Kingdom of God Seminars
February 11, 2011
[The following financial update from Media and Communications Services is excerpted from the Ministerial Newsletter of February 10, 2011]
As reported during the ministerial conference on Feb. 1, a joint project between Ministerial and Member Services and Media and Communications Services is being planned in the form of public Kingdom of God Bible Seminars.
Starting during the summer of 2011, the Church will schedule public seminars in 50 U.S. cities where we have a healthy Good News magazine subscriber list and an established United Church of God congregation.
Here is an outline for how these will most likely be rolled out. We are still in the planning stages, and so some elements may change, but this is the overall plan at this point.
The Good News Kingdom of God Bible Seminars will:
- Be held every four months simultaneously in 50 U.S. locations. (In addition, international offices may be able to “piggy back” off the U.S. media and advertising effort, especially since the Sabbath seminar will be advertised in the Good News magazine and on our Web site.)
- Be advertised through The Good News, the Internet and our Beyond Today television program.
- Consist of three 50-minute segments in a seminar format to be held on the Sabbath, with members serving a light lunch and interacting with the public. This format was used successfully in 2008 in Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia, with 200 nonmembers in attendance.
- The content will adhere closely to Jesus Christ’s gospel of the Kingdom message as outlined in Mark 1:14-15: “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”
- The time is fulfilled (Campaign 1, three 50-minute seminars).
- The Kingdom is at hand (Campaign 2, three 50-minute seminars).
- Repent (Campaign 3, three 50-minute seminars).
- Believe the gospel (Campaign 4, three 50-minute seminars).
- The speakers will be qualified, experienced pastors, elders and deacons who are capable presenters.
- The home office will provide the seminar outlines and PowerPoint presentations for the presenters to use throughout the 12 seminars. The outlines may be customized, provided they still adhere to the Mark 1 theme.
- The public will never be invited to “join the church” or give money during the lectures. Any desire to attend will be initiated by the attendees.
- The pastor and/or local presenter will follow up with an e-mail message to attendees the following Monday morning.
- The process will repeat with the next seminar four months later.
These seminars will be a way in which our most highly motivated readers and viewers will be able to learn the truths of the Kingdom of God in face-toface meetings with an authorized representative of Jesus Christ.
Please pray for the success of this seminar campaign, and for the work being done at this stage to create the outlines and lecture material. It promises to be a very good program to combine the efforts of the whole Church—the media department, our ministerial leadership, our pastors and elders, and all of our membership.
Peter Eddington—Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services
This is very exciting and encouraging news! Let’s all be praying for the preparation of these efforts, as well as for efficacy in all of the ways in which the gospel is preached!
Very exciting, and a wonderful step forward!
Want to say likewise to all of Steven’s comments. My first thought was, this is so exciting.
It looks like a very good effort to continue preaching the gospel and proclaiming the coming Kingdom of God. May the God of the Bible bless every effort of the United Church of God I.A. toward this mean.
This is the type of outreach I have always wanted to hear the Church doing….may God grant His blessing to the project.
The idea sounds great. But 50 cities simultaneously for a new program? That’s laying out a huge amount of resources, including human, on an unpiloted program. I realize there’s experience in Australia, but still, there may be a better way.
It may be wiser to start with a few – say 5 – and track the progress, get feedback, learn how to do better.. and then go from there!
This may be someone’s first contact with a begotten member of God’s family. And what they see, how we organize it, what we reflect to them may strongly affect their future conversion.. which if God calls them could be very soon. So the better the program, the finer the organization, the more refined overall experience they see, can enhance the potential that these new contacts will be able to act positively on their calling (whenever it is).
Awesome. I am happy the church is putting forth this zeal and effort. I hope we will plan properly so that God will bless this effort to give an opportunity to others to be a part of His family. With God all things are possible.
The STONE that was cut out of the MOUNTAIN without human hands will SOON, indeed, become a GREAT MOUNTAIN and fill the WHOLE EARTH – may our ABBA and His HOLY ONE grant us POWER through the Holy Spirit to proclaim with urgency of all things which have been and will be fulfilled together with the Glory of that Kingdom and True Repentance and Belief in the Good News to the saving of souls and the inheritance of their glory in the ages to come. We have open doors and must walk through them in faith with humility knowing that it is our Abba who works in us to do of His good pleasure and He DOES judge and seek His own glory. FORWARD TO THE KINGDOM.
Peter –
Great concept. I’d be happy to be a part of this for Eau Claire, WI. Keep me in the loop!
Great strategy..long time coming..The outline looks solid..Just attended one that LCG spoosnored in South Florida…by what I witnessed there the “field is ripe for harvest”…the success of the program will be in our prayers..
Very exciting! Something all the church can participate in.
They are good plans with good intentions, but I see a serious problem generated. Subscribers invite the world to a place with members on Sabbath, is polluting the Sabbath. Beware of open doors!, any person can enter and eventually contaminate the congregations.
Awesome! Wish we could have done this earlier but all things work together for good.
To John Anonymous: The Sabbath was made for MAN (in general) not only for members Church.
I am totally committed to helping in these KOG seminars! Thank God for the leadership of UCG! Let us all attempt to do whatever we can to bring God’s Truth to a dying world.
I am still your subscriber of your biblical booklets. They are very educational biblically and I learned a lot from them.
The Kingdom of God Bible Seminars is going to be a very productive one. I hope I can attend the seminar. I do not have ride.
For your information, I had and continue talking to people about your very good biblical service and the biblical literature and books.
I appreciate our being exchange of communications and mostly about the biblical booklets I got from you.
As a result of my talking to people in North Carolina, people would probably write you requesting your booklets so they can have their own to read.
Will there be a seminar near Portland Oregon ?
I was very interested in your KoG seminar and would like to know if one was going to be held anywhere near Portland Oregon ?
Thank you Tim Iggulden
Hi Tim! I know of at least one planned for Portland. You can go to kogbibleseminars.org and put in your zip code, and you’ll see the information for the Portland seminar.