Dear Friend,

My wife and I just returned from a trip to South Africa where we had the chance to visit with members and ministers of the United Church of God. Africa is a fascinating continent, and the word vast describes so many of its features, good and bad—size, resources, population, potential, problems.

Africa faces unique, and virtually unsolvable, challenges. But then again, where on earth can you go without reaching the same conclusion?

If you had the power to change the world, or even a part of the world, what would you do, where would you start?

The Bible reveals that humanity's problems are, at their core, spiritual in nature. Spiritual problems require spiritual solutions! No economic reforms, education initiatives, political alliances, health-care programs or scientific advancements—as helpful as they may be—will change the heart of humanity. Only God can do that, and He will begin that transformation when Jesus Christ returns to this earth. "Vast" also describes the features of God's plan of salvation—the potential for all humanity to change, the potential to be given eternal life, the potential to be in the family of God!

This is the good news, the living hope, that the Church of God proclaims through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

At a low point in ancient Judah's history, as they languished in captivity brought on by their rejecting the ways of God, Jeremiah sent them a letter conveying the word of God: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).

There is hope for Africa as well—and Europe and Asia, Australia, the Americas, the entire world! The path to realizing that hope will be the same for all humanity, and it is the same path that Judah had to walk: "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart" (verses 12-13).

Someday we will see that the way of God has not changed, and only through it can we find the way to escape our self-inflicted problems. The pleas of Jeremiah ring true today. "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it," God said. "Then you will find rest for your souls" (6:16).

I hope that you are seeing more clearly, through the light of the gospel, the paths of God. More and more people are, I'm happy to report.

In the past year we printed nearly 3 million Good News magazines. In a little over a decade we have printed well over 4 million copies of our 32 booklets and over 1 million copies of the Bible Study Course. To keep up with the growing demand, we had to reprint 17 of these booklets (totaling 670,000 copies) in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, an increase of 8 percent over the previous year and 52 percent over the year before.

Beyond Today is now airing on nearly 200 television channels in the United States, Canada and Tonga. Thirty-one of those programs are available for viewing or podcast download via the Internet at www.beyondtoday.tv.  Beyond Today is airing on 18 radio stations in the United States including an Internet radio station, and also in Barbados, St. Kitts and Jamaica. In addition, 120 Good News radio programs are available for listening and/or podcast download on the Internet at www.gnmagazine.org.

Hope is on the horizon, and Christ's return will bring the solutions to mankind's problems in the future. But what about today? None of us are in a position to change the world, but we are positioned to change ourselves if we listen to the answers that God holds forth! Our continual prayer is that God's Word will work in our lives to help all of us find the spiritual solutions we need. If we may be of service to you, please feel free to contact us by e-mail at info@ucg.org.

May God be with you, and thank you as always for your prayers and support.

Until next time,

Clyde Kilough
President
United Church of God