FROM MINISTERIAL SERVICES
Reporting Church Attendance Figures for October
Because the Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles fall on the first two weekly Sabbaths in October, these Sabbaths should be eliminated from average attendance calculations for all churches worldwide. Use only the attendance figures from the 20th and 27th to calculate the average. If one of these two Sabbaths has an abnormally high or low attendance, eliminate that figure and base the attendance figure for October on the one remaining Sabbath.
International News
From the Italian Department: Though God has not as yet called a large number into His Church in Italy, our members there are faithful and stable. At present we have a total of 14 members: six on the mainland and eight on the island of Sicily.
As a result of present and planned advertising, there is a definite potential for growth. We currently have 25 visit and/or baptism requests and another 15 people showing considerable interest in the Church. Our co-worker list stands at 29, with donors now numbering 192.
Since its debut in July/August 1982 La PURA VERITA' has steadily grown in circulation, with an August 1984 mailing list of 55,690. La PURA VERITA' reaches 82 countries: Italy receives the majority (50,348), followed by Argentina (1,405), West Germany (1,129) and Switzerland (639). In Italy itself the high circulation areas are Rome, Milan and Naples.
To date the READERS' DIGEST ads have been our most effective tool for increasing circulation. The first ad, which had a coupon enclosed, ran in November 1983 and brought in 10,033 responses. The second ad (March 1984) has pulled 10,103 requests for the magazine thus far. We have also advertised in major Italian magazines and newspapers (for example, OGGI, PANORAMA, IL MESSAGERO) and have received over 11,900 responses from these ads.
In October we will be testing direct mail advertising. Two hundred thousand letters offering a free subscription to the PV will be sent to addresses throughout Italy. In addition to this, 30,000 letters will be sent into the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland. We are eagerly awaiting the results of this test and hope to find in it a new and inexpensive medium for bringing the PV to a greater audience.
"The WORLD TOMORROW" television broadcast (in English with Italian subtitles) is beamed into most portions of Italy from Television Monte Carlo. Italy's two largest cities, Rome and Milan, are well covered by the program. The broadcasts, though sometimes aired at a different time than scheduled without prior notification, are bringing in many enthusiastic comments as well as an average of about 100 literature requests per program. Responses to date total 2,686.
Income for January through July 1984 shows an increase of 113% over the same period in 1983. The number of donors is increasing regularly. In 1983, 25.5% of our income was received from co-workers and donors. So far this year, 30% of our income has been from co-workers and donors. The booklet ENDING YOUR FINANCIAL WORRIES in Italian will be ready to send out by the end of September. We expect this booklet to increase the number of co workers and donors.
August saw the beginning of a program which will provide our members in Italy with translations of select GN articles and occasionally sermons recorded on cassette tape. We hope to send the tapes on a regular basis at the rate of two per month. We feel that this will be of great benefit to our members as there are as yet no regular church services in Italy.
God has placed his name on the town of Fiuggi, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) east of Rome, as the first Feast site in Italy in this modern age. Services will be conducted in the English language with a simultaneous translation into Italian for those needing it. Approximately 700 people will attend from all over the world.
From Canada: August saw a change of printers take place in Canada. The October issue of The PLAIN TRUTH was printed for the first time at Southam Murray's in Toronto. Messrs. Adair, Patrickson, Burrows, Earle, and Wasilkoff were on hand to see the first signature come off the press. Mr. Pere Burrows will act as our agent and be present at Southam Murray's during each print run. As with most new beginnings there were a few minor difficulties, but these were resolved.
We received our first responses in August to the Direct Mail campaign. So far 17,050 have requested a PLAIN TRUTH subscription.
We are looking forward to receiving our first responses to the newspaper campaign. Five cities — Prince George, North Battleford, Moncton, Peterborough, and Red Deer — have been selected as test markets. Two types of inserts are being used. Results from this campaign will determine the type of insert card to be used in the major campaign scheduled for after the Feast.
Mail income for August was up 8.2%, bringing the year-to-date increase to 12.3%. Incoming mail was up 50.6% over August, 1983, for a total of 36,727 pieces of mail. Total outgoing mail for the month was 97,123 pieces — down 18.3% from last year.
As fall sets in the number of WATS responses is beginning to climb. In August our operators handled 1,277 calls — a 32.7% increase over the same month last year. In the first eight months of 1984 we have received 10,833 WATS calls — a 28% increase over 1983.
We are still waiting to hear from Canada Post regarding our appeal of their ruling on second class mailing privileges. Perhaps the recent change of government will have some bearing on our appeal.
Finally, we thought you might enjoy reading this short article about one of our teenagers in the Salmon Arm Church. It appeared in the local newspaper and was sent to us by Mr. Rainer Salomaa, pastor of the Church there.
A Yugoslavian engineer is very thankful that Suzanne Darnell of Salmon Arm is an honest person. While in Salmon Arm recently the engineer stopped for some food at McDonald's Restaurant. By mistake he left behind a wallet containing $7, 500 in cash and cheques in the lobby of the restaurant.
The wallet was found by Darnell and turned over to the manager, who then turned it over to RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). The engineer, who is on loan to Canada for planning the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, discovered the wallet was missing when he reached Revelstoke and called back to Salmon Arm.
Roy McArthur, owner of McDonald's, comments that he is very proud of Darnell. "It was tremendously honest of her to turn that money in."
From the Bonn Office: The month of August was especially characterized by much activity in the local Churches of the German-speaking area, which included YOU/YES activities, church outings and a visit from minister and Media Services employee John Halford.
Mr. Halford came to Bonn on Saturday, August 4 to speak to the combined Bonn and Duesseldorf churches. Visitors from other areas such as Darmstadt were also present. The Pasadena camera crew, which had traveled to Frankfurt with Mr. Halford earlier, was taken to the French SEP camp (Morange, France) by Regional Director Frank Schnee to do some filming. Twelve young people from the German-speaking area had the opportunity to attend this camp and over all comments were very positive, with the youngsters looking forward to returning next year.
Two hundred thirty-eight people were present on the last Sabbath of August for the first gathering ever of the Swiss churches from the German and French-speaking areas. Mr. Bernard Andrist, from the Geneva office, and the Neuchatel Church traveled to Basel for services. Mr. Andrist took the morning service and gave a slide presentation on the churches in French speaking Black Africa. The French language presentation was translated into German using infra-red translation equipment. A potluck lunch was then followed by afternoon services in German.
Incoming mail increased remarkably in August, considering that it is vacation time for many Germans. Total incoming mail was up 156% over August of 1983. This sharp increase resulted mainly from a letter sent to co-workers and donors offering Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong's new booklet, A WORLD HELD CAPTIVE. Solicited mail was up 389% over last August, again due to the large response to the letter.
The month-to-date mail income was up 16.8% over last year and the year-to date mail income is up 13.2%.
Comments From Monthly Church Reports
From the Caribbean
HAMILTON, BERMUDA — CECIL PULLEY: Mr. Waterhouse's visit has given the local church a real shot in the arm. Members are still very excited and a lot of renewed interest is being shown in the topics which he covered. Our PLAIN TRUTH newsstand distribution is still going well, and we are now back on local radio, so that should provide us with additional exposure locally.
BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS — ARNOLD HAMPTON: The highlight of this month was Mr. Waterhouse's visit. God has truly inspired him with a message that is like a glass of cold water on a hot summer day. Thanks for sending him through the Caribbean and all over this world, because we need to hear this message again and again.
— Joe Tkach, Ministerial Services
