KOG Bible Seminars Report

December 17, 2012

KINGDOM OF GOD BIBLE SEMINARS

FIRST SERIES REPORT

A report on the first series of our Kingdom of God Bible Seminars was delivered to the Council of Elders on December 12. Peter Eddington gave the Council a handout that showed a total of 5,680 seminar guests were in attendance at more than 200 locations around the globe.

Here is a breakdown on guest attendance for each round of the series:

September 2011	Round 1	176 Locations	1,514
January 2012	Round 2	190 Locations	1,653
May 2012	Round 3	206 Locations	1,258
September 2012	Round 4	181 Locations	1,255
		TOTAL	5,680

Below is a listing of cities with the top five guest attendance figures for each round. As you will note, the developing areas of the world most often showed the highest interest in the gospel of the Kingdom of God:

Round 1

1. 52     San Antonio, TX
2. 50     Santiago, Chile
3. 35     Davao City, Philippines
4. 33     Got Kachola, Kenya
5. 33     Ogembo-Rianyamwamu, Kenya

Round 2

1. 110    Manila, Philippines
2. 57     Davao City, Philippines
3. 42     Bacolod, Philippines
4. 42     Melbourne, Australia
5. 40     Sydney, Australia

Round 3

1. 117    Manila, Philippines
2. 58     Bacolod City, Philippines
3. 43     Mexico City, Mexico
4. 34     San Carlos City, Philippines
5. 32     Bolivia

Round 4

1. 125    San Carlos City, Philippines
2. 108   Johannesburg, South Africa
3. 96     Manila, Philippines
4. 76     Capetown, South Africa
5. 49     Davao City, Philippines

We have people now regularly attending Sabbath services with us as a result of the seminars, and a number of baptisms have stemmed from the seminars too. It can be considered a success if even just one or two guests graced our congregation’s doorstep who otherwise would not have attended. We were successful in getting them out of their homes to come and hear the gospel of the Kingdom.

Jesus Christ, as the Head of His Church, has a plan for each person. While numbers are not everything, results do help us measure our efforts. And, while God’s Church will be a small flock (Luke 12:32), there was a very encouraging number of guests in many cities.

Recommendations for Next Series

Dennis Luker, president of the United Church of God, an International Association, gave his support to the Kingdom of God Bible Seminars program moving forward. The Council of Elders agreed with the approach put forth. Here are a few details on the next series:

• We will keep the “Kingdom of God Bible Seminars” brand and theme, but offer a specific topic under the title. For example: “The Sabbath: A Key to the Kingdom of God.”
• Rather than produce a detailed script for each new seminar, we may choose a relevant UCG booklet to use as core material. For example, Sunset to Sunset: God’s Sabbath Rest. The presenters can choose which section or chapter of the booklet they’d like to focus on. The ucg.org website also provides a valuable resource for presenters to use in developing their presentations.
• Have two seminars per year, instead of three.
• Choose the months of June and November each year for seminars, with pastors having the flexibility to work as they see best within this timeline.
• Due to budget constraints, use regular Sabbath service halls to avoid additional hall rental. And use local funding for seminar advertising (letters, postcards, etc.) that is not part of the home office budget subsidy.
• Proposed Topics:
  • June 2013
    • The Sabbath, Eternity and the Kingdom of God.
  • November 2013
    • God’s Festivals: Your Roadmap to the Kingdom.
• Format:
  • Opening Prayer
  • 1 Seminar (60 min.)
  • Closing Prayer

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• If desired, abbreviated 60-minute Sabbath service either before or afterwards with hymns, prayers and one sermon or split sermon.

We are looking forward very much to our next round of seminars and are asking pastors to choose their seminar dates as soon as possible and get them listed on our website. A number of our readers and viewers are already looking for the next seminar to be held in their city—and they check our website regularly hoping to sign up to attend. So the sooner our presenters get their seminar dates listed the better.

Thank you for your prayers for the ongoing success and God’s blessing on this part of our work to preach the gospel of God’s Kingdom.

Peter Eddington—Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services