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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, DECEMBER 2, 1986
DBC
27-28
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PAGE 11
Did news stories of 1986 have any real significance for us?
or did we see them as just an endless stream of unrelated
events? David Hulme examines the news of 1986 through the
prism of Bible prophecy, which reveals that we are living in
a crucial phase
of
world history the Bible calls 'The Last
Days.
'
LIT OFFERED: 'Where Are We Now in Prophecy?'; 'Plain
Truth'.
--Larry Omasta, Media Services
M I L PROCESSING UPDATE
UPDATE
ON
BACKLOG; CORRESPONDENCE COURSE;
INCREASES
IN
TV
LETTER RESPONSE;
VIEWERS
RECEIVE LITERATURE WHEN PROMISED;
JAPANESE
SUBSCRIBERS;
'AUTOBIOGRAPHY'
WELL
RECEIVED
Update
on
Backlog
As
mentioned in our last report, Mail Processing
employees returned from the Feast of Tabernacles to
a
record backlog of
600,000 pieces of mail, which included letters, WATS cards and Holy Day
envelopes. Nearly all of this workload has now been finished. Our staff
worked overtime and on Sundays after the Feast to eliminate this backlog
while handling the normal flow
of
mail.
Correspondence
Course
Each month about 300 new people are put on our
U.S. mailing list as
a
result of requesting to be enrolled in the
Correspondence Course.
As
you know? those who take the full complement
of lessons are usually well-grounded in the basic doctrines of the Church
and have gained
a
good understanding of
God's
plan.
During the past five years, one out
of
every 100 such individuals has
been baptized. This may appear to be
a
small percentage. However, only
one in
1,000
new contacts from all sources combined has been baptized in
the same span of time.
Increases
in
TV
Letter
Response
Earlier this year, we noted that the
letter response to 'The World Tomorrow' was declining while greater
numbers were calling on the WATS line.
In order to provide another opportunity for people to respond, all three
speakers began mentioning our address during the program. This is in
addition to Art Gilmore's announcement at the end. Emphasizing the
address has produced
a
substantial increase in those writing for the
literature.
In June 1986, we received 2,972 letters addressed to 'The World
Tomorrow.a In September, however,
5,000
such letters were received.
There are certain reasons why some of our viewers may prefer to write
rather than call when requesting literature. These are summarized below:
0
The elderly and hard-of-hearing may feel more at ease
when writing, because they are more confident of being
understood.