Imagine Herbert Armstrong ever being impressed with this:
87 Guests at Tomorrow’s World Presentations in Des Moines, Iowa, and Plainview, New York
So far this year, the Living Church of God has conducted 44 Tomorrow’s World Presentations (including follow-up presentations) with about 553 guests attending in person or online. We are grateful to see the good responses these events are generating, with 28 new people now either attending Church services or showing strong interest in attending. Last weekend, TWPs in Des Moines, Iowa, and Plainview, New York, resulted in 53 guests and 34 guests, respectively. This weekend, TWPs are planned for La Porte, Indiana, and Dothan, Alabama, as well as follow-up events in several other locations. Your continued prayers for this dynamic program are appreciated!
Des Moines, Iowa - population: 215,636 (2019) 53 attendees 3/4 or more LCG members, very few public.
Plainview, NY - population: 26,453 (2019). 34 guests, 3/4 or more LCG members, very few public.
44 Tomorrow's World Presentations that feature Living Church of God ministers, lots of money spent.
553 guests, 3/4 or more of which are LCG members expected to show up and fill up the rooms so that worldly guests feel impressed.
From this number of "553" guests, 23 people are either attending or showing interest. The chances are, 1-2 people may now be attending while the rest ticked off the box on the card that they wanted more information on attending.
Yes, brethren! We need your prayers for this mindboggling preaching because the fields are white for harvest!
Never has there been a COG like us doing such a great proclamation of the gospel message! (Bob Thiel was seen whimpering in his storefront world headquarters office after hearing this!)
It seems that go ye therefore into all the world ship has sailed. Televangelists have done about as much damage to sincere folk, over the past 50 years, to ensure the "sure, yeah, fine whatever" response these days
ReplyDeleteI went to a GTA event and we filled a good size stadium. (Yeah - I am old.)
ReplyDeleteI doubt LCG in their 20 plus years has a grand total of attendees that comes close to one GTA appearance.
If you then exclude church members, it becomes even more pitiful.
The basic "acquisition cost" of the COGs is in the neighborhood of $100k per new person joining the church.
ReplyDeleteThe new acquired member, often older, will never recapture his acquisition cost in contributions to the org over the rest of his life.
Thus, the business model of mass marketing for the major COGs is not sustainable. The corporate, centralized planned, HQ location oriented methodology is obsolete and unsustainable.
Furthermore, the major 1st world economies are in a "post christian" environment, and are "hard ground" for new recruitment. However, the third world emerging and frontier markets, are actually the best ground for any Christian Church, and are still growing. However in a money based church system, rather than a familial/relationship one, a money based evangelistic church will not recapture a monetary return either in the third world.
The COGs need a major rethink on its economic system. It needs to change into a relationship oriented, empowered, and decentralized model..... Like the First Century Church was!
While I agree with your acquisition cost line of thinking, it doesn’t matter to them as long as they can keep funding their salaries and those of their children and favorite butt kissers. Part of their funding strategy is to siphon off from estates of long time members. That’s a difficult actuarial nut to crack as to how much longer that will work.
DeleteTheir business model is the abusive cult model. Wear a Pharisaic mask to con people into joining the group. Then chain them to the group by feeding them a steady diet of mental Cool-Aid. Jim Jones took it too far, but he understood the process.
DeleteHWA learnt this model from his eleven years in COG7, then made it the WWCG practice. And when the roof caves in, Joe Tkach is made the fall guy, rather than the natural effect.
My prayer is that they not be able to deceive even ONE more person! It is my fervent prayer that LCG (and the other splinters) will either radically reform their theology or someday soon cease to exist!
ReplyDeleteThe poor turnouts reminds me of Elijah, who was so disheartened by Israel ignoring his warnings, that he had to be replaced by Elisha. But Elijah was wrong in his reaction. God had the responsibility of a verbal warning before severe national punishment.
ReplyDeleteSo likewise these poor attendances doesn't mean that they are a failure.
God is not going to have people justly complain about not being warned prior to a national Afghanistan type calamity.
How are they actually warning people? Gerald Weston loves to complain about the political news he watches and call it prophecy. As one of your dead gods once said “news is olds”. Prophecy is supposed to call out future events. Not whine about the other political party doing something. Elijah? I’d challenge you to show in any way how they are similar.
Delete6.10 AM
DeleteIf the American economy soon collapses, reducing America to third world status, followed by the overnight emergence of a ten nation United States of Europe, then I'm right and you're wrong. Or visa versa.
Time will tell, no?
Time has already told. It’s coming up on 100 years of “United States of Europe being just around the corner”. Elijah worked obvious miracles. Elijah predicted things that would happen and they did. Not some tired version of “3-5 years just wait and see” Actual miracles. Actual prediction that came to pass. Besides it ain’t special when there’s already plenty of people “predicting” the US will collapse. The common thread is those people want fools money and attention. Time has told.
Delete5.53 PM
DeleteThe prophets of old warned ancient Israel for generations without them repenting. Does that mean that they wasted their time? No, rather God fulfilled His Fatherly responsibility of warning prior to disaster.
The modern day splintering is a type of America soon splintering and having it's world power reduced to near insignificance. Just like today's splinterdoms weak warning message.
It's up to God to decide the strength of a final warning message rather than the posters on Banned.
You claim the prophets warning for generations is why your prophecy hasn’t happened yet, but also in the same post America is going to collapse soon. Endless wiggle room, with a little invoking of “God decides” to cover the rest. Has your god decided on a 3-5 year timeline yet? Or has he not told you?
DeleteAnon 6:06 PM
ReplyDeleteElijah and John the Baptist were persecuted. Elijah fleeing for his life. John being murdered They stood before kings and warned them directly. They were both humble as well. Today's splinter group leaders don't have that level of faith, yet.
They are just like the QAnon people, frozen in their deceptions and waiting for events to propel them into action. It really doesn't do any good to analyze the whys and wherefores beyond that.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe Dying Church of Rod is not “shaking the nations.”
It never will.
They are very Laodeceian.
DeleteAn LCG event is like a Biden rally as compared to an HWA event would be compared to a Trump rally, size wise.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous of August 24, 2021 at 3:33 PM wrote:
ReplyDelete"It's up to God to decide the strength of a final warning message rather than the posters on Banned."
God has decided on the final message for the world.
The COGs don't like that message and won't preach it.
That message is called the Gospel of Grace - it contains both good news and bad news.
God's message tells people the good news of salvation as a free gift.
It also warns of punishment for those who reject the free gift.
This message is timeless, with both the grace and the warning meant for all people throughout the generations that came after the sacrifice of Jesus and up until the return of Jesus.
The message is not just for Israel, for there is no longer Jew nor Greek in God's sight - all are offered the gift of salvation.
The message is not just for those who will be alive prior to the return of Jesus - it offers the same rewards and punishments to all generations.
The COG warning message was a huge lie to all the millions of people who died since Herbie started preaching it - it had nothing to do with them or their lifetime.
The COG warning message is useless to the very few that hear it today, and for the reminder of time, because this graceless message lacks a call to receive the free gift of salvation in Jesus.
ReplyDeleteIt is the DEAD CHURCH OF ROD