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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, February 20, 1981
FROM MINISTERIAL SERVICES
International News
The Netherlands
January was a month of blessings for the Work of God in
Dutch-speaking Europe. Total mail for January was up 60% over last year,
after 1980 ended with 55% more mail than all of 1979! Income for Jan
uary was up 64%!! Church attendance was up 26%, and membership 12%
over
January '79.
In response to advertisements in DE ECHTE WAARHEID (Dutch Plain Truth)
for Mr. Armstrong's book (in Dutch), THE INCREDIBLE HUMAN POTENTIAL, and
the booklets IS SEX SIN? and WHAT DO YOU MEAN
. BORN AGAIN?, over
5700 pieces of literature were mailed out!
It is indeed a very good start to a new year.
German Office Reports Mr. Gerald Waterhouse's visit brightened up the
wintry month of January for the German-language congregations of God's
Church. Flying in to Hamburg Airport from Copenhagen, Denmark on Monday,
January 12th, Mr. Waterhouse began a tour which took him, by automobile
and coITunercial airline, to eight different locations in this region of
God's Work. His inspiring message was heard in Hamburg, Hannover, Dus
seldorf, Bonn, Darmstadt (where three churches met in a combined meeting
on the Sabbath), Salzburg (site of an additional combined meeting for
two Austrian and one German church), and our Swiss churches in Basel and
Zurich. The smaller congregations in particular expressed deep appreci
ation for the fact that Mr. Waterhouse made weeknights available to speak
separately to them too, before leaving Switzerland for Paris on January
21st.
A flurry of activities in many local churches kept the frost off of
social life in January. Spokesman and Graduate Club meetings, Woman's
Clubs, and winter socials provided welcome opportunities for fellowship.
Activities extended even over into Iron Curtain country; five East
German church members met in an East Berlin hotel with West German mem
bers for an afternoon and evening Sabbath social January 24th.
The January incoming mail was up 400% over January 1980 and was, in
fact, the highest monthly mail total since February 1974. We received
more than 13,000 pieces of mail. One-half of incoming mail resulted
from media responses to advertising in 1980.
A flyer placed in the prestigious Swiss magazine "Schweizer Beobachter"
in December brought a very good response--some 3500 requests for the
magazine.
Along with these Swiss responses, we were still receiving requests for
the magazine through advertising in the German train schedule (Zugbeg
leiter). Although we had only advertised in December, January brought
many more responses making it a very successful advertising campaign.
Some 4000 requests have been received thus far.
Spin-off from the 1980 advertising campaign brought us some 5736 new
subscribers in the month of January. Our subscription list for March
will be more than 50,000 as a result.
(Continued on page 6)