Clyde Kilough was selected by the Council of Elders in May of 2005 to serve as president of the United Church of God, an International Association, and moved with his wife, Dee, to Cincinnati to assume those responsibilities on July 1, 2005.

Mr. and Mrs. Kilough graduated from Ambassador College (Big Sandy) together in 1974, married two days later and moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the first stop in a string of ministerial assignments that included Evansburg, Alberta; Winnipeg and Dauphin, Manitoba; Yorkton, Saskatchewan; Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Poplar Bluff, Missouri; Wilkes-Barre and Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania; Akron and Youngstown, Ohio; Sacramento, Santa Rosa and Stockton, California, and Reno, Nevada.

They have two grown children, Dave, and Becca Washington; one son-in-law, Brett; and one granddaughter, Jazmin.

Mr. Kilough was born in 1951 and came into the Church in Houston, Texas, with his parents in 1963. Mrs. Kilough grew up primarily in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and began attending Church services in 1965.

He was appointed regional pastor of the Northern California and Nevada area in 1996, and served in that capacity until being named to the Council of Elders in May 2001. His experience with the Council had begun earlier, when he worked as the first Council reporter from 1997 to 1999. Later, from May 2002 until May 2005, he was the chairman of the Council.

"We are now well into our second decade as the United Church of God," Mr. Kilough observed, "and God has blessed us immensely to be positioned more strongly than ever to fulfill our mission of preaching the gospel to the world, making disciples through that process and caring for those disciples as they strive to live God's way of life."

His emphasis for the Church has been that of being zealously focused on fulfilling that mission in every arena—individually, collectively and administratively. "God's calling and working in our lives is a miracle, and we must treasure this as a gift and a responsibility to help others.

"Understanding the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, and all that it encompasses, is one of the greatest things that can happen to an individual," he said. "In that knowledge we find the purpose for our existence, insight into both the history and future of humanity, and why and how God is involved with this world. It gives us tremendous hope for the future as well as marvelous understanding about how to live today."

The Kiloughs especially enjoy visiting the congregations and members of the United Church of God around the world. "We are always encouraged and inspired to see so many people from all walks of life, some in extremely difficult circumstances, unified in purpose and understanding. It is a continual display of God's Spirit, and it is such a blessing to be part of His work at this time." UN