News From Around the World

• Southern Africa Holds Leadership Workshop
• Reader’s Digest Ad and BT Bearing Fruit in Canada

Southern Africa Holds Leadership Workshop

by André van Belkum

Representatives of the Church from various southern African countries gathered Nov. 11 to 14 to attend a leadership workshop at a resort located about three hours' drive northeast of Johannesburg, South Africa.

The 38 who attended came from Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Also present were Mr. and Mrs. Richard Pinelli and Lyle Welty from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were not only responsible for planning the program, but also presenting the majority of the 24 hours of lectures. Three pastors from South Africa and one elder were asked to help deliver several of the lectures. "They were extremely helpful in their presentations," Mr. Pinelli said.

Sessions began at 8:30 a.m. and continued with breaks for lunch and tea until 6.

Healthy Balance of Subjects

The program started Sunday evening with orientation and an overview of the purpose of the leadership workshops. All were present for this session despite the fact that some had traveled over 1,000 miles by road, and at times under difficult conditions.

Mr. Pinelli placed emphasis on the need for additional manpower, and how we should "replace ourselves" with future leaders who will uphold our foundational doctrines and strive for unity in the Church. He then gave an overview of the major areas that would be covered, including:

1. The basic foundational structure of the United Church of God.

2. How do we fit into that structure.

3. The importance of attitudes (heart) and character.

4. How to effectively perform our duties.

For the next three days the lectures focused on various subjects designed to better equip us in our relationship with God, and how we can more effectively serve those in His Church. The first morning Mr. Welty covered the topic of "The Government of God and the Home Office," followed by Mr. Pinelli on the governing documents of the Church. There was a healthy balance of subjects, as can be seen from the following:

1. Developing the heart of a leader.

2. The high calling of God.

3. Biblical guidelines for husbands and wives.

4. Congregational structure.

5. The fine art of delegating and mentoring.

6. Importance of sound doctrine.

7. Developing wisdom and good judgment.

8. All about discernment.

9. Practical aspects of leading a small congregation.

10. Pride and humility.

11. Personal integrity/code of ethics.

12. Premarital counseling.

13. Learning to examine self and take correction.

14. Youth programs.

15. Developing sermons and split sermons.

16. Working with your pastor.

17. Developing one-point sermonettes.

18. Appreciating differences and understanding yourself and others.

19. Baptismal counseling.

The significance of integrity of heart and motive seemed to be the major emphasis around the subject of personal growth and development. Godly servants are those whose primary motivation is a deep desire to help others in the Church grow toward the Kingdom of God. Factors that trip us up along the way include such things as a self-serving attitude, a desire to look good and be the greatest, pride as opposed to serving "with all humility" (Acts 20:19).

What are we looking for in a minister was answered by discussing the qualities of elders as outlined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Many of the sessions took the form of discussions, and those present heartily participated and made comments and suggestions. Christ puts us into the ministry, and we need to have a passion for serving God, for His people and for the truth of God, coupled with an ability to defend the doctrines of the Church. What God is looking for in an elder is a sacrificial heart and the willingness to go above and beyond even to the point of personal loss.

What Attendees Took Away

Each head of family was given a handout of the lectures that filled a large binder, and each elder was presented with a manual with information about the minister's relationship with God and his role within his congregations and the Church.

Guidance for the wives within the "team ministry" was helpful, as the importance of their roles in supporting their husbands and serving the congregations were outlined and discussed. At the end of the discussions we all agreed that the wives play an important part within the overall structure of the Church.

Sessions covering the subjects of baptismal counseling, developing sermons and working with the youth were extremely helpful and informative. The lecture on developing one-point sermonettes was especially helpful, as many of us struggle to cover material adequately in the allocated 10 to 12 minutes. In a workshop discussion, the subject of "faith" was selected and, with input from those present, it was narrowed down to one point, which was "Can children have faith?"

We were richly blessed with knowledge and understanding. As someone said, "I don't believe the presenters know how much they have helped us."

Attendee Harris Hlazo wrote, "In all the 36 years that I have been in the Church, I have never listened to such spiritual depth. My eyes were opened to a lot of things. Thanks be to the Eternal for exposing me to information of such value."

As an additional benefit, Mr. Pinelli spoke to the Johannesburg congregation on the Sabbath before the workshops, and Mr. Welty traveled by air to Durban where he spoke to the congregation there.

Christ as the Head has led His Church to implement the workshop program so that we can be better equipped to finally enter His Kingdom. On behalf of the congregations of Southern Africa, I thank those at the home office for making these educational programs available to us. UN

[ back to top ]

Reader’s Digest Ad and BT Bearing Fruit in Canada

The following is excerpted from the Canadian Office Update for Nov. 3, 2007.

by Edwin van Pelt

Incoming mail from all sources in Canada is about to break last year's record. We are about 100 pieces short of last year's total of 15,944 items. We are also close to breaking last year's record for Internet and e-mail requests.

Income for September was below budget but for October it was above budget. For the fiscal year beginning April 1 we are a few percentage points ahead of budget.

Reader's Digest Responses

This week's mail brought in 593 cards from the Reader's Digest ad. We've now had a total of 733 responses from all sources (mail, phone, our Web site and the Reader's Digest Web site). The ad came out less than two weeks ago. [As of Nov. 22, over 3,000 subscriptions had been requested, surpassing one third of a percent. The usual response level is one quarter of a percent.]

Your continued prayers for the success of this ad are greatly appreciated. It is the first time we've done such an extensive ad. The ad in Reader's Digest will ultimately reach 1.1 million subscribers, and it will reach others through their Web site. We have also tied the ad in with our Web site.

Interestingly, eight cards came from former subscribers of The Good News magazine. Most of those had let their subscriptions lapse. We've also received some interesting phone calls from the ad including two people who called to cancel their Reader's Digest subscriptions. (One of those is now a subscriber to The Good News instead).

Beyond Today

Prayers are also requested for the continued success of the Beyond Today television program. In almost a year and a half, we've had just about 2,600 responses in all from the program and the beyondtodaytv.ca Web site. One of the things we can include in our prayers is a better time slot. A number of viewers have indicated that they record the program and watch it at their convenience.

Several viewers of the program have become donors and others have attended Sabbath services in various locations across Canada. We can also pray that more viewers become interested in learning more about God's truth. We have a large number of repeat viewers, based on the phone calls received from the program.

The November-December 2007 issue of The Good News magazine will be sent to 12,735 subscribers here in Canada. The mailing list is constantly being updated on a daily basis. It wasn't long ago that it was updated on a weekly basis.

Outgoing mail is also setting new records. Through the end of October, an average of 16,583 items have been distributed per month. (Last year the average was 14,360 items per month). We've distributed over 1,000 copies of four of our booklets this year. Last year only one booklet had more than 1,000 copies distributed.

The next round of National Council meetings is scheduled to be held in Toronto at the end of November. The Media Team will meet first, followed by the Ministerial Services Team and then the Council will meet for about two days. We can also pray for the success of these meetings. A tremendous amount of preparation work goes into these meetings. Among the items on the Council agenda are the Strategic Plan, the Operation Plan and the Budget for 2008-2009.

All in all, it's been a busy few months and there is no letup in sight. UN

[ back to top ]