| Living Church of God | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Independent Christian |
| Leader | Gerald E. Weston |
| Region | International |
| Headquarters | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Founder | Roderick C. Meredith |
| Origin | 1998 San Diego, California |
| Separated from | Global Church of God |
| Congregations | 330 |
TheLiving Church of God (LCG) is one of several groups that formed after the death ofHerbert W. Armstrong, when major doctrinal changes (causing turmoil and divisions) were occurring in the formerWorldwide Church of God (WCG) during the 1990s. It was after its founder, the late Roderick C. Meredith, was fired by board members of theGlobal Church of God (GCG), that he went on to found, for a second time, a new organization in 1998. It is just one of many and variedSabbatarian Churches of God groups that have sprung up from the former Worldwide Church of God, known today as Grace Communion International (GCI). The US membership of the LCG is claimed to be around 11,300 with about 5,000 of that total number being claimed international members. From the LCG organization, several additional split-off groups have resulted over the years, each one headed by a former LCG minister.
The LCG's founder and Presiding Evangelist was, until his death, Roderick C. Meredith (June 21, 1930 – May 18, 2017).
Following Meredith's graduation fromAmbassador College in Pasadena, California in June 1952, he was assigned byHerbert W. Armstrong (Pastor General of theWorldwide Church of God) to set up and pastor WCG congregations inPortland, Oregon;San Diego, California; andSeattle andTacoma, Washington. On December 20, 1952, after summoning him back to the WCG's headquarters inPasadena, California, from his pastorship in Oregon, Armstrong ordained him and four other men — including his uncle Dr. C. Paul Meredith — to the position of Evangelist. These men were the very first Evangelists of the WCG. Meredith was the youngest of the newly ordained men and the fifth to be ordained.
In the subsequent years, Meredith would help start scores of WCG congregations throughout the United States. He would also conduct many baptizing and evangelizing tours in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Africa. From the early to mid-1950s, and again in 1960, he was assigned by Armstrong to live in Britain to form congregations for the Church there. For years he was one of the WCG's leading theologians and top executives, and an instructor at Ambassador College. However, when overseeing the ministry during the 1960s, he began to gain a reputation for being too strict in his application of Church rules and regulations.[citation needed]
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Due to declining health, in 2016 (aged 86), Meredith appointed Evangelist Gerald E. Weston as his successor and as President of the LCG. Weston has served congregations throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has been a frequent writer for the Church's publications, and has trained many ministers over the years. He has been a long time member of the Church's Council of Elders. Upon Meredith's death in May 2017, Weston became the LCG's Presiding Evangelist.
After Armstrong died, the WCG began to change many of its core doctrines; a process that brought the organization into the mainstream of Evangelical Christianity. However, many members objected and hundreds of splinter groups arose as a result.[1]
Meredith initially founded theGlobal Church of God (GCG) in December 1992, but due to disagreements in operation strategy the board fired Meredith from his positions as chairman of the board and Presiding Evangelist in 1998. He then formed the LCG, incorporating the church inSan Diego, California, in December 1998.[2][better source needed] His dismissal was unpopular with GCG members, with as much as 80 percent of the GCG membership following Meredith to the newly formed LCG.[3] In 2004, the late Evangelist Raymond F. McNair (ordained by Herbert W. Armstrong in 1953, a year after Meredith's ordination) left the LCG to start the Church of God 21st Century, which disbanded after his death in 2008. In 2005, ministers Don Haney and Ben Faulkner also left. Haney formed the Church of God In Peace and Truth, and Faulkner formed the Church of the Sovereign God. In 2006, Charles Bryce (whom Meredith had appointed head of Church administration) left and formed the Enduring Church of God. In late 2012, member Bob Thiel left and formed the Continuing Church of God.[4] In 2013, minister Rod Reynolds left and formed the COG Messenger. In September 2020, minister Sheldon Monson formed the Church of God Assembly after he resigned.[citation needed]
In 2003, the church's corporate headquarters were moved from San Diego toCharlotte, North Carolina.[5] The church reported in 2011 that it had 330 congregations in 45 countries, and that over 8,000 members attended its annual eight-day festival of theFeast of Tabernacles andLast Great Day, at 46 sites in 31 countries on every continent (except Antarctica).[6] An independent auditor specializing in non-profits reported that the church's income for 2010 was over US$14.3 million.[7] The LCG's revenue comes from tithes,[8] holy day offerings, and other contributions from both members and non-members. Thetithe is 10% of a member's income and it is permitted to tithe on the net income.[9] The members should not tithe on "unearned income" (such asSocial Security, old-age assistance, unemployment benefits, pensions, gifts, disability, or similar types of income).[9]
The LCG believes that the Bible is God's inspired revelation to mankind, and as such is complete andinerrant in its original form. The Church has a three-fold mission: 1. To preach the true Gospel of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14; Matthew 24:14; Ezekiel 3 and 33), and the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12) to all nations as a witness. 2. To feed the flock and to organize local Church congregations to provide for the spiritual and material needs of our members as God makes it possible (1 Peter 5:1-4; John 21:15-18). 3. To preach theend-time prophecies and to warn the English-speaking nations and all the world of the coming Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21).[10]
Other beliefs include:
Shortly after the LCG's incorporation, it started producing a weekly, half-hour television program:Tomorrow's World. It is carried on 211 television stations throughout the world. In May 2006, the LCG's media department reported that the show was accessible to nearly 78 million American households, or 71 percent of the American television market.[12]
According to reports in March 2007 byNielsen Research, the program was estimated to reach an average of 50,000 new viewers each week.[13] From 1999 to date,[when?] approximately 320 programs have been taped and televised.
The LCG also publishes a free, bi-monthly, subscription magazine titledTomorrow's World. Circulation figures (July 2017), were 282,000 issues. From the magazine's inception in 1999 through to May 2007, 8.3 million copies were produced.[14] Additionally, the church operates aTomorrow's World website.[15]
The church produces several foreign-language radio programs, which are broadcast on 15 stations. These include a Spanish program titledEl Mundo de Mañana ("Tomorrow's World"),[16] presented by Mario Hernández, who also presents the Spanish telecast with the same title. Also, the French programLe Monde Demain ("Tomorrow's World") is broadcast throughout theCaribbean.[17] It was presented by longtime evangelist and radio presenter Dibar K. Apartian until his death in 2010.[citation needed]
On February 27, 2007, the LCG launched Living University, a nonprofit, online (distance-learning) institution. The LCG exploredaccreditation for Living University'sundergraduate degrees,diplomas, andcertificates,[18] but Living University was never accredited by any agency recognized by theUnited States Department of Education. More and more states were blockingnon-accredited colleges and universities from offering classes within their borders, so it was decided to close Living University. Living University closed on May 14, 2018, after final commencement exercises for 30 students present. In August 2018, the LCG introduced a new program "Living Education".
On March 12, 2005, the LCG was thrust into national and international spotlight when memberTerry Ratzmann (aged 44) shot at his brethren congregated for church services at the Sheraton Hotel inBrookfield, Wisconsin. It was one of the worst mass shootings in the state's history. Ratzmann killed eight, including his pastor, his pastor's son, and himself. No conclusive motive for the mass murder was reached, though police investigated religious issues as potential motives for the shooting[19][20][21]
"A popular elder and former pastor of the Living Church of God, Karl Beyersdorfer, 73, took his own life May 27, 2016, at his home in Joplin, Mo."[22] He committed suicide just days before his fiftieth wedding anniversary. Depression is thought to have been a factor. A 1966 graduate of Ambassador College, Karl had been an ordained minister for 49 years ministering in the Worldwide Church of God, and then joined Meredith in Global, and then followed him again to the LCG (1998).
| International | |
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| National | |
