Greetings from Charlotte,
Council of Elders members and some of their wives from across the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia will join us at Headquarters here in Charlotte, North Carolina for Council meetings this coming Tuesday through Thursday. Twice a year we meet in person to discuss ways to grow the Work and deal with questions and situations that come up from time to time. It is always profitable to hear reports from our Regional Directors and Regional Pastors of how things are going in their areas of responsibility. We also hear updates on the Work from various departments here in Charlotte. Please do pray for God’s protection on those traveling and for God to guide our deliberations.
—Gerald E. Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week, we held three initial presentations and one follow-up presentation. These events drew a total of 38 guests. This week, we plan to hold two online presentations in French. One is scheduled for Friday, May 8, and will be broadcast to our French subscribers in the Western Hemisphere, and the other is scheduled for Sunday, May 10, and will be broadcast to our French subscribers in the Easten Hemisphere. We will also hold initial presentations in Canada in Victoria, British Columbia, and Ottawa, Ontario; “Presentation Series” presentations in Conway, South Carolina and Rice Lake, Wisconsin; and one follow-up presentation in Fargo, North Dakota. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Television Department
TW Digital Media Support Team – Must Read
If you haven’t already joined the TW Digital Media Support Team, now is a great time to do so. This is a simple, practical way to directly support the preaching of the Gospel to the world. The only thing you need to be able to do to participate is watch our videos on YouTube and receive email.
Since launching this initiative in December, our newly published Tomorrow’s World videos are receiving about 30 percent more views on average—that’s more than 3,000 additional views for each video within 30 days of each release. What makes this especially encouraging is that this increase is coming from a relatively small support team—only about 500 participants. That means each person’s involvement is having a meaningful impact. When YouTube sees viewers consistently watching videos all the way through and actively engaging with them, the platform is more likely to recommend those videos to a much broader audience. Because of these encouraging results, we plan to continue this effort through the end of the year to see how it performs over time.
If you would like to take part, simply email [email protected] and let us know you’d like to join the TW Digital Media Support Team.
Feast of Tabernacles
Post-Registration Update
As of this writing, more than 5,900 Living Church of God brethren and guests have successfully registered for the 2026 Feast of Tabernacles. This year, we have approximately 84 Feast sites around the world, with 15 in the United States and 69 in other nations. If you have not yet registered for the Feast, please do so, even if you plan to attend your assigned site. Registering helps us know how much open space there is for those on waiting lists. To register, go to the Feast Registration system at fotreg.cogl.org and log in using your MyLCG credentials. For information about each Feast site, click “Feast Sites Information” at the bottom of the page.
If you have requested a transfer and have not yet been notified by email of acceptance or denial, please be patient. A number of sites are nearing capacity: Fernandina Beach, Florida; Gulf Shores, Alabama; Poconos, Pennsylvania; Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; and Carry-le-Rouet, France. We may be able to accept more transfers to these sites in the future, but we cannot guarantee it. If you applied for transfer to one of these sites and have not been notified of your acceptance, please consider transferring to another site; we cannot guarantee that your transfer will be accepted.
The following sites have ample space and are welcoming more transfers:
· Boerne, Texas
· Bradenton, Florida
· Dubuque, Iowa
· Madison, Indiana
· Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
· San Diego, California
· South Padre Island, Texas
· Spokane Valley Washington
· St. George, Utah
The following sites are at capacity and have been closed to further transfers:
- Branson, Missouri
- Russell, Manitoba, Canada
Living Youth Program
Missouri Preteen Camp Application Deadlines
The MO Preteen Camp begins in seven weeks! We are now approaching the deadlines for applications. All staff applications must be received by Monday, May 11, and all camper applications are due by Monday, June 1. While staff is nearing capacity, we still have room for more campers. If you are hoping to come, please turn in your application ASAP!
Comments
Learn from Today’s Leaders: Some of the strongest condemnations in the Bible are directed at the leaders of Israel who “cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness” (Jeremiah 23:32; Isaiah 3:12). Few today realize these prophetic warnings are dual and apply to leaders in modern Israelite nations! When teachers, preachers, and politicians in nations that have been given God’s laws so they could be examples to the world turn away from and despise those laws, there are serious consequences. As we witness the results of legalizing drugs, defunding police, rampant fornication and adultery, same-sex “marriages,” etc., we need to connect the dots between cause and effect. When Jesus Christ returns, He is going to need individuals who understand that the real solutions to these problems will involve teaching people how to apply the laws of God (Isaiah 2:2–4; 30:20–21). Are you preparing for that important role?
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy
Iran’s Severe Water Crisis: The World Resources Institute (WRI) reports, “After five consecutive years of drought and years of unsustainable water use, Iran is moving toward what experts call ‘water bankruptcy’” (March 20, 2026). While fighting a war with Israel and the United States will only make matters worse, the nation’s water woes are not due to the war but rather “a naturally arid climate with limited water supply and years of unsustainable water management.” According to the WRI, even before the war, the extreme lack of water had damaged the nation’s ability to produce food and electrical power, resulting in outages, and in 2018 it caused the displacement of approximately 16 million people. While Iran has invested in desalinization plants and pipelines, the financial costs are extremely high and environmental costs are yet to be determined, and such resources have become tempting wartime infrastructure targets.
Iran’s situation has contributed to tensions with its neighbors and within its borders. Leaders of Iran have accused Afghanistan of restricting the flow of the Helmand River into Iran through dam construction. Protests concerning the water crisis have involved a number of deaths, with some reports claiming security forces have used live ammunition to disperse demonstrators (Reuters, July 17, 2021). As the Atlantic Council published in 2023, “The water wars have no end in sight.”
In the years just ahead, wars over resources of all kinds, including food and water, will enter a more ominous phase. Bible prophecies clearly indicate that deadly conflicts over vital resources will become a significant factor in international relations as the end of the age approaches. You can learn more by reading or listening to “Coming: Resource Wars!”
Britain and America—What’s Behind the Special Relationship? King Charles III recently paid the United States an official diplomatic visit in celebration of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence. This is the first state visit of a British monarch to the U.S. in nearly 20 years (BBC, April 26, 2026), and it is politically important in light of the deteriorating relationship between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump (The Guardian, April 27, 2026). While speaking to the U.S. Congress, King Charles received twelve standing ovations as he gave a message of both diplomatic caution and continuing friendship (The Times, April 28, 2026).
The visit of the King and Queen was marked by both humor and frank conversation, and it seemed to reinvigorate what Winston Churchill referred to as the “special relationship” between Great Britain and America. President Trump commented, “History has known no more powerful force than the combination of American patriotism and British pride” (Politico, April 28, 2026). The relationship between these two nations has ebbed and flowed over the last 250 years, but they continue to cling to each other—perhaps more closely than any other two nations on earth. Why?
The Bible reveals that America, Britain, and the other British-descended nations possess a “special relationship” because they are descended from biblical brothers Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph, the son of Jacob, the patriarch whom God renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28). Manasseh and Ephraim were prophesied to become “a nation and a company of nations” respectively (Genesis 35:11; 48:17–19). The connection between the descendants of these brothers continues to show in America and Britain today. You can learn more about the hidden history behind this “special relationship” by reading or listening to The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy. —Scott Winnail and Francine Prater