News From Around the World

• Santiago, Chile, Church Hall Inaugurated
• Australian Media Goals Accomplished
• Canadian National Council Meets in Winnipeg

Santiago, Chile, Church Hall Inaugurated

by Reba Walker

On the Sabbath of June 14, the new Church building in Santiago, Chile, was inaugurated with 450 people present. Many members from around Chile and one family from Argentina made the trip by bus for the occasion. Also present were Leon Walker, regional director for the Spanish area, with his wife, Reba, and special guests Jim and Sharron Franks from the home office. Mr. Franks is Ministerial Services operation manager.

The ceremony began with the cutting of the ribbon by Mr. Walker, Saul Langarica, pastor of the congregation, and Roberto Hernandez, a member and the builder and supervisor of the project. A beautiful plaque was then uncovered that stated in Spanish, "The Word of God is the Foundation of all Knowledge" and "This building was constructed for the honor and glory of God."

After the ceremony, the members took their seats for services. Before the formal services began, Mr. Walker spoke briefly, giving a history of the growth of the Church of God in Chile through the years and explaining how we had grown to the point where having our own hall was a necessity.

He mentioned the many blessings from God during the building process and that the project was completed without debt and without a loan. He also recognized all who had participated in the construction process.

The new building has rooms for Sabbath school classes, as well as the church offices.

Another special event was the ordination of Carlos Verdugo from the Temuco, Chile, congregation as a deacon. After services we enjoyed tea and snacks as we fellowshipped. Then after sunset, an "esquinazo" or short show of music and dances was presented to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Franks.

On Sunday, Mr. Franks presented a series of seminars on Church doctrines for the ministry and other leaders of the area. More than 50 people were present for these presentations and very much appreciated the opportunity to have these classes. Many mentioned that the seminars were a very fitting conclusion to a special weekend. UN

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Australian Media Goals Accomplished

Australia adds 14,000 Good News subscribers.

by Ruth Root

It is with a great deal of thankfulness that we are able to report that, in spite of considerable setbacks during the financial year because of health trials experienced by Australian Operations Centre staff members, the goal of replacing all subscribers lost from the most extensive renewal we have undertaken to date has been accomplished.

Bible Course Advertised

Approximately 14,000 new Good News subscribers have been added from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008. Of that 14,000, over 3,400 have requested and received the Bible Study Course as well.

We have had a number of calls from people who have studied the first three lessons, expressing their gratitude for receiving such priceless, life-changing material. A few have asked about church services.

In addition, whenever we ran a print ad offering the course, the number of visits to the interactive Bible Study Course quiz on the Australian Web site nearly doubled, as a result of advertising the Web site address on the print ad.

Between 6 to 8 percent of all hard copy GN subscription requests received from the Web site request a subscription to the Bible Study Course as well.

Does God Exist? Booklet

In the last six months UCG–Australia advertised the Life's Ultimate Question: Does God Exist? booklet for the first time in Reader's Digest and in a targeted card deck drop. Responses are still coming in, but we have received nearly 2,000 requests for the booklet and a subscription. UN

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Canadian National Council Meets in Winnipeg

by Linda Wasilkoff

The summer meeting of the Canadian National Council was held June 1 and 2 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Quite a few Church members along with their pastor, Herb Teitgen, sat in on the meetings. Prior to this, the Media and Ministerial Services Teams met on Thursday and Friday.

Since this was the first meeting of this fiscal year, the Council Code of Ethics and Council Member Job Description were read. New council member Patrick Read was welcomed and was asked to give a short icebreaker. Following that, Herb Teitgen talked about the rewards and challenges of serving a Canadian congregation while living in the United States.

A PowerPoint presentation from the Canadian office contained various graphs depicting growth patterns. Graemme Marshall reported on personal correspondence questions he has received.

The Media Team PowerPoint presentation showed statistics from the Beyond Today television program and the results of the recent Reader's Digest ads. The council was informed of future plans for the rest of the year.

Next, the Ministerial Services Team reported that leadership development is still an important issue for the Church. Canada is tapping into some of the U.S. programs. There will also be a ministerial conference later this year for all Canadian elders, as well as the Western Canada leadership workshop weekend in Calgary, Alberta, on June 21-22.

Each pastor gave an update on how the Spring Festival season went in his area. The trends are positive.

The National Office was asked to do a study regarding the potential need to move from the current office space. The council reviewed the study and referred it to the Strategic Planning/Finance Committee for further discussion. Next on the agenda was a discussion regarding the new Strategic Plan and Operation Plan that UCGIA approved. The question as to whether Canada should model next year's plan after these was also referred to the committee.

Monday began with a report from the Strategic Planning/Finance Committee. They submitted a resolution for ratification of expenditures to keep charitable purposes ratio in acceptable CRA guidelines. The committee will continue to work on the Strategic Plan for 2008-2009 to have it ready for council approval during the September teleconference. The committee also worked on strategies for the National Office to use for finding new office space.

The Governance Committee presented a proposal to amend the policy on establishing new churches and Bible study groups. A motion was passed to accept the amended document. An Elder Appeal Policy for Canada was approved by the council. Refinements to the lay member nominations process were also discussed.

The regular session ended with a brainstorming session. Then the council went into executive session to discuss designated funds and reserves and conduct the annual review of the director of operations.

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