There is a new page on Facebook. It's the official fan page of The North American Convention of the Church of God. This is not the "event" page for the 2011 NAC; it's just the page that fans of Camp Meeting can "like." There are about 150 photos and counting! Some are from many years ago.

The next world conference of the Church of God is going to be in June of 2013. It's now called the Global Gathering, and it's going to be a huge deal. The theme: Standing Together: Being the Body of Christ in a Changing World. Plan WAY ahead to attend this event. There will be at least one representative from every single nation on the planet in which there is a Church of God presence. That means represenatives from about 90 countries! The event will take place AS the NAC of 2013, so it won't look like a normal NAC. But this is just fine, because it's going to be something unique and powerful and big that does not happen very often. There will be massive worship services, discussions on world issues that effect the whole church, high-profile speakers, and on Sunday during the event there will be twelve hours straight of different language worship services! This will be a gathering of the saints of God like never before! The Church of God will demonstrate to the world unity at its best in Jesus Christ!

The NAC Task Force will be meeting along with the Transformation Teams in Anderson next week. This week, Church of God Ministries staff reviewed NAC 2010 and discussed what went well and what didn't go so well. In this manner, Church of God Ministries is continually seeking improvement of the Camp Meeting experience.

There are exciting things planned for this upcoming NAC, as well as NAC 2012. In 2013, you should also plan ahead to attend the Global Gathering of the Church of God in June. The theme is Standing Together! (to transform the culture). It will be very exciting and we look forward to seeing God do some miraculous things among the people who attend and who either tune in via the Internet or participate in simultaneous worship services around the world. Much has yet to be finalized, but this will be a World Conference unlike any other.

God can do wonderful things through the Church of God, even into the future. We must stand together. We must be united against our spiritual enemies and united for Christ and each other. It may sound like an old Church of God doctrine, but there is no question that the Church is stronger when without division. Let's unite!

Click here to watch Curt Ferrell (South Memorial Church of God, New Castle, Indiana) sing a song about the power of God unleashed among a united church. Folks, we have got to unite! It's not going to be easy, but it's a must if we want to see God transform the culture and the Church of God! Catch the spirit, and let's see this transformation come to fruition! It's called "One Body, One Spirit, One Lord." This YouTube video is a performance at the North American Convention of the Church of God in 2008.

Photo: Camp Meeting in Warner Auditorium. Candlelighting Service. 1988.

"Trolling." It's how David Farlow, Chief of Strategic Communications at Church of God Ministries, refers to scouring the world for fascinating, compelling, or spiritually-important news relating to the Church of God. Of course, this is accomplished primarily by searching the Internet (visiting web sites of churches and state or district sites, etc.). Then, when something is found, we either find a way to publish it as-is or package it so that it's print-ready.

Like I've stated before, it's important that the broader church hear about what God is doing in local churches around the world. This is one way to get the message out.

I've found or have been assigned about seven article topics to pursue. One has been written this week (other time has been devoted to Ministries Council meeting preparation). For each of the remaining articles, I have conducted the preliminary work: sending out interview questions to the appropriate persons, filing responses accordingly, researching the topic, editing existing matierial--I love it! I love writing, especially when the story will bless the reader. And these stories surely will!

Yesterday, I met with Dr. Duncan and Doris Dale to continue to plan the World Conference of June 2013--now called THE GLOBAL GATHERING! Friends, this is going to be very exciting. I recommend marking the entire month free of June 2013 so that you can be sure to get to Anderson for this event. It will be like nothing you've ever experienced! God is gonna move in a mighty way!

There has not been much rain here in central Indiana lately. When Bethany and I arrived from Arizona, everything was very green and we had heavy rain every few days. Now the much of the grass has turned brown and I hear that August was one of the driest on record. I think Phoenix had more rain than Anderson in August!

Speaking of rain and Arizona. The playground West Side Church of God apparently had some storm debris and/or damage from a recent Monsoon thunderstorm. Mike Hodges, the pastor, said on his Facebook status that he thanks Dan Eastman and Bill Brock for cleaning up and repairing the mess. Hooray for good men of God. Folks, I will always have a connection to the Arizona churches, just face it. So I will report their good news when I hear it, even it if it may seem trivial. God is good!