In his Personal Pastor General Joseph Tkach discusses the past, present and future work of Jesus Christ in our lives.
I am thankful that our Savior is not dead, Mr. Tkach writes. Jesus is leading the entire body of Christ, including the Worldwide Church of God.
WCG ministers from around the world report that wounds are healing, and enthusiasm is growing for worship, for building relationships within the church, and for reaching out to unbelievers with the gospel of salvation. We have confidence in our Savior Jesus Christ. Page 1.
The church has conducted two out of five conferences for field pastors planned for this year.
Terry Warren, pastor of the Fayetteville and Fort Smith, Arkansas, churches, said that the conference he attended in March was the most helpful he had attended in 20 years.
"The leaders sympathetically listened more than they spoke," Mr. Warren said. "It was a positive team-building experience. The humility and sensitivity expressed was impressive." Pages 4-7.
The members in Sri Lanka are one of the church's true success stories, writes Randal Dick, superintendent of missions.
Sri Lankan members rallied to keep the Worldwide Educational Institute from closure. The institute teaches students ages 19 to 22 English, computer literacy, typing and basic accounting.
WEI focuses on recapturing true values. Students and parents of various religious persuasions value this emphasis. Pages 8 and 9.
Church income is stable at the close of the first quarter, reports Bernie Schnippert, church treasurer.
Average daily mail income for March was $132,217. The daily average for the year is $133,562.
The budget is set at $122,000 per day for 1997. However, for the church to average at least $122,000 by year's end, it is necessary to be a bit higher than that at this time. Page 10.
Throughout our fellowship teens are coming to Christ. David Smith, youth pastor in Pasadena, shares the joy of helping teens here and around the world come to Christ.
The spiritual transformation has been phenomenal. The teens are taught that Jesus calls them friends and empowers them through the Holy Spirit to follow him.
They are taught that a relationship with him is an energizing relationship based on God's pure love, and that it is real and available to them now.
In many churches the teen church is where reconciliation, healing and renewal are most recognizable. Page 13.
John Pirog, who teaches the sixth to eighth grade class at the Chicago, Illinois, Northwest church, relates how his entire class accepted Christ March 29. Page 16.
In an article titled "A Balanced Approach to the Millennium," J. Michael Feazell and Michael Morrison explain the four major views that Christians have toward the Millennium.
Christians have various beliefs on the Millennium, and adherents to each theory believe that the Bible supports their view.
The authors note that each believer agrees that Christ will return. The eternal age is much more glorious than the millennial age, and the precise chronological sequence is not an essential part of the gospel.
The gospel is about how to enter the kingdom, and is not about the chronological or physical details of particular phases of that kingdom.
Since the New Testament books do not emphasize the nature of the Millennium, we conclude that it is not a central plank in the church's commission. Page 14.
April 22, 1997, WN, page 2
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