Ministers Travel in for 21st Conference

OKLAHOMA—From July 4 through 10, hundreds of visitors filled the Philadelphia Church of God headquarters campus for the activities and events of the 21st Ministerial Conference. Of the PCG’s 106 ministers and wives, 98 were in attendance, representing Australia, Canada, Colombia, the Philippines, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and 10 American states.

They heard 16 total lectures from 13 ministers, a total of more than 30 hours of messages including Sabbath services. Pastor General Gerald Flurry gave three two-hour lectures outlining the Psalter of Tara, a collection of King David’s psalms organized by the Prophet Jeremiah during his efforts to establish the culture of David’s throne in Ireland.

The ministers and wives arrived in Edmond on Tuesday, listened to lectures from Wednesday to Friday, attended a morning tea social and services with local and visiting Church members on the Sabbath, toured campus and watched the Church’s Celtic Throne Irish dance performance on Sunday, and heard more lectures on Monday and Tuesday. They also attended a reception by the pastor general in the Armstrong Auditorium balcony and a minister and staff dinner at the John Amos Field House.

Attending the dinner were two trainees, 15 local church elders, 10 local elders, 15 preaching elders, nine pastors, two evangelists and one pastor general, as well as 100 headquarters employees and their spouses. During the July 10 event, Pastors Andrew Locher and Joel Hilliker were raised to the office of evangelist.

Mr. Locher said that the missing out on the ministers and wives gathering together has been a struggle, that this year’s conference was “on a different level” and that God wants the ministry to focus members on the Bible to prepare for royal duties in God’s Kingdom.

On Tuesday, after two lectures and one final luncheon, the ministers and their wives walked, drove or flew anywhere from less than a mile to 17,000 miles back to their homes to apply what they heard at the conference in their local congregations. During the last few weeks, Mr. Flurry’s recorded conference lectures have been played in all congregations, with the last one scheduled to play in field congregations this Sabbath.