Update From the French Department Things are beginning to settle down in the French Department after an exciting Feast of Tabernacles held at six French language Feast sites: Belgium, French Canada, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti and Zaire. This year marked the first time a Feast of Tabernacles was held in Belgium, and the first time held in Zaire (in Kinshasa), where 119 persons gathered under Mr. Bernard Andrist's direction the second half of the Feast.
Total attendance for the first day of the Feast — for all French-speaking sites — was 2,603; the figure for the Last Great Day was 2,676 (including Zaire). Attendance was up 12% over 1983. Donations during the Feast increased 24.9%. As might be expected, this trend is based on solid growth in the French-speaking membership, which is up 5.36% over 1983 for a total membership of 1,357.
"With the Church's help," wrote Mr. Andrist, "our brethren in Zaire were able to have two good meals during the Last Great Day and the following weekly Sabbath. Most of them had never seen such quality and abundance of food! The brethren over there certainly know that the Church of God is a family. They have great love and a profound respect, doubled by great admiration, for Mr. Herbert Armstrong, whom they recognize as the Apostle of God."
In Belgium, the growth in the Churches has been phenomenal both in attendance and in offerings — 174% and 515% respectively over 1983. This growth is mainly attributed to Mr. Armstrong's French subtitled weekly telecasts, as well as Regional Director Mr. Dibar Apartian's thrice weekly morning broadcasts (both on RTL Luxembourg) — and Church pastor Mr. Jean Carion's hard work.
In the West Indies, the Churches on Martinique and Guadeloupe are also growing very fast. The average weekly attendance in Martinique is 296 and in Guadeloupe it is 155.
Recently, a series of Public Bible Lectures was conducted in Paris by Church pastor Mr. Sam Kneller. Outside attendance varied between 41 and 49, a good number of whom were natives of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Nine new people were subsequently invited to Sabbath services.
In Canada, Church pastor Mr. Rejean Vautour conducted three Public Bible Lectures in the city of Thetford Mines, Quebec, on November 4, 11 and 18. We've just heard that the first lecture was a success as 11 new people attended — of whom three were regular listeners to our 15-minute radio broadcast "Le MONDE A VENIR.”
Mr. Apartian is visiting the West Indies from December 4 through 10. He will conduct one Public Bible Lecture in Martinique and another in Guadeloupe. He will, of course, also meet with the members and preach during Sabbath services.
The total circulation of La PURE VERITE is currently 145,269 subscribers, and it goes into 134 countries and/or territories. La BONNE NOUVELLE DU MONDE A VENIR — the French GN — presently has a circulation of 12,982 copies, up 26.6% over last year.
During the months of August, September and October, 6,569 pieces of white mail were received — an increase of 33% over the same period in 1983. In these three months we also processed 12,387 pieces of regular mail, and mailed out 80,747 items.
The month of November was sensational because of an ad in the French version of READER'S DIGEST in France and Belgium. We have received to date 11,927 response cards from France and 2,188 from Belgium.
Finally, French Canada also showed very good growth in October due to a very encouraging response rate from a direct mail advertisement. The average response from eight different mailing lists was 8.35% — a total of 8,049 responses to 99,000 letters sent.
From the Spanish Department Brethren from 23 nations gathered at eight Spanish-language sites on three continents to celebrate the 1984 Feast of Tabernacles in a spirit of unity, love and rejoicing. Brethren met in such diverse locales as the tropical clime of Acapulco, Mexico, the lofty (12,000 ft.) Andean site of Huaraz, Peru and the Mediterranean setting of Cullera, Spain. Feastgoers at all sites enjoyed the opening and closing messages from Mr. Armstrong, the Young Ambassadors and Behind the Work films, youth activities, dances, talent shows and opportunities to serve one another. Attendance was up in all but one site, and total attendance was up 2% over 1983. The following summarizes attendance at each site:
Site - Attendance - Site - Attendance
Acapulco, Mexico - 1,042 - Huaraz, Peru - 204 Melgar, Colombia - 396 - El Tabito, Chile - 177 Antigua, Guatemala - 285 - Cullera, Spain - 96 Monte Hermosa, Argentina - 283 - San Jose, Costa Rica - 95
Mr. Alberto Sousa, pastor of the Ezeiza, Argentina and Salto, Uruguay congregations, conducted two sets of Public Bible Lectures for readers of La PURA VEFDAD in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area in September. A total of 360 new people attended one or more of these lectures. Twenty wanted to be visited, and 150 filled out cards indicating that they desired to attend future meetings. Mr. Sousa said that the majority of those who attended were from Protestant backgrounds, which is unique in that the Argentine populace is considered 90-95% Catholic. The mostly middle-class group had a large number of older people, and appeared to have substantial knowledge of Church literature, according to Mr. Sousa. He also said that two or three people wanted to counsel for baptism, and one lady is already attending services. A follow-up Bible study is scheduled for December 7.
For the first time in over eight years, Public Bible Lectures were conducted in Guadalajara, Mexico, by Church pastor Mr. Pablo Dimak is October 27, November 3, and November 10, with nearly 200 new people in attendance at the Hotel Fenix. Several booklets were offered dur ng each of the lectures, and hundreds were distributed after each meeting. The Hotel Continental in Mexico City was host to Public Bible Lectures on November 3, 10, and 17, where Mr. Salvador Barragan, a minister in the Mexico City Church, spoke to almost 400 new people. Over 1,000 booklets were distributed.
Just 125 miles south of Pasadena, Tijuana, Mexico was the site for lectures on November 3, 10, and 17 conducted by Mr. Fernando Barriga, pastor of the Tijuana and Mexicali churches. Twenty-eight new people attended one or more of these lectures at the Hotel Country Club. Twelve attended all three lectures.
Mr. Thomas Turk, pastor of the Mexico City Church, attended the lectures in Guadalajara and Mexico City. "Both groups were very attentive and were obviously familiar with our literature," he said. More lectures in Mexico are scheduled for February and March.
The last Public Bible Lectures for 1984 are scheduled to take place in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on December 8 and 9, and will be conducted by Mr. Herbert Cisneros. Year to date, a total of 2,451 new people have attended Public Bible Lectures in eight cities in six countries.
After La PURA VERDAD reached a record-breaking circulation of 222,735 with the September issue, the number of PV subscribers has hovered around the 200,000 level despite many thousands being dropped due to renewals. Argentina's circulation moved into the top position recently, which is in stark contrast to a few years ago when Argentina had under 2,000 subscribers.
The top twelve countries with respect to PV and GOOD NEWS circulation are as follows:
Response to recent READER'S DIGEST advertising in Peru, Spain and Portugal has been very good. To date, 664 responses have resulted from a two-page, four-color ad without an insert card in the October Peru issue, which represents a 1.65% response at a $2.59 cost-per-response. Responses are expected to total over 800. A two-page, four-color spread with a reply card in the Iberian (Spain) edition has netted 6,481 responses to date, a 1.58% response, at a $2.25 cost-per-response. Around 8-9,000 responses are expected. Lastly, a two-page ad in Portugal's October issue offering THE SEVEN LAWS OF SUCCESS and The PLAIN TRUTH in either Spanish French, English or Italian has brought in 1,045 responses, a .65% response, or $1.61 per response, with about 1,200 total responses expected. The breakdown of requests for the different PT editions offered in the Portugal READER'S DIGEST ad is as follows: Spanish — 66%; French — 19%; English — 12%; Italian — 3%.
The current series of READER'S DIGEST ads have brought in a total of 8,190 responses. A second ad (one page with insert card) in the Iberian edition has been postponed until March, 1985.
Beginning with the January, 1985 issue, La PURA VERDAD will be printed at the Alabaster Passmore press in the United Kingdom, along with the German, Dutch, French, Italian, Caribbean and British editions. It is hoped that some savings may be accrued from lower printing and mailing costs. Delivery time of each issue will be closely scrutinized to determine the efficiency of mailing the magazine from England. Mr. Leon Walker, director of the Spanish Department, and Mr. Keith Speaks, PV circulation manager, will travel to England in early December to witness the initial press run and to confer with personnel involved in production, handling and mailing.
Three students from Latin America — two from Mexico and one from Chile — represent part of the incoming students in Pasadena this school year. There are presently thirteen students from Spanish-speaking areas attending Ambassador College, Pasadena.
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