Update from the President
Our teen camp directors and wives gathered together at the home office earlier this week for our annual assessment of the United Youth Camps program. We came together to look at the past camp season with a comprehensive view to examine what went right and what can we do better in service to our teens and their parents. Try as we might, and even though UYC is into 23rd year, there is always more to learn and to tweak. We all feel it is a joy and honor to serve the youth in the Church through this longest running program in the United Church of God.
The most important topic for discussion is the Christian Living classes. The overall theme for 2019 was finalized. This theme (and it is a good one!) will be found in the UYC magazine. One of the more dynamic discussions was when the five daily sub-themes were finalized. After opening with prayer, one of the directors used a white board to write down the ideas that were brought forth. We let this creative process continue until the whole board was filled with dozens of scriptures and themes. Then we narrowed the list down to the final five sub-themes. It is fulfilling to see this part of the agenda come to life and produce good content. Additional discussions included budgeting, equipment and staff needs, safety challenges and professional camp procedures.
Gary Smith, Pinecrest Camp Director, commented, "It was my privilege to be a part of the Camp Director conference. The spirit of iron sharpening iron was an essential part of the camp conference. This was really on display during the brainstorming for Christian Living presentations."
UYC is about serving the wonderful teens who are literally the future of the Church. Collectively, they represent the next generation of dedicated members and pillars in their local congregations. Let us appreciate the youth in our local congregations! Reach out to the pre-teens and teens in your area to let them know how much each of them is appreciated. They keep the Sabbath and annual Holy Days, they tithe, they observe God laws and are a light in their schools. Thank you, parents, for teaching the precious truths of God to your children because this is key to your child's success in internalizing spiritual values. At camp we see the good fruit of your labor and your love.
I want to express special appreciation to pastor Steve Nutzman who has ably coordinated the UYC program for the past eight years. I have appreciated how he handles the interchange of ideas and his ability to bring the collective thought of the individual camp directors and staff into making our youth camp program what it has come to be.
Steve and I did a podcast while he was here where we discussed the program and this conference in particular. This was the first podcast made in our new media studio.
Please let us know how we can keep improving the camp program so your youth are better served as they continue to deepen their personal relationships with God. The 2019 camp season is just around the corner and we are getting for another productive time in the Zone.
US Regional Pastor Conference
On the heels of the camp conference we held a day and half of meetings on Wednesday and Thursday this week for the regional pastors serving the United States. Three of the six men were already involved with the camp conference, so we only had to add the three others.
Most of the meetings were in the format of a give-and-take discussion about how we can best help our ministry more ably serve our brethren.
One of the immediate items was planning the agenda for the upcoming round of regional conferences across the six regions in the United States for 2019-2020, starting with a conference in the Atlanta area, January 20-22. We collaborated about which topics are needed and what our pastors would like to see covered. Our regional pastors will survey the elders in their regions for additional ideas.
We want our regional conference to contain a mix of motivational, educational and discussion topics. We plan to have more pastors in the region itself make presentations in areas of special expertise.
We also spoke about the need for our pastors to have some retreat-type meetings to bond and share ideas. Even during this short two-day conference, we have seen the great value of personally being with one another, appreciating each other's company and building synergy through the interchange of ideas and actions.
We all understand that the ministry is a sacrificial calling. Our able ministers and their wives are indeed extraordinary, as they serve, speak, counsel and write while lovingly and patiently caring for God's people in their charge. We want to provide the best possible service.
Part of our agenda was discussion about bringing on those men who are new to this lifelong calling. It is indeed a very special calling that exceeds being just a profession. The Apostle Paul described himself as having been "put into" or appointed to the ministry (1 Timothy 1:12). We are continually looking for those few good men whom God is calling to that role.
Mark Welch
Mark and Barbara Welch are at the home office and becoming acclimated to the environment in which they will be working. Mark is the new Operation Manager for Ministerial and Member Services and will relieve me of some of the duties that I have carried the past three years. Already, I sense a relief from the volume of activity. Barbara has managed the Deaf Program for several years and will be even more effective from this new platform.
Media Studio Being Outfitted
The new Beyond Today television studio, set, lights and equipment are being put in place. We are excited for new recordings of our television program to start. Current plans are to record three programs on Wednesday, November 28.
You can see the progress of this on Twitter at https://twitter.com/UCGmedia. We will have more reports coming about the timetables for the various inaugural events.
I heartily thank Peter Eddington and the dedicated media staff for all their work in the transitioning of equipment to the new studio while at the same time keeping up with current media schedules.
I thank all of you for your dedication to God's Work as we rely on His direction on His timetable for doing His Work during the time in which we live. We seek His will to faithfully and humbly do our part. Thank you for your many prayers. When I look at all the things that are done in the Work of God, I know it is not of us, but of God who directs and sustains us.
