Great Placement! UCG-UK Newspaper Ad
March 30, 2011
Click to see detail of The Daily Telegraph front page showing the UCG-UK advertisement.
On Monday, March 21, the United Church of God in the United Kingdom ran a newspaper advertisement in The Daily Telegraph. Of particular interest is that the theme of our ad, “Why Is the Middle East Such a Perpetual Hot Spot?”, coincided perfectly with the newspaper’s lead story for the day about military action against Libya.
The UCG-UK ad is seen in the red box in the lower right-hand side of the front page.
Bricket Wood, England, pastor Gerhard Marx forwarded a copy of the ad to the UCG home office in Cincinnati. You can see it attached to this blog post. God indeed blessed this advertising effort in both the timing and front-page placement in The Daily Telegraph at a very reasonable cost.
Click to see full-size newspaper advertisement.
Please pray for a very good response to our UK office’s advertising effort in this regard. They are offering a free subscription to the Good News magazine, and copies of two of our booklets, “The Middle East in Bible Prophecy” and “Are We Living in the Time of the End?”
Peter Eddington and Gerhard Marx—Media and Communications Services
Reminder: Wednesday Night Bible Study
March 30, 2011
The Cincinnati East, Ohio, congregation of the United Church of God is holding it’s fifth Bible study on the book of Acts this evening. It begins at 7:30 p.m. EST and is available live via webcast. Acts chapter 6 will be the topic of discussion, presented by Steve Myers and Randy Stiver.
You can view archived copies of the first four studies by Gary Antion, Peter Eddington, Steve Myers and Randy Stiver. Simply scroll down to the bottom of the webcast page to listen to the first four presentations.
We have been very pleased to have had hundreds of live Internet connections from around the world during each Bible study—in addition to those who attended in person.
Give yourself a mid-week spiritual boost and join us for this Bible study as we go through the history and beginning of God’s Church.
Gary Antion—United Church of God, Cincinnati East pastor
The New UCG.org—Coming May 2011
March 23, 2011
In February 2010, the United Church of God Media and Communications Services department began working on a project to redesign and reorganize UCG’s Web presence. The project was started to meet a number of needs that the United Church of God has in preaching the gospel on the Internet, especially as we move further into the information age.
This exciting project is nearing completion, and the new UCG.org is planned to be launched in May 2011. Watch a short video clip and read more about what’s coming in May at this link.
The new website is designed to focus on content that will be relevant to what you are looking for. A team of diligent part-time workers and volunteers has spent hundreds of hours cataloging (assigning topics and keywords) all the articles, sermons, commentaries, videos, audio files, Beyond Today programs, booklets and other material the United Church of God has produced over the past 16 years. In doing so, the site’s content is dynamically linked from one resource to another helping you find the answers to your questions.
Here is just a brief list of some of the new features to be released in May at UCG.org.
- Website user accounts.
- Author pages with bio information, photo and content produced by that author.
- Online chat with other website user account friends.
- Powerful and enhanced search engine.
- User friendly mobile version.
- MP3 recordings of various booklets and publications.
- Recipe section (biblically clean).
- Commenting on posted content.
- United Church of God congregation finder (by zip code).
Read more about the upcoming launch of the new UCG.org at this link. With God’s blessing and your prayerful support, this will be a great step forward in our online effort to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom.
Aaron Booth—Internet Managing Editor
March 22 Letter from President Dennis Luker
March 22, 2011
Please read the attached letter from President Dennis Luker to the United Church of God membership.
President’s Office.
Beyond Today on WGN America Posts Another Record-High Response
March 22, 2011
The Beyond Today television program titled “Get to Know Your Bible,” hosted by Darris McNeely, posted a new record-high response on WGN America! Airing on Sunday, March 6, 2011, the program attracted 1,275 responses at a $9.41 cost per response (CPR). This bests the former record-holding program, “The Moment After You Die,” which aired on January 9, 2011, having produced 1,227 responses at $9.78 CPR.
Also, the Beyond Today program titled “Easter Exposed,” hosted by Steve Myers, did exceptionally well. This second holidays-themed program, which aired on Sunday, March 13, 2011, posted 1,156 responses on WGN America at a $10.38 CPR. This program moves into third overall response ranking at this present time.
We continue to thank and honor God for his great blessings as we move forward to carry out His mandate to reach the world with a warning message and the good news of His coming Kingdom. Also, we deeply thank you for your ongoing prayers for the Church and its critical Work. I know our media staff appreciates it greatly.
Peter Eddington—Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services
United Youth Camps: Register Now!
March 18, 2011
We are pleased to announce that the United Youth Camps magazine is now arriving at member households. This year we have a very creative look to the magazine—in the motif of an adventurer’s journal.
Campers and staff, you can be among those who challenge themselves to be a part of an unforgettable adventure this summer, along with your friends. So take a look at the camp magazine for all kinds of adventure details. This way you can reach your destination at one of our five teen summer camps, one of our seven preteen camps, or the Challenger program.
There won’t be a camp video this spring since there was a shortage of time to put one together. But then again, true adventurers push onward and upward to their camp destination, video or not. 
In the spirit of challenge, the overall United Youth Camps theme this year is “A World Away From the World”. This theme illustrates how adventurous campers and staff are given a spiritual oasis away from the pressures of the world at large, and an opportunity to grow and learn about God’s way of life and about the coming Kingdom of God.
All good adventures begin with some preliminary planning, so register online at uyc.ucg.org. You can also sign up for immediate e-mail updates about camp so that you can be “in the know!”
Campers and staff, your world away from the world is awaiting you, so apply now for your spot at one of our beautiful camp locations around the country. The deadline for camper and staff applications is May 1. Let the adventure begin!
Steve Nutzman—UYC National Coordinator
Coming Soon: Largest Subscriber Development Mailing in UCG History
March 16, 2011
Three hundred fifty thousand current and former Good News magazine subscribers will soon receive a special letter from United Church of God president Dennis Luker. This correspondence has been primarily designed to increase awareness of our weekly Beyond Today television programs on WGN America. But, it will also offer our readers a copy of our informative 39-page booklet, How to Understand the Bible.
For many years, we have sent “subscriber development” letters and e-mails to readers of the Good News magazine. These mailings, which are intended to maintain an active relationship with our subscribers, frequently include an offer for one of our many foundational booklets or for other literature.
Our most recent mailing was sent to 200,000 readers. With the forthcoming letter that number will escalate to 350,000—which will become the largest mailing in United Church of God history. Letters will be sent to all 218,000 current U.S. Good News subscribers, including church members, as well as to 132,000 former subscribers who had not renewed their subscriptions in the past twelve to eighteen months. Each letter will be accompanied by a booklet response card, a reply envelope and a full-color Beyond Today-WGN America promotional insert.
As audience and response to Beyond Today on WGN America continues to increase, we desire to further generate awareness and interest in our programs with the general public. This is also true with those who know us best, our Good News readers.
Please pray for God’s blessings on this significant Beyond Today promotional effort and subscriber development offer. Also, please encourage your family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors to watch Beyond Today every Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. (EDT) on WGN America and across Canada on Vision TV and Star Choice Digital.
Your prayers and support mean a great deal to everyone at the home office.
Peter Eddington—Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services
Webcast: Wednesday Evening Bible Study
March 16, 2011
The Cincinnati East, Ohio, congregation is holding it’s third Wednesday night Bible study this evening—going through the book of Acts. It begins at 7:30 p.m. EST and is available live via webcast. Acts chapter 3 will be the topic of discussion, presented by Peter Eddington and Randy Stiver.
You can view archived copies of studies one and two presented by Gary Antion, Peter Eddington and Steve Myers. They covered an introduction to Acts, and Acts chapters 1 and 2.
Scroll down to the bottom of the webcast page to listen to the first two presentations. We were very pleased to have 270 live Internet connections during the second Bible study—in addition to those who attended in person. Some connected from as far away as the Philippines, Germany and Canada—plus numerous U.S. cities.
Give yourself a mid-week spiritual boost, and join us for this Bible study as we go through the history and beginning of God’s Church.
Gary Antion—United Church of God, Cincinnati East pastor
Good News Magazines Available for Member Distribution
March 14, 2011
An opportunity is now open for members of the United Church of God to further help preach the gospel. Back issues of the Good News magazine are currently available for brethren to distribute to interested friends, relatives, fellow workers and neighbors and/or to drop off at waiting rooms in hospitals, doctors offices, auto repair shops, etc.
If you would like a supply of magazines (minimum number of copies is 25), please contact John LaBissoniere at john_labissoniere@ucg.org or (423) 562-9400 or toll-free at (888) 369-9940. Please let him know the quantity of magazines you would like and give him your shipping address.
Thank you for your willingness to help spread the good news of the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Peter Eddington—Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services
Preview of New UCG.ORG Web Site
March 12, 2011
Watch this five-minute video preview that explains many of the features of the NEW United Church of God Web site to be launched in May 2011. Please check back here at Inside United: Realtime early next week for a link to the NEW beta test site of ucg.org so that you can see it for yourself.
This project has been in the works for over a year and many people were involved. Great thanks goes to our dedicated Web development team and video editing staff. These include Aaron Booth, Tom Disher, Rudy Rangle, Jamie Schreiber and another half-a-dozen content editors and keyword taggers.
Click the graphic above to watch the 5-minute video preview of the upcoming, NEW ucg.org Web site.
Please watch for the official launch in May. Make sure you create an online UCG account and begin interacting with other members and interested readers.
Peter Eddington—Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services
Inside United: Realtime 