*9:00 a.m.* The 2016 annual meeting of the General Conference of Elders convened in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sunday, May 15, at 9:00 a.m. EDT. Robin Webber, chairman of the General Conference of Elders, called the meeting to order and called upon Don McCoy, an elder in the Mid-Atlantic region, to open the meeting in prayer.

Mr. Webber then asked to approve the minutes of the 2015 meeting. The minutes were approved.

Before moving on to the business portion of the meeting, Mr. Webber introduced Bob and Dyanne Dick. Mr. and Mrs. Dick have served faithfully in the ministry for 50 years. Fred and Lucretia Kellers, who were not able to be present, were also honored for their 50 years of faithful service to the Church. Finally, the Conference honored Ken and Barbara Martin for their 50 years of faithful service in the ministry. 

The newly ordained elders from 2015-2016 were then introduced. Those welcomed were Ron and Janet Barker from Dayton, Ohio;  Mabasa and Chisomo Chichaya from Southwest Zimbabwe; Peter and Wendy Corrigan from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada; Wim and Anne-Kristel Decker, from the Netherlands and Belgium; Jaime Diaz Olmedo and Lorena Gonzalez Novoa from Chile and Argentina; David and Patricia Hemsley from Dayton, Ohio; Terry and Linda Johnson from Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Jim and Sue Kocher from Wheeling, West Virginia; Freeman and Debbie Kuhns from North Canton and Youngstown, Ohio; Barry Lavers from Bricket Wood, England; Doug and Beth Lesh from Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada; John May from Chicago, Illinois; Paul and Brenda Mez from Mobile, Alabama; Dan and Kim Preston from Cincinnati East, Ohio; Quentin and Marie Rhody from Watertown, South Dakota; Wayne and Diane Topping from Preston and Sheffield, United Kingdom; Paul and Coreen Wasilkoff from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; and CJ and Tina Williams from Seattle, Washington.

Mr. Webber then introduced Victor Kubik, president of the United Church of God, to lead the Conference in honoring Church employees who are retiring and who have reached significant milestones in years of service. Honored were Gary Antion, for 51 years in various functions; Bob and Dyanne Dick, for 50 years in the ministry; Vernon and DeLee Hargrove, for 50 years in the ministry; Roy and Norma Holladay, for 52 years in various functions; Fred and Lucretia Kellers, for 52 years in the ministry; David and Sandy Mills, for 53 years in the ministry; Bill Bradford for 50 years in the ministry; Bob Fahey for 50 years in the ministry; Lee Cole for 40 years in the ministry; Mario Seiglie for 40 years in the ministry; Bruce Dean for 40 years in the ministry; Howard Davis for 30 years in the ministry; Ken Graham for 30 years in the ministry; Emma Kennebeck for 20 years in mail processing; Dennis Horlick for 10 years in the ministry; Oludare Akinbo for 10 years in the ministry; Clint Porter for 10 years in media; and Chris Stewart for 10 years in IT.

Mr. Webber began the business portion of the 2016 meeting of the General Conference of Elders. He led the General Conference in the balloting portion of the meeting. Results of the ballot will be announced and posted here near the end of today’s meeting, around 5 p.m. EDT.

The mission of the Church is not yet complete. It goes on, and we go on with it to accomplish the goals that God has set before us. There is a commission that God has given to each and every one of us, to grow in love toward these goals. We must be undergirded with that love as we accomplish these goals. As God has worked with people throughout history, He is working with us in His own special way today. We need to be flexible under His guidance as human pottery, filled with His Spirit, ready to be shaped and molded as He desires. The basics of God’s truth and His Word never change. He refers to Philippians 2 in encouraging the Church and the General Conference to be united in spirit and purpose and to let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. It’s not about us as individuals—it’s about Christ living in us and heeding the call of the Father.

*10:15 a.m* Christians have been privileged to live a life proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God to a world that desperately needs that message. God is allowing us to be shareholders in the mission that He has for the world. Mr. Webber encouraged everyone to allow ourselves to be humbled before God. That is how we will allow God to do His work in us as a people and as a Church. Christians should be optimists. We go to the Book and read the big story of God’s plan for mankind, and we know that the story ends with victory for God and His people. If God is for us, who can possibly be against us?

*10:19* Mr. Webber then introduced Church president Victor Kubik to the stage. Mr. Kubik thanked everyone in the General Conference of Elders for attending and participating in this important meeting. He says that we need to return to the spirit of Jerusalem as a Church. That’s where the Church began with Peter’s sermon and a miraculous beginning with the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. Mr. Kubik remarked that he was inspired and uplifted by the sermons by Paul Moody and Bob Dick at Sabbath services the day before. He also mentioned that he was happy with the Q&A the night before and the focus of the questions and answers on doctrinal integrity and the fact that we want to manage our fundamental beliefs with respect. Israel went into captivity for Sabbath breaking and idolatry. He is happy that we are taking tough if sometimes conflicting positions on how we want to manage our fundamental beliefs, but we are united in that we want to protect the integrity of our Church doctrinally. He points out from Colossians that Jesus Christ is the true Head of the Church of God, not any man or body of men. It is Jesus Christ that we follow and honor as our Leader.

*10:28* Jesus Christ is not a human founder who is long gone and who we simply remember. He is living and authoritative over the daily work of this Church. It is He who we look to for everything we do. Mr. Kubik points to the book of Psalms as good examples to us in how to earnestly and fervently pray to God for direction in our lives. Almost every emotion that David felt and type of situation he faced is included in the book of Psalms, and we can relate to his feelings in so many ways. He wishes we could do more to spread God’s gospel and bring more people along in this truth. It can be discouraging to remember how small we are. But we have faith and trust in God that He has a timetable for His mission and that He is truly leading us and will provide the increase in His time. In Jesus Christ we live and move.

*10:36* Mr. Kubik expressed honor and respect for those who have worked so long and so hard for God and who are retiring or who have died this past year. We will miss their powerful influences and faithful, selfless service. We are so very thankful for the time we had working alongside them. At the same time we are encouraged by and thankful for the service from new and younger pastors who are stepping up to serve God and His people with energy and enthusiasm.

*10:41* Our Passover attendance for this past year was 7,005. We are growing at a slow rate, but the numbers don’t represent the entire picture. There are people who have died and those who can no longer attend. God has blessed us with growth that is keeping us stable and enabling us to perform the work that we do in serving the Church and sharing the gospel with the world. There are 375 elders in the United Church of God, 286 in the U.S. and 89 international. One big success from the past year has been the introduction and work of our pastoral development program and the hiring of six trainees to learn to serve the Church effectively and passionately. From these men we’ve seen a true desire to leave behind whatever vocations and callings they had before to follow this most important calling of service to God. They have answered that call and have stepped up to follow God in this way. They are being taught well by experienced elders in the doctrine of the Bible, counseling, and the skills necessary for being effective pastors.

*10:55* We had visitors from the Church of God, International, recently at the home office. We are comfortable at this point in maintaining good relationships across other Church of God organizations. We’re not talking mergers or anything like that. We’re keeping up friendships and rebuilding relationships that will need to last into eternity. 

*11:00* The prophet Habakkuk spoke God’s words in saying that He would do a work among the nations that people wouldn’t even believe. Just as we are today, Habakkuk was speaking to a nation that had forgotten its God and His ways. We are preaching this message today through Beyond Today Live events across the United States, and we want people to grab hold of God and His message of restoration of all things. We want to tell people that God is very much aware of what is going on in this world. Secondly we want to show people what God says about why they exist and what their ultimate purpose is. Lastly we want to show people what they need to do to fulfill that purpose—repentance and a commitment to fully follow God in everything they do. This is the message of the Bible, and it is our message today in what we teach. Mr. Kubik asks for everyone’s prayers and support for what we’re doing from the home office. We have dozens of people working tirelessly to fulfill the mission we’ve been given, and it’s a mission that we all share in part by God’s calling and grace.

*11:05* Chairman Robin Webber then took the stage to dismiss the General Conference of Elders for a brief recess.

*11:30* The meeting reconvened at 11:30 a.m. EDT. Chairman Robin Webber introduced Church treasurer Rick Shabi to deliver his operation manager’s report for Financial Services.

Rick Shabi said that he appreciates that the focus so far has been on the leadership of God the Father and Jesus Christ and how we are to follow them humbly and completely on all we do. As David said, “Who am I?” we also recognize that we are here and doing this work only through the grace of God and His bountiful blessings. The funds that come into the Church through the generous tithes and offerings of our members and coworkers are to be used responsibly and wisely to accomplish the work that God has set before us. As always we spend a week with external auditors to ensure that we are managing God’s blessings faithfully. Once again we received a good report from the auditors for our internal controls of our finances.

One of the biggest financial responsibilities for this past year was the hiring of six ministerial trainees. It was not in the budget, but it was the right move at the right time, and we had the room in the reserves to do it. Thankfully, as the fiscal year moved on, we were able to absorb the costs of the new employees without touching the reserves at all. For many of our operations, we’ve been running under budget without denying spending requests or cutting back on the work that we’ve been doing. Mr. Shabi thanks everyone for their diligence in fiscal responsibility and wise stewardship. He states that we are in a good financial position as a Church.

*11:42* Mr. Shabi points out that all of our financial markers show that we are in an excellent position, with a strong balance sheet and excellent growth. We are thankful that our Holy Day offering budget is at 110 percent of what we thought would be coming in for the year so far. That gives us a very good pad in hitting our budgeted balances for the fiscal year. He points to the Mission Statement of the United Church of God to introduce our expenses. The expense sheet matches the Mission Statement very well: We spend on preaching the gospel, making disciples and caring for those disciples. *11:53* Mr. Shabi gave special thanks to the rest of the Financial Services staff: Gerald Seelig, Jake Trone, Richard Kennebeck and Connie Seelig.

*11:56* Mr. Shabi then turned the meeting back over to chairman Robin Webber, who expressed appreciation for Mr. Shabi’s service over the past several years. Mr. Webber then introduced Peter Eddington to deliver his operation manager's report for Media and Communication Services.

Mr. Eddington begins by saying that we have much to be thankful for over the past year due to the blessings of God the Father and Jesus Christ. We’ve been entrusted with the precious words of God. The message is the same as it was 2,000 years ago, but the methods of communicating it have changed vastly. We’ve been able to do much with both the human and financial resources God has gifted us with. Just as in the past, the Church of God capitalizes on the emerging media of the day. Today that is on-demand streaming video through platforms such as Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. We’re developing apps for these platforms and more, which will deliver Beyond Today content on-demand to millions of homes around the world. Our apps give us the opportunity not only to share our pre-recorded content with users but also to give them the option to easily tune in live to Bible studies or anytime we’re live on the air.

*12:08* Mr. Eddington points out that every year more and more people “cut the cord” by canceling their cable TV and satellite TV services, choosing instead to watch on-demand programing through streaming platforms. Simply put, most are cutting the cord because of the high cost of cable and satellite TV. On streaming platforms, content can be subscribed to at a price individually instead of as a package, and much content, such as Beyond Today, is available for free to watch 24 hours a day. Peter asks for prayers for the success of our work in preaching the gospel of God’s Kingdom. We hope to reach the hearts and minds of our readers and viewers so that they will take yet another step in their path to know God as God calls them to His way of life.

*12:14* Robin Webber then took the stage to introduce Greg Thomas, pastor in Cleveland, Ohio, to honor those elders and wives who died this past year.

Honored were Gordon Barr of Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada; Ken DeVilbiss of Germantown, Ohio; Robert Fahey of Cleveland, Ohio; DeLee Hargrove of Yakima, Washington; Eleanor Hudson of Chicago, Illinois; William Lumpkin of El Paso, Texas; Wilson Nkhoma of Chimunda, Zambia; Marla Osborne of Shiloh, Illinois; David Roenspies of Hartford, Connecticut; and Walter Warren of Buckfield, Maine.

*12:44* Robin Webber then took the stage at 12:44 p.m. to dismiss the General Conference for a lunch break.

*1:52* General Conference of Elders chairman Robin Webber reconvened the meeting at 1:50 p.m. EDT. He called upon Shannon Lucas of Big Sandy, Texas, to open the afternoon session in prayer. He then introduced the next portion of the day’s business: reports from international areas of the Church. Presenting first was Daniel Porteous of New Zealand representing the South Pacific area.

*1:57* Mr. Porteous says that his region has stabilized since having some discord in 2011, and growth is beginning to become apparent in the area. In June of 2012 there were no electronic subscribers to the electronic GN/BT magazine. In July of 2012 they began to advertise, and the first month saw 3,000 new subscribers. At the March/April 2016 mailing, they sent out 33,500 e-mail issues in New Zealand. Of those, 6,000-9,000 click on the links in the e-mail for further information. The hard copy of Beyond Today magazine currently has about 1,000 subscribers. There is a double opt-in for receiving the magazine. The first time it’s requested, they get an introductory copy. Then they must confirm that they wish to keep receiving the magazine. In March 2014 New Zealand began running Beyond Today TV, and since that time nearly 1,000 people have phoned or e-mailed as a result of watching the program. Sixty-three percent of all literature requests are a direct result of the TV program.

*2:03* The region has approximately 20 people attending in Tonga and 50 reading Beyond Today in the Solomon Islands. There has recently been contact by a group that used to attend the Worldwide Church of God in Vanuatu. A Kingdom of God Bible study in the Solomon Islands drew 60 guests for Sabbath services and created 25 new magazine subscribers. There have been six baptisms and four more expected soon. Mr. Porteous ends by saying that in the region they have been laboring in the Word and will continue to live the Word.

*2:10* Next Johnnie Lambert took the stage to update the Conference on the work in Eastern Europe, the Baltics and the Nordic countries. Mr. Lambert says that much Church literature has been translated into the languages of people in these areas. There is a limited amount of English spoken in much of the Russian-speaking areas of the world. God has provided workers to help translate into the Estonian language, Russian, and other languages.

*2:16* Mr. Lambert shared the inspiring story of an Estonian prisoner whose life has been completely changed by the truth of God and who was encouraged for years by the work and support of the Church. He helped the Church translate literature into Estonian and has now been released early. He was helped by a halfway house that specializes in helping reformed criminals. LifeNets has been active in supporting this halfway house since this time. We have a great responsibility to supply the truth of God to people in this part of the world and in all of the world.

*2:22* Next Chuck Smith presented an update on the work in the Caribbean islands. There are 7,000 islands in the Caribbean, with many ethnic groups and many languages. UCG covers an area roughly equivalent to the continental U.S. in the Caribbean. God has blessed us with 23 percent growth over the past year. Many volunteers have served on the islands for camps and festivals. With the support of the home office and the gracious blessings of God, there has been much growth, both spiritual and in numbers, in the Caribbean. 

*2:26* Jamaica is the fastest growing area in the Caribbean. The Kingston congregation has doubled over the past year. That growth is expected to continue. A new congregation has been started on the island of St. Kitts. Dameon Lawrence on the island takes magazines to banks as people line up to cash their checks. On St. Lucia members mailed or delivered over 40,000 magazines to every home on the island, with over 150,000 people reached by the project. The entire island is being blanketed by God’s Word. This work is supported by the generous offerings of the Church and the work of countless people. Two new congregations are also spouting in Suriname and Guyana in South America. Much work will take place into 2017 to grow these churches. 

*2:32* Finally is the Church on Trinidad and Tobago. The Church has grown from eight five years ago to 35 today. The congregation produces its own radio show and is working on getting Beyond Today TV on local television stations.

*2:34* John Elliott took the stage to update the conference on the work in East Africa. There are now seven elders serving in East Africa, and Mr. Elliott showed a video presented by these elders. This region is very large and diverse, with small congregations up to congregations with 150 members. The members translate Church literature into various languages to serve people in the region. Younger members in the region are being given the opportunity to train under the eldership and older members and are presented service opportunities in Sabbath services.

*2:44* Finally, Mario Seiglie took the stage to present an update on the Latin American region. The region serves 600 brethren, in 10 countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. The region is served by nine elders, four from the U.S. and five from Latin America. Recently a group from Misiones, Argentina, asked us to administrate their congregation. They left their previous church due to a desire to observe all of God’s festivals. Jaime Gallardo from Chile visited them, and he was able to serve them to observe the Passover service this past year. The region has 13,700 subscribers and 1,500 e-mails subscribers for the Spanish edition of the magazine. Beyond Today TV is translated into Spanish for broadcast in Latin America as well. A recording studio was built for the voiceover dub thanks to donations from the Church.

*2:50* There is also a Spanish website based off of the main UCG.org website that serves the Spanish-speaking areas. Traffic has increased to 155,899 visits per trimester up from 7,587 three years ago. The region is also served by a live Spanish-language Sabbath webcast every week. Connections come from as far away as Spain. Youth camps have been started in Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. Good Works and LifeNets are both active in the region, with projects in many of the countries of the area. 

*2:58* Robin Webber introduced Mark Welch of Texas, keynote speaker for the 2016 meeting of the General Conference of Elders. 

Mr. Welch began by reminding us of the admonition to take the Passover in a “worthy” manner. What does that mean? Can we be worthy? Jesus Christ told the Pharisees that they were supposed to bear fruits that were fitting for repentance and righteousness. The word “worthy” in Greek means “ample” or “fit” in character. It means sufficiency. John the Baptist says that he was not “worthy” to unloose Jesus’ sandal strap.

*3:09* The faithful centurion recognized that he was unworthy of Jesus’ presence in his home, and he was aided by his deep faith and his humility before the presence of God. In doing so he actually proved himself to be worthy of the grace and mercy of God. The apostle Paul also recognized that he was not worthy—ample or sufficient—to be considered an apostle of God. He was an apostle indeed, but only through God’s grace and mercy, not of himself or of his own merits. Paul said in Ephesians 4 that Christians should “walk worthy.” He tied that to being lowly and gentle, being peaceable and patient and humble before God and before one another. It can be a scary concept to try to “walk worthy” of such an awesome and great calling. How can we accomplish this monumental task?

*3:13* We realize that worthiness does not come of ourselves. It is God and Jesus Christ who must deem or consider us worthy—worthiness comes from them, not us. For those who God deems worthy, the book of Hebrews says that the world is not worthy of their presence. That is an inspiring and hopeful thought in a difficult world. Jesus Christ says of those in the church of Sardis that they are “worthy”—and that those who overcomes will be clothed in white garments. Mr. Welch says that we must all set the example as men and women in God’s Church who are committed and dedicated to overcoming sin.

*3:24* Jesus Christ is the one who is worthy, and through His work, He gives us grace that allows us to be considered worthy by Himself and by God the Father. We must follow His example in everything we do and everything we say and everything we think. So what must we do to be counted worthy? We must be granted repentance from God—it is a great gift of God. When is that repentance granted? It’s when God looks deep into our hearts as only He can do. It’s granted when He sees humility and a desire to humble ourselves. That is why the ministry must set the example of repentance and humility toward God. If we want God to bless us and the Church, it must start with each of us in humbling ourselves before God and before Jesus Christ. So, we must ask ourselves, how will we live from this day on? We must do  better.

*3:29* The calling of the ministers of Christ is all about humility and longsuffering. It’s all about loving and bearing with one another. It’s all about endeavoring to have the spirit of unity and the bond of peace. God the Father and Jesus Christ aren’t jealous or envious of one another. When we praise one, we praise the other. We honor both by honoring one. They are truly and completely united and at peace with one another. We must be at one with them in the same way. Sowing discord is not God’s way. There is a proper and good way to deal with conflict—with God and with our brothers and sisters.

*3:40* The One we follow set a perfect example of not causing harm. When He was reviled or assaulted He did not react in like kind. Instead He showed love and mercy to all. It’s our carnal nature we must overcome that produces the evil, but it will absolutely be overcome when we are granted repentance by God and Jesus Christ. That will come if we act and think with humility—the humility exemplified by Jesus Christ. He perfectly lived the Word, and it is through His example that we can learn how to live the Word ourselves. His example is one of bringing every thought into captivity. We have an obligation under God’s Word to promote unity. Our first responsibility is toward God the Father and Jesus Christ and next to our brothers and sisters in the faith. 

*3:49* Mr. Welch believes that currently we have an excellent spirit in the United Church of God and more balance than we ever had as a Church before. It’s exciting that we can open up relationships with other Christians and have open lines of communication as we maintain and rediscover old friendships. We recognize that Christ is on His throne and that this is His Church. That’s why we have a future. We need to continue to grow and overcome as a Church thanks to the grace and mercy that He gifts us. Let’s give it our very best to walk worthy according to the wonderful, awesome calling put before us. We fall far short of the perfection we were given as an example. But we can live in humility and a sincere effort to follow God in all we do and develop a truly repentant heart.

*3:57* Robin Webber dismissed the Conference for a short break at 3:57 p.m. EDT.

*4:14* The meeting reconvened at 4:14 p.m., at which time Robin Webber introduced Peter Eddington to give a presentation on the newest version of UCG.org. Mr. Eddinton said that UCG.org has 7.3 million unique visitors per year, with 99 percent of visitors being the general public and not Church members. It’s ranked in the top-25 Christian websites in the world. The Church is now front and center at UCG.org. This was done so that the Church itself is the focus of the website and so that it will be easier to find a congregation. 

*4:24* Mr. Eddington called on Aaron Booth to answer the question: “How do I find things on UCG.org?” and to demo the potential in the local congregation websites. Mr. Booth points out the powerful search functionality at UCG.org. The search box is the quickest, most powerful and most efficient way to find information on UCG.org. There’s no need to sort through the menu navigation to find something—search is by far the best way to navigate the website.

*4:34* Mr. Disher demoed the local congregation websites. They’ve been built with discoverability in mind for users trying to find a UCG congregation. There has been a 500 percent increase in users searching for a congregation since the launch of the new UCG.org and the integration of local websites into the main site. There is also a powerful search function to help sort through the thousands of sermons available through the local congregation sites at UCG.org. Finally, he showed an example of how the local congregation websites automatically generate a weekly pastor's letter that is sent out every Friday night based off of the content and announcements uploaded throughout the week. They then opened the floor for questions about the websites.

*5:05* Chairman Robin Webber then took the stage again to announce the results of the ballot taken at the beginning of the day’s business session.

Ballot Results

Council of Elders:

Jorge de Campos—International
John Elliott
Mario Seiglie
Rex Sexton

Strategic Plan—Pass (Yes—258; No—12)
Operation Plan—Pass (Yes—255; No—15)
Budget—Pass (Yes—250; No—18)

Process for the GCE Submitting an Agenda Item—Pass (Yes—239; No—15)

Process for the GCE to Submit an Agenda Without a Meeting—Pass (Yes—223; No—31)

Technical Amendment to GCE Rules of Order—Pass (Yes—243; No—11)

Process for Calling GCE Special Meetings—Pass (Yes—238; No—18)

Amendment to Constitution 5.1.1 and Bylaws 7.6.1—Fail (Yes—171; No—90)

Amendment to Bylaws 8.7.2—Pass (Yes—231; No—25)

Defining the Marriage Relationship—Pass (Yes—229; No—32)

Interpretation of Majorities Required to Amend Constitution 5.1.1(1)—2/3 majority pass

*5:32* Chairman Robin Webber introduced Ed Dowd to deliver a presentation titled "Technology and Our Youth."

Mr. Dowd points out that much technology is good and used for good purposes, but much can also be used for evil purposes. We need to be aware of the dangers of certain technologies so that we can help our children avoid the pitfalls of some of the evils promoted by certain uses of technology. If we don't teach our kids the proper use of technology and proper conduct, there are plenty of other places where they will be taught different standards. Parents should keep up with what their kids are doing on the Internet and teach them how to avoid the traps that are out there. It's important to teach our children that our families are to be a reflection of God's family and that we need to strive to be pure as God is pure in His family. The key is not eliminating all technology—the key is proper, active and involved parenting. We need to show our love to our children by helping them avoid the evils of technology. It is also so important that as parents we are godly examples. If we don't follow God properly, we hurt our kids' chances of following Him as well.

*6:21* Robin Webber took the stage again to dismiss the Conference for the day.

End