Greetings from Charlotte,
Our Mail Processing Department mailed just short of 180,000 pieces in February, even though it is the shortest month of the year. The Tomorrow’s World magazine is not included in this figure as it is mailed by the printer. This demonstrates the efficiency and dedication of our three full-time employees and two part-time student workers. Something that few know is that the bulk mailing facility moved last year, requiring an employee to spend about eight hours each week delivering pallets of mail to the post office. Mail Processing is only one of our many departments that are not always recognized but fulfill important roles. Our IT Department actively maintains, monitors, and develops approximately 50 websites of varying sizes and complexities. They also safeguard our systems from cybersecurity threats (and there are many), engineer and maintain database and infrastructure, and provide global user support. Additionally, they maintain onsite and remote servers and coordinate with another country to provide a backup system. All of this is handled by nine employees here in Charlotte. Next week, I plan to update you on a couple other departments.
—Gerald E. Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week, we held four initial presentations and one follow-up presentation. These events drew a total of 38 guests. This week, Mr. Rod McNair will travel to Indianapolis and Terre Haute, Indiana, and Mr. Jonathan McNair will travel to Hammonton, New Jersey, and to Greenwich, Connecticut, to give initial presentations. We will also hold follow-up presentations in Shreveport, Louisiana; Jackson and Flowood, Mississippi; and Texarkana, Arkansas. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Passover 2026: Deadline for Requesting All Passover Supplies and Materials – Repeat Announcement
Important Notice to All Pastors: In 2026, the Passover Service will be observed on Tuesday evening, March 31. The deadline for requesting Passover Service supplies (bread trays, wine trays, and/or glasses) or a physical copy of the Passover Service recording and letter instructions (available in English, French, and Spanish) is March 19 for U.S. congregations. International requests should already have been sent in. Any requests for Passover Service recordings and letter instructions for home observance should also be received by the above deadlines. If possible, please submit your requests well before the deadline—this will help us manage supplies and shipments. Please direct your requests to the Church Administration Department at [email protected]. Note that, as in recent years, the digital Passover Service recording is available to pastors and video recipients via the FTP site, and a private YouTube link will also be provided.
Feast of Tabernacles
Ministerial Feast Survey – Repeat Announcement
All ministers should have received an email from Headquarters giving you the link and instructions to complete the Ministerial Feast Survey. Please be sure to fill out this form, even if you plan to attend your assigned site. The deadline is Friday, March 6. If you did not receive this email, please contact Tyler Wayne at [email protected].
Comments
The Importance of Character: Character refers to the sum of moral qualities that describe a person—or a nation. Solomon records that “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Solomon also observed that when the righteous rule, people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, “people groan” (Proverbs 29:2). Righteousness involves obeying the laws of God (Psalm 119:172). When the nation of Israel and their leaders turned away from God’s ways, they were referred to as a sinful, unrighteous nation, sick from head to toe, and told that the people and their leaders would reap serious consequences (Isaiah 1:1–9). The Israelites were chosen to be a holy nation of godly people and a light to the world (Exodus 19:5–6; Deuteronomy 4:1–9). We have the same mission today (1 Peter 2:9–10). As individuals, let’s strive to develop righteous character so we can point nations in that same direction in the coming Kingdom of God.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy
The Future of North American Cattle: In 1935, the New World screwworm caused the loss of over 180,000 cattle in Texas alone. Decades later, this dangerous parasite was eradicated from United States cattle in a joint effort between the U.S. and Mexico (Dairy Herd Management, September 2, 2025). Now, it appears to be making a fast comeback.
In recent months, the U.S./Mexico border has been closed and reopened a couple of times to cattle, bison, and horses, due to the risk of screwworm infections. The U.S. Department of Agriculture “is ramping up eradication efforts in Mexico and Central America” as the screwworm is now within about 370 miles (595 km) of the border. Although the U.S. has fewer cattle roaming the range than it did in 1935, many dairy calf ranches operate near the border, and calves are especially vulnerable to screwworm infections. Mexico ranks second, behind Canada, for nations with the most beef exports to the U.S., and the screwworm threatens to significantly impact both the Mexican and the American beef industries—and even to spread quickly to Canadian cattle.
While the Bible seldom indicates exactly how its prophecies will come to pass, one end-time prophecy of Scripture is directly relevant to the cattle industries in the U.S. and other Israelite-descended nations. Due to their increasingly rejecting Him as the end of the age approaches, God declares to these peoples, “Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks” (Deuteronomy 28:18). You can learn more about why future plagues and difficulties will strike Israelite-descended nations by reading or listening to The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy.
The Terrible Toll of Screens on Gen Z Intelligence: Gen Z, defined here as the generation born between 1997 and 2010, may be the first generation in history that is less intelligent overall than the one that preceded it (GeoNews, February 3, 2026). In testimony before a U.S. senate committee, Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, a neuroscientist and director of the educational organization LME Global, stated that “Gen-Z recorded the lowest levels in cognitive development since the records began in the late 1800s.”
Dr. Horvath noted in comments to the New York Post that members of Gen Z “underperformed on basically every cognitive measure,” including “basic attention, memory, literacy, numeracy, executive function and general IQ” (February 7, 2026). A recent report of student test scores in the U.S. revealed that “average reading and math scores among 12th graders fell to their lowest levels on record in 2024” and test scores for students in the fourth and eighth grades also hit “historic lows” (Christian Science Monitor, September 9, 2025). Dr. Horvath believes this to be due to overreliance on digital technology in schools, explaining, “The human brain isn’t wired to learn from short video clips online and reading brief sentences summarising larger books and complex ideas” (GeoNews). Human beings “are biologically programmed to learn from other humans and from deep study, not flipping through screens for bullet point summaries” (New York Post).
Yet parents are not without a solution. If they take time to read to their children from their youngest ages, they can begin to make a huge difference in their cognitive development. You can learn more about these benefits by reading or listening to “Read with Your Children!” —Scott Winnail, Rod Wissinger, and Richard Franz