florence, South Carolina. These presentations had a combined total of 16 guests. This week we will hold four initial presentations in Columbus and Warner Robins, Georgia; Memphis, Tennessee; and Little Rock, Arkansas. We will also hold one follow-up presentation in Richmond, Virginia. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Men’s Training Camp – Weston, Oregon (May 2–4)
Registration is now open for the Men’s Training Camp in Weston, Oregon, on the weekend of May 2–4. The Northwest and Rocky Mountain States church areas are hosting this Men’s Training Camp for the Western Region at the ABC Mountain Retreat in Weston, OR. Any men from outside the area are also welcome to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to strengthen bonds of brotherhood over a weekend and make memories together. The cost of this weekend, including food and accommodations is $85 for rustic cabins or $135 to stay in a full-service cabin. For more information and to register, please email Jonathan Bueno at [email protected].
Feast of Tabernacles
Feast of Tabernacles Congregation Assignments 2025 (USA Only) – Repeat Announcement
This year’s Feast of Tabernacles congregational site assignments in the U.S. are listed below, and registration is tentatively scheduled for May 4.
Please note: The Church has always urged all of us to serve at the Feast if we are able, and often the needs are greatest at our assigned sites. Therefore, before requesting to transfer, please talk to your pastor to find out whether you are needed locally. In your long-term plans, consider serving at your assigned site once every several years to help meet local needs. To find out where your local congregation is assigned, please consult the following list.
Arroyo Grande, California
California: Arroyo Grande, Bay Area, Fresno, Garden Grove, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Sacramento, San Diego
Nevada: Reno
Bradenton, Florida
Florida: Ft. Lauderdale, Lakeland, Melbourne, Naples, Ocala, Sanford, St. Petersburg
Branson, Missouri
Arkansas: Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Little Rock, Russellville
Kansas: Chanute, Wichita
Missouri: Columbia, Joplin, Kansas City, Rolla, Springfield
Dubuque, Iowa
Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Springfield
Iowa: Des Moines
Michigan: Kalamazoo, Traverse City, Flint
Minnesota: Minneapolis
Missouri: St. Joseph, St. Louis
Nebraska: Lincoln, Omaha
North Dakota: Bismarck
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
Wisconsin: Appleton, Merrill, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Dells
Fernandina, Florida
Florida: Jacksonville, Lake City, Tallahassee
Georgia: Augusta, Columbus, Savannah, Valdosta, Warner Robins
South Carolina: Walterboro
Glens Falls, New York
Connecticut: Hartford
Maine: Waterville
New Hampshire: Nashua
New Jersey: Hammonton, Rahway
New York: Albany, Binghamton, New York City, Plainview, Rochester, Syracuse
Pennsylvania: Harrisburg, Tannersville
Rhode Island: Pawtucket
Gulf Shores, Alabama
Alabama: Birmingham, Dothan, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa
Florida: Pensacola
Louisiana: Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans
Mississippi: Hattiesburg, Jackson, Ocean Springs
Madison, Indiana
Indiana: Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, La Porte, Terre Haute
Kentucky: Berea, Louisville
Ohio: Akron, Cincinnati, Columbus
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh
West Virginia: Charleston, Morgantown
New Bern, North Carolina
Maryland: Baltimore, Salisbury
North Carolina: Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville, Jacksonville, Kannapolis, Raleigh, Statesville
South Carolina: Columbia
Virginia: Norfolk, Richmond, Winchester
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Alabama: Athens
Georgia: Atlanta South, Atlanta West, Blairsville, Braselton
North Carolina: Asheville, Sylva
South Carolina: Anderson, Gaffney
Tennessee: Chattanooga, Clarksville, Crossville, Etowah, Knoxville, Memphis, Morristown, Nashville
Virginia: Bristol, Wytheville
Pottsboro, Texas
Louisiana: Monroe, Shreveport
Oklahoma: Lawton, Oklahoma City, Tulsa
Texas: Abilene, Amarillo, Big Sandy, Dallas, Lufkin, Midland, Temple
Puerto Rico
San Juan
South Padre Island, Texas
Texas: Baytown, Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio, San Marcos, the Valley
Spokane Valley, Washington
Alaska: Anchorage
Idaho: Boise
Montana: Great Falls, Helena
Oregon: Myrtle Creek, Portland
Washington: Richland, Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Tonasket
St. George, Utah
Arizona: Phoenix, Prescott Valley, Tucson
Colorado: Colorado Springs, Denver, Grand Junction
Nevada: Las Vegas
New Mexico: Albuquerque, Santa Fe
Utah: Layton
Wyoming: Cheyenne, Rawlins
Living Youth Programs
LYP Europe – Summer 2025
We will once again hold a weeklong LYP Teen Camp in the Chevetogne region of central Belgium. Camp dates are Monday, July 28, through Sunday, August 3. Campers should plan to arrive at camp by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, July 28, and depart Monday, August 4. We ask Staff to plan to come earlier if possible. The summer camp is bilingual and will be conducted in English and French. We are inviting church youth ages 12–19 from Europe, the UK, and other nations around the globe to attend. The tuition for camp is €170 for the week for campers and €70 for staff, including lodging, meals, and camp t-shirts. Campers are responsible for their own transportation costs. Those flying into Belgium can fly into either Brussels or Charleroi (Brussels South), and we will arrange for airport pickup and return. For more details and to begin the registration process, please contact our camp co-director, Mr. Rees Ellis ([email protected]). The application deadline for campers and staff is April 1, 2025.
Comments
Seek God’s Guidance: How do you approach making big decisions? Worldly wisdom says, Don’t let anyone tell you what to do—just do your own thing! Yet the Bible strongly warns against this approach (see Judges 21:25; Jeremiah 9:12–16). Solomon wrote, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). The Scriptures reveal that there is a much better way to make decisions. When Solomon became king, he asked God for wisdom to guide his decisions (1 Kings 3:7–9). He was following the example of his father, David, who wrote, “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes…. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:33, 105). When we have important decisions to make, we can ask God to show us the path that He wants us to follow—by opening doors where He wants us to go and closing doors where we do not need to go. If we seek God’s guidance and are teachable, as David was, God will guide us.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy – February 13, 2025
Is the World at a “Turning Point”? Many today believe the world is at a critical “turning point”—a time in history when everything is changing and the days ahead are ominous and uncertain (The Guardian, January 28, 2025). The two decades since the 9-11 terrorist attacks have seen drastic changes in world governments, domestic policies, and international relations—changes that have facilitated the decline of democracies and rise of authoritarianism. Wars and threats of war are increasing, as are animosities and violence between and within nations. Military-industrial complexes are gearing up, not down. Nuclear disarmament has given way to nuclear rearmament. The rhetoric of peace is quieting while the drums of war are beating more loudly. All the while, the “Doomsday Clock” moves ever closer to midnight (Yahoo News, January 29, 2025).
And the idea of a turning point goes deeper than surface-level world events. The global and domestic turmoil we see today is the result of underlying changes linked to social, moral, and religious decay and increasing individualism. Optimism that mankind will eventually change for the better is misplaced. The real cause of our downward spiral is spiritual in nature and is linked to the “god of this age”—Satan, the Devil (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is the deceiver moving humanity toward the point of self-annihilation (Revelation 12:9). The Bible reveals that humanity will reach self-destruction unless Jesus Christ returns as the Savior of the world (Matthew 24:21–22; John 4:42). The returning Christ will not only change the world—He will change the underlying nature of mankind. The world is at a more profound turning point than most people realize. But while a very dark turn is ahead, there will be anotherturn that follows—for the better! That turn will bring about an end of suffering and inequity and replace it with a new, lasting era of peace and abundance. To learn more about this mother of all turning points, watch “2025 in Bible Prophecy.”
Another Amazing Change in Pregnant Women’s Bodies: A mother’s body undergoes dynamic changes during pregnancy. Many changes prepare her body for birth and feeding an infant after it is born. And some changes are used directly by her body or the baby during pregnancy. For example, a mother-to-be grows an entirely new organ to support the growing child in her womb—the placenta. How did evolution figure that out?
New research published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Nature has identified another powerful change a pregnant woman undergoes: Her small intestine’s inner lining nearly doubles in size during pregnancy and breastfeeding—when the mother’s body, the child in the womb, and then the newborn infant need nutrients in greater abundance (Live Science, December 13, 2025).
Scientists have long understood that a primary role of the small intestine is to absorb important nutrients from food: fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. The lining of the small intestine is thin and backed by many tiny blood vessels. This thin lining allows these nutrients to pass from digested food directly into the blood stream. When a woman becomes pregnant and begins lactating, her body releases hormones that trigger the intestinal lining to grow. Scientists surmise that this action occurs in order to greatly increase the mother’s ability to take nutrients from food—nutrients that are in far greater demand by both the mother’s body and the baby’s body during those times.
As knowledge of the human body increases, so does our appreciation for its complexity. Human life, which Charles Darwin and his modern followers claim could have come about by mindless evolutionary forces, continues to show itself, when honestly examined, to be a marvelously engineered miracle of creation. To learn more, read or listen to Evolution and Creation: What Both Sides Miss. —Scott Winnail and Francine Prater