An Open Letter to All WCG Splinters

RCG Fruits—Obvious Fingerprints of God!

BY DAVID C. PACK

A year ago I wrote a longer “Open Letter” to all the WCG splinters. The fact that “COGwa” was splitting away from the United Church of God just days before that letter—posted January 3, 2011—invited a long letter. For those who have not read it, that original letter becomes a more powerful testimony than ever to all that God is doing in The Restored Church of God. Most of it still applies to this letter. (A little of it is quoted just ahead.)

If the title of last year’s letter correctly included the phrase “Phenomenal Growth Continues!,” then this year’s title could include “Unprecedented Explosion of Growth!” You will momentarily understand why.

First, another year as men count them has come and gone. Vast millions are growing more and more afraid of what the future holds. They remain desperately hopeful about 2012, while ironically millions of others now worry that “2012 is the end.” Only God’s people know what prophecy reveals about conditions growing MUCH WORSE before any of the supposed (humanly envisioned) prophetic climaxes occur. Across the world, the stage is being set for everything that must occur before Christ’s Return. But almost no one is preparing for the “snare” that Christ spoke of in Luke 21:35 that will “come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” The result is that few will “escape all these things” (vs. 36). This includes most of those today who have God’s Spirit. Many think they are “spiritually prepared,” but will learn otherwise in the most horrible fashion if they do not WAKE UP soon! And time is short.

The beginning of a year becomes a natural time to look back on what has been accomplished over the previous 12 months. More than ever, it can be said that we have never had a year like the last one!

Last year I wrote, “Almost none of the organizations (large or small) that formed from the Worldwide Church of God in the wake of the apostasy are growing. In fact, many, or even most, are declining in size, as well as in virtually all standard categories of measurement. Literally thousands are wondering where to go—what to do. While some don’t care, others do care about the fruits and doctrines of an organization—and would seek to prove them. These brethren would be examining the options, looking for GOD’S FINGERPRINTS in an organization. They realize that these tell-tale signs would be visibly obvious to those looking for them! Understanding that Christ is not divided, and that all members must walk in truth, and ‘speak the same thing’ (I Cor. 1:10, 13), they become the only candidates to find the one place where Jesus Christ is truly the Head of His unified Church and Body.”

Jesus taught, “You shall know them by their FRUITS” (Matt. 7:16, 20). How often did Mr. Armstrong repeat this? Only one organization passes the test when fruits are the standard. These fruits spring from having the truth, traditions and standards of the past, and God’s guidance and blessings—which are all demonstrably provable! The many fruits in this letter represent the fingerprints of God for those interested and willing to look.

I also wrote last year, “Growth is the greatest indicator of fruit. Each separate category demonstrating growth forms another fruit one can measure. In this regard, The Restored Church of God is without peer in every category of measurement! This is in addition to being the only Church that teaches without compromise the exact same doctrinal truths taught by Herbert W. Armstrong in the WCG until his death in 1986.”

It is still true that we teach EVERYTHING Mr. Armstrong taught—no exceptions! Therefore, it is still true that we are being blessed as a result. Being labeled “Armstrong worshippers,” when we know that we really worship the Jesus Christ who inspired Mr. Armstrong, is a price we have to pay.

Every year the statistical growth in all categories within God’s Church and Work show an increase, and usually all of them a significant or large increase. But what follows is nothing short of a STATISTICAL TIDAL WAVE unlike anything we have seen before—and we have seen a lot of growth!

Here is a bullet list of simply staggering—PHENOMENAL!—statistical increases. Some numbers compare the year 2011 to 2010, but others include additional years to help show a trend. Take time to savor what you read. Then compare each category with your organization:

1. WEBSITE VISITORS
   2008—2,523,452
   2009—3,215,594 (+27.4%)
   2010—4,557,793 (+41.7%)
   2011—6,748,760 (+48.1%)
2. WEBSITE DOWNLOADS (in December we passed 56 million downloads since launch on our three sites)
   2008—4,282,034
   2009—4,819,707 (+12.6%)
   2010—7,886,972 (+63.6%)
   2011—13,445,333 (+70.5%)
   ● Books: 395,074 (+68.2%) ● Articles: 409,480 (+41.3%) ● Bible Course: 105,334 (+36.4%)
   ● Splinter Books: 98,213 (+108.2%!!)—This huge spike represents more in the WCG splinters researching us.
3. WORLD TO COME BROADCASTS (video and audio)
   2008—275,545
   2009—907,003 (+229.2%)
   2010—2,898,690 (+219.6%)
   2011—6,420,415 (+121.5%)
   ● Video: 3,615,873 (+49.1%) ● Audio: 295,597 (+484.5%) ● YouTube: 2,461,405 (+608.1%)
4. THE REAL TRUTH MAGAZINE
   The Real Truth had its most expansive year, with 1,633,881 downloads—a 134.06% increase over 2010. The online subscriber list grew by 50% above 2010, with subscribers in 162 countries/territories.
5. CHURCH INQUIRIES
   2008—806
   2009—1,428 (+77.2%)
   2010—4,789 (+235.4%)
   2011—7,795 (+62.8%)—Be sure to ponder the message in these annual increases.
6. CHURCH GROWTH
   RCG experienced 20.4% increase in attendance over 2010. Since its inception, the Church has averaged just over 20% growth every year for 12 years! More important, the first five of these years (2000-2004) averaged 15.2% growth, while the next seven (2005-2011) averaged 23.5%—when the baseline number was naturally growing bigger, and thus making it much harder to even grow at the same rate. As with income, we do not list our attendance. This is because, however large we have become, size is not important. Certainly not in the Laodicean age. Realize that thousands consider themselves members with us. Their emails tell us this. While we do not officially count these, it should be obvious that 20% growth for 12 straight years puts our official attendance in the thousands.
7. FIELD MINISTERS AND STAFF
   2011—7 fulltime ministers added (9 more are planned in 2012)
   All ministers (and wives) in the RCG ministry undergo a very extensive, sophisticated training program, via Ambassador Center, The Pastor General’s Report, numerous special Pastoral Care lectures, and an annual Conference for all ministers, among other means. Nothing like our training program is occurring anywhere else. In fact, nothing else is close. Headquarters staff grew from 56 at the end of 2010 to 64 at the end of 2011. (At very least 14 more hires, including some students, are already scheduled for just the next five months, and just at Headquarters. Ministerial hires will be separate.)
8. TOTAL 1ST TITHE AND OFFERING INCOME
   2011—102.2% above 2010
   It is my prayer that God will help everyone in the splinters understand what the statistic you just read—growth in income—should mean to you. It should be literally IMPOSSIBLE to miss God’s fingerprints in just THIS SINGLE NUMBER. So repeated Mr. Armstrong many times. But in fact it is just one of many incredible increases listed. Incidentally, it has nothing to do with “Clarion Call” income of the past. This said, it has come time to explain why we never list our income in dollars. This is because percent of increase is the true indicator of growth—not income “bragging rights.” This is what counts in examining the fruits of God’s Work! Think of RCG’s 2011 income in this way. The millions of dollars we received in 2010 more than doubled in 2011!!!—and this occurred in the worst economy since the Great Depression!
9. FUNDRAISING
   2010—$72,231
   2011—$442,742 (+512.9%)
   Last year saw an historic worldwide local congregation fundraising effort. The hard work, dedication and vision of God’s people were incredible. The 2011 goal began at $120,000 and became $200,000 by June. This number seemed almost unattainable. But the brethren nearly quadrupled the original goal! They more than sextupled 2010’s amount. The goal for 2012 is a tremendous amount more. Of course, it should be understood that local fundraising is a tiny fraction of our income.
   
   The Church’s local fundraising efforts have been so successful that the down payment for ALL of the six buildings in our new Headquarters campus will be financed by local congregation fundraising (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), with some left over. Our critics accuse God’s Church of “extravagance” while “gouging members” to fund projects such as the new campus. As with virtually everything else our enemies declare about us, this is completely false—RCG members are funding this project voluntarily, THROUGH FUNDRAISING! This evidences a zeal that these critics simply cannot comprehend. My “update sermon” (posted January 30) will make this brief description more clear—and even more inspiring!
10. HEADQUARTERS CAMPUS
    A World Headquarters campus is scheduled to open in April 2013—and to begin construction in April 2012. It will coincide with a major expansion in onsite enrollment for Ambassador Center. So much has been announced about this state-of-the-art complex that little more need be said here. But it will provide a beautiful setting for the rapidly expanding Work of God. It will also reflect the quality of the Great God who through Christ leads His one Church and Work. It will serve as a Conference and Festival site, as well as be able to receive world leaders. Preliminary renderings are available on our website. These continue to be refined and updated.
11. TELEVISION AND ADVERTISING
    In July 2012 The World to Come broadcast will go on national television. We are now considering a variety of popular cable stations. The program will of course be in high definition (HD).
    
    Due to its vast reach and the targeted audience, TV broadcasting will have a tremendous impact on the number of people contacting the Church in 2012. Our research shows a huge increase in overall requests is coming—for literature, but also Church inquiries.
    
    According to industry professionals, the high quality of our existing 125 World to Come broadcasts means they already meet the requirements imposed by the FCC and major cable networks! The reader can imagine why this is of enormous internal importance to our workflow—more obvious fingerprints of God’s guidance and blessing. Since we had honed the craft of videocasting on the Internet and YouTube, while successfully reaching many millions of viewers, exploding income made it impossible not to suddenly go forward with television when all of our broadcasts were pronounced “ready to go!”
    
    You may wish to view this year’s Behind the Work film to get a taste of the improvement in graphics that we can also “after apply” to existing World to Come videos so they are even more “TV ready.” Prior to our July launch date, 15-, 30- and 60-second television advertisements will be aired to strive for the largest possible audience “out of the gate.”
    
    Perhaps examine the quality, professionalism and “authority” (or lack thereof) of your organization’s telecast, in light of World to Come broadcasts, which can all be found at worldtocome.org and youtube.com/restoredcog. Incidentally, RCG’s YouTube totals for World to Come views is significantly greater than UCG, LCG and PCG combined! And we are just starting.
    
    Finally, and this is most important, view any of the 125 broadcasts available to compare the messages with those of your organization—and then decide who is continuing the fulfillment of Isaiah 58:1-2 in the same way as did Mr. Armstrong!
12. POWERFUL TECHNOLOGY
    As did the WCG, God’s Church today harnesses cutting-edge technology to do the Work, especially on the rapidly changing Internet. In order to support multiple devices (computers, tablets, mobile phones, etc.), companies have had to create multiple versions of their website. These require enormous manpower to design and then maintain. We are taking a more resourceful approach, using a new method called “responsive web design.” This is powerful! Responsive websites automatically adjust content and layout based on the device viewing the site. Two weeks ago, we launched a redesign of our landing pages (specialized web pages to which our online ads direct visitors) using this technology. These pages are now accessible on virtually any device that connects to the Internet—and will automatically support new devices as they appear. RCG is among the first to employ this technology—in fact, only one other major website in the world is so far actively using responsive design. Over the next year, starting with rcg.org, all of our sites will be updated in this way. This is yet another example of God’s Work following the grand pattern in order to reach vast numbers, as we have been commissioned.
13. LITERATURE DISTRIBUTION
    There was a 27% increase in hardcopy literature distribution in 2011 over 2010. (The book America and Britain in Prophecy rose 238%.) Plans are also being implemented to increase the budget for distribution each month. And with the arrival of The World to Come on television, the amount of material we give away in hardcopy will go up exponentially.
    
    A side point: Regarding the amount of literature we offer, virtually all of our enemies ascribe the writing of these books and booklets to me, at the human level. While these enemies are trying to discredit me, they in fact greatly overcredit me. When they suggest that either I or my late wife (as my constant typist) could have done this on our own, even a fraction of it, they have unwittingly assumed a human being is capable of what no man could do, and over a short period of time, without tremendous miraculous help from Almighty God. Discerning brethren in the splinters will recognize God’s handprint.
14. AMBASSADOR CENTER
    We have been extremely busy preparing for the expansion of Ambassador Center (AC). The staff has been working hard in this multi-faceted effort—processing applications, arranging housing, adapting and expanding the curriculum, designing new courses, and much more. Progress is also being made on bringing international students on-site, including those training for the ministry and other skilled niche employees. There are still openings for student employees—each representing an opportunity to receive a one-of-a-kind education through the only true extension of the original Ambassador College. Scores of applications have been sent around the world since the Feast, and acceptance decisions are now being made.
    
    Some statistics: 125 students have graduated since AC’s inception in late 2008. There are now 84 students—from almost 20 countries. Also, the beautiful new edition of the Envoy, Ambassador Center’s elegant hardcover yearbook, is progressing well.
15. 2012 AMBASSADOR YOUTH CAMP
    Teens and staff from all across the world will attend our annual youth camp June 18 to July 1.
16. VISITING WORLD LEADERS
    The “short Work” (Rom. 9:27-29) of “prophesying again” to “peoples, and nations, and tongues and kings” (Rev. 10:11) saw new doors opened, with opportunities to meet with national and municipal officials in the nation of Israel. I was received by dignitaries from the Knesset, the cities of Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, and dined privately with a former ambassador. These meetings, along with growing contacts with diplomatic missions at the United Nations, are paving the way for invitations to meet with other world leaders in 2012. More about this will come later. We also were able to film seven World to Come broadcasts at historic locations, and to visit Petra during the trip.
17. DRAMATIC HEALINGS
    God’s Church continues to experience many dramatic healings, as well as a host of other miracles. Of course this has been most inspiring—and faith-increasing!—for the Church. No one hears in the splinters of outright truly miraculous healings any more. We do time and again. Here are just five brief examples, quickly assembled for my letter, of what is a long list of such healings:
    
    (1) A pregnant member awoke with extremely swollen feet, legs, hands and face. Her eyes were very sensitive and spots appeared before them. She was told that her blood pressure was too high and that she had lost four pounds. The member then had a blood test to check for a condition called preeclampsia, which would mean she would enter strict bed rest for weeks and need to have her child’s birth induced. After consultation, her doctor was convinced she had preeclampsia. She immediately called for anointing. The next Monday, she returned to the doctor to learn the lab results. The technician had tested her blood Friday close to the time she had been anointed. The nurse told her the technician and two doctors were all baffled. During the very test, the blood began showing positive evidence of preeclampsia—and then it suddenly changed to negative with no signs of the condition!
    
    (2) Another member was suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and emphysema for years. He required additional oxygen 24 hours a day. Sent an anointed cloth on a Friday, he attended services the next day and has not missed since, with no further need for oxygen therapy.
    
    (3) A 5-year-old boy in Canada was suffering a blockage of his nasal passages that was causing extreme discomfort and preventing proper sleep for an entire year. The doctor suggested an operation to remove the blockage. Within minutes of anointing, the boy’s nose began draining, he stopped coughing, and soon he was breathing normally.
    
    (4) A long-time member was healed after suffering non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for many years. The woman had actually requested anointing due to a bacterial infection of shingles that were due to a weakened immune system. She had lost all natural color, and appeared extremely frail. She was anointed and within one week natural color returned. The shingles are gone. But a medical exam also showed no more cancer!
    
    (5) The wife of a minister recently suffered a bacterial infection that led to myocarditis. Over more than two weeks, the very serious condition, which inflames the heart muscle, worsened, and resulted in heart failure. She was experiencing shortness of breath, fatigue, abnormal heart palpitations, as well as shoulder and chest pain. Her husband anointed her and sent a prayer request to Headquarters. Going to bed almost unable to breathe, she awoke feeling a remarkable change. Completely healed, she got up and returned to her normal routine.
    
    Healings are only one of many kinds of miracles we see in God’s Church on a regular basis, miracles that His enemies cannot gainsay. For instance, we see dramatic open doors, special protection from calamities, and demons cast out. In this regard, Jesus instructs those listening in Luke 11:20 that “the finger of God” is responsible and “no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.” Are you listening to what these miracles mean? Most in the first century were not.
    
    I fear—I truly FEAR—for those who so freely speak against the work of the Holy Spirit in The Restored Church of God. If only they could have the good sense of carnal Gamaliel in Acts 5:34-39, and stop attacking us “lest haply [they] be found even to fight against God.” We obey Christ’s Matthew 5:44 command to pray for those who do not fear God—who attack and speak evil of the work of God’s Spirit—and who are in more trouble than they know. Now read three verses later in Luke 11—verse 23—and ask where you fit into what Christ said. Who are you “WITH”?
    
    We can only hope more of our brethren in the splinters will cut through the words of deceivers so they can enjoy these miracles with us—so they can experience again what all God’s people saw almost by routine when Mr. Armstrong was alive.

How long does one remain in other places waiting for good fruits to appear—we could say, any good fruits?

All eyes in God’s Church are looking ahead to the absolute explosion of additional growth that this letter heralds for 2012! It will surely be a year like none other for the reconstitution of God’s Work for this final age. It could now be said that we are on the last few pages of the last chapter of God’s Work!

We are pleased to announce that a longtime minister in God’s Church, Mr. Dale Schurter, has resigned from the United Church of God (UCG) and, with his wife, Mona, come with The Restored Church of God (RCG). A resignation letter to UCG brethren and ministers explaining the reasons for Mr. Schurter’s decision has been posted on rcgtruth.com. Over the last five days, a great many people from every corner of the world have contacted us from UCG, but also other organizations, because of Mr. Schurter’s powerful letter and call to action. Our Mailing Department has been extremely busy. To see more and more people waking up to the false doctrine, wrong standards, poor fruits and continually worsening condition of their organizations has been most encouraging. We will have more to report with the passing of time.

All brethren in the splinters, regardless of affiliation, will want to visit the above website often, where Mr. Schurter and other ministers who have come from the splinters, including UCG, will make exciting announcements and take you inside RCG. This website has unlimited potential to report positive news—healings and other miracles, statistical increases in the Work, open doors before it, growth of income, Ambassador Center matters, building developments, world leaders reached, RCG standards explained, growth in staff and ministry, growth in attendance, and a host of other positive fruits that our enemies are always very careful to distort or avoid reporting. It will also include (usually a series of) quotes from Mr. Armstrong on specific doctrines as they would be helpful in defeating misinformation and lies about what he taught. False teachings, standards and traditions in various splinters will be addressed by those who may have just left such splinters. These men will also occasionally counter and debunk years of spin, lies, rumor and hearsay about RCG and its leaders, including me. Mr. Schurter and others will also answer questions sent by readers.

Examine the major splinters. Come to grips with WHY your organization does not display the fruits described in this letter. Make yourself list the reason or reasons you would not also want to experience them. Take responsibility for the condition you find yourself in. Start down the road, one step at a time, to full recovery and spiritual productivity in God’s Church and Work! Like the prodigal son, you must repent, and return to what you had.

We pray diligently that more will follow Christ’s command to “anoint their eyes” and join where He is leading.