Weekly Update

February 20th, 2025

Greetings from Charlotte,

In the last few days, two longtime elders have gone to sleep and are awaiting the resurrection—Dr. Michael Germano and Mr. Gil Baust. There are more details in the announcements below.

Dr. Douglas Winnail is currently in the Philippines for a ministerial conference and is scheduled to give the sermon in Manila before traveling to Brisbane in Australia on Sunday. A lot of positive things are happening in the Australasian region, but so much more needs to be done to reach the billions living in that part of the world. Please pray that God will open doors and give us the resources to walk through them.

Another area that is seeing good growth is the Work in the French language. A recent meeting was held with participants representing French-speaking areas in Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. One has the feeling that we are only getting started in reaching French-speaking peoples.

Be sure to keep watching world events and to keep a biblical perspective. These are momentous times. —Gerald Weston

Church Administration

Midwest Men’s Training Camp

There will be a Midwest Men’s Training Camp at Robbers Cave State Park in Wilburton, Oklahoma, May 2–4. Men from outside the Midwest are also welcome. Mr. Jonathan McNair will lead the program. The cost of this weekend is $80.00, which includes food and accommodations. For more information and to register, please email Gene Hilgenberg at [email protected].

Recap: Men’s Training Camps in the Northeast and Blowing Rock

From February 14–16, the Northeast Region and the Charlotte area both hosted Men’s Training Camps. In the Northeast, 46 men gathered in Bloomingdale, New Jersey, while in the Charlotte area 39 men gathered in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Along with Sabbath services, fellowship, and camaraderie, each of these weekends included lectures tailored to the event. The Northeast weekend’s theme was “Men of Zeal.” Many of the men left energized and spiritually recharged, hoping to return next year.

Obituaries: Mr. Gil Baust and Dr. Michael Germano

Mr. Gil Baust, longtime elder in the Ocala congregation in Florida, died on February 3. He was 86. Please remember his wife, Linnea, in your prayers.

Dr. Michael Germano died on February 12 at the age of 87. He served on the faculty and administration of Imperial Schools and Ambassador College for many years and as President of Living University from 2007 to 2018. Please remember in your prayers his wife, Brenda, as well as their family.

Feast of Tabernacles

International Feast Sites 2025 Posted on MyLCG (Speaker: No need to read entire list)

We are pleased to announce the international Feast sites that have been confirmed for 2025 and will be open to international transfers. Some venues have not been finalized yet; in those cases, the country is listed but not the town.

Other international sites will be announced later as they are confirmed. Stay tuned to The World Ahead for more information about the 2025 Feast of Tabernacles!

Living Youth Programs

LYP Europe – Summer 2025 (Repeat Announcement)

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

Satan’s Devices: God raised up His Church to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, to warn the world of a coming judgment, and to prepare a people to reign with Jesus Christ (Mark 16:15; Matthew 24:15–22; Luke 1:17). Satan has tried to thwart this mission throughout history. He attacked Jesus and the disciples, and he used misguided individuals to cause division and spread rumors and false doctrines to disrupt the work of the early Church (1 Corinthians 1:10–13; Galatians 1:6–9). Satan’s goal has not changed. The Bible reveals that we are in a spiritual war with a cunning adversary who is still using the same devices today (Ephesians 6:10–20; 2 Corinthians 2:11)—physical attacks, rumors, lies, false doctrines, divisive ideas, and the rebellious attitude of doing whatever seems right in one’s own eyes (Judges 21:25). Peter warned that we must recognize and resist the efforts of Satan to thwart the plan of God (1 Peter 5:8–9). Let’s all be alert and not get caught up in Satan’s devices.

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail

News and Prophecy – February 20, 2025

The Shrinking British Army: In a speech to cadets at Sandhurst Military Academy, the former Chief of the General Staff in the United Kingdom, General Sir Patrick Sanders, warned that “British troops will be outmanned in any future war and enemy forces will also have better technology” (The Telegraph, December 16, 2024). He further noted that “modernisation would take time that was in ‘short supply’ as the Army seeks to become more lethal.” He did try to soften the ominous perspective, noting, “We have always fought with our backs to the wall. This is who we are.”

General Sanders has called for a “citizen army” to counter Russia’s growing threat, and he warned that Britain will fight in the future. Earlier last year, General Sanders’ replacement, Sir Roland Walker, warned “that Britain must be ready to fight a war in three years.” Last October, Britain’s defense secretary warned that the country is not ready to fight a war. In December, “Alistair Carns, the veterans minister, said the whole British Army would be wiped out within six months to a year of a war with Russia.”

The relative peace of the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in many nations, including the UK, drastically cutting defense spending, while many other nations continued to advance. The world is now much more dangerous, and nations like Britain are woefully behind on troop and weapons development. For centuries, Britain’s military was a source of power and pride—but God prophesied that, at the end of the age, “I will break the pride of your power” (Leviticus 26:19). He pronounced that curse due to people’s continued rejection of their Creator, and this warning is not limited to the UK—it also affects other Israelite-descended nations, like the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many nations of Western Europe. To learn more about these end-time prophecies and their impact on modern Israelite nations, read or listen to The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy.

Fertilizer Use and Bee Decline: In Hertfordshire, England, researchers have studied the impact of fertilizer on crop yields for almost 170 years. What began as a study solely of crop yields for hay production grew into studying the impact of fertilizers on other plant species growing in the hay fields. That research has drawn clear conclusions: “Using high levels of common fertilisers on grassland halves pollinator numbers and drastically reduces the number of flowers” (The Guardian, January 20, 2025). A recent paper from the researchers reports that “increasing the amount of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus doused on agricultural grassland reduced flower numbers fivefold and halved the number of pollinating insects.” Bees saw the largest impact. In croplands where no fertilizers were used, bees were found in numbers nine times greater than they were in those fields with maximum amounts of fertilizer. Researchers also learned that fertilizers cause fast-growing grasses to proliferate, crowding out other grasses and flowers and reducing pollinator numbers.

While pollinators may not be as important for grassland crops like wheat and barley, they are essential for fruits and vegetables. And when pollinator numbers plummet due to fertilizer use in grassland crops, their numbers in neighboring fruit and vegetable areas are also likely to suffer. Ironically, to keep pollinator numbers high requires accepting a reduction in crop yields. There is a trade-off in order to maintain a strong and healthy crop ecosystem—but that trade-off is unlikely to be accepted in an economically driven society.

But are “mega farms” really ideal? The Bible suggests that after Christ returns agriculture may return to a more personal, family-oriented environment (Micah 4:4). When maximum volume and maximum profits no longer drive food production, the creation will again function as God intended. For more insight into this coming time, read or listen to The World Ahead: What Will It Be Like? —Scott Winnail, Francine Prater, and Chris Sookdeo