RADIO CHURCH OF GOD WORLD HEADQUARTERS PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109
HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG PRESIDENT and PASTOR
Broadcasting The WORLD TOMORROW Publishers of The PLAIN TRUTH
January 15, 1962
Dear Brethren of GOD'S CHURCH:
GREETINGS, in Jesus' name! This is both a reminder and a report. Here we are already well into another calendar year.
The annual Ministers' Conference has been in session here at World Headquarters for almost a week, and in another two or three days God's ministers will he returning to their posts around the world. There are two ministers here from England and two from Australia, beside pastors of Churches from New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Milwaukee, South Bend, St. Louis, Kansas City, Gladewater, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Memphis, Little Rock, Wichita, Springfield, Missouri, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Denver, Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Eugene, Sacramento and Oakland, Fresno—just to mention many principal cities.
Plans are being laid for the establishment of more churches—perhaps a few more this year, and many more in the years immediately ahead.
Every phase of God's Work is growing rapidly—maintaining the 30% a year increase. But time is fast running out! We have only about another ten years, in all probability, to FINISH the gigantic world-wide task God has called us as His instruments to accomplish. Then will come quickly the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, and the appearance of the living HEAD of our Church, JESUS CHRIST!
Our men from England report that plans are now ready to proceed immediately, full speed ahead, with the new dining hall and dormitory for the college at Bricket Wood. Unless these are completed by this coming September, we cannot admit a single additional student in England this next school year! Plans are being rushed on the new dining hall for the Pasadena campus. Mr. Roy Hammer, who is here, is very seriously concerned about the Tabernacle at Gladewater. We are now going to be forced to build on a good sized addition to the big Tabernacle there, or an entire THIRD of our whole membership will have to stay home from the Feast of Tabernacles!
Brethren, unless some of these VITAL physical facilities can expand with us, GOD'S CHURCH CANNOT CONTINUE TO GROW—and GOD'S WORD cannot be done. If WE fail, God will spue us out of His mouth and finally into the Lake of Fire—and He will raise up OTHERS to carry on His Work. As I wrote to you before, we NEED a minimum of $35,000 per month for these necessary building operations this year. The conditional pledges I asked of EVERY MEMBER have reached only a little over $20,000—just slightly more than about three years ago, when we had less than HALF as many members!
I know we can do better than this! WE SIMPLY HAVE TO DO BETTER! Just barely more than HALF of you members have responded— almost HALF of you have failed to pledge a single dollar! Even though those in their third tithe year, those on public welfare, or widows without income, or wives whose unconverted husbands object (and who have no separate income of their own) are exempt, they do not make up anywhere near half of our membership. MANY OF YOU WHO ARE ABLE AND OUGHT TO PLEDGE HAVE FAILED OR REFUSED!
Brethren, do you realize this is the work of ALMIGHTY GOD? Do you realize HE is holding you accountable, according to your ability? It is not yet too late—but if you become a spiritual slacker, there is a Lake of Fire looming ahead, and I say to you in all sincerity and love, and by authority of Jesus Christ, you had better begin to fear and TREMBLE! This is EXPECTED of you, and if we don't do MORE than expected, we are UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS, and Jesus Christ says that the unprofitable servants are to be thrown into the Lake of Fire! I did not decree that—CHRIST DID!
Dear Brethren, let's RALLY to this pressing, vital NEED. If you can send in a little MORE, by all means do so! Let's get behind this crusade, and get it really ROLLING!
To those who have responded generously, I THANK YOU on behalf of our Leader and Head, Jesus Christ! He is opening new doors constantly. His Work goes marching on—WE MUST NEVER SLACKEN, BUT SPEED UP OUR EFFORTS!
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