June 2024 Member Letter

June 6, 2024

Dear Brethren,

What a chaotic world we live in! And with each passing day, it only seems to get worse! Based on what we see today, the upcoming U.S. presidential election could be the most contentious election that we have seen in our lifetimes. Anger, division and outright hatred are at high levels, and we still have more than five months until November.

Of course, it was prophesied long ago that in the end time we would see ever increasing chaos, similar to the days of Noah when every thought was “only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5; Matthew 24:37). From the Old Testament prophecies about violence in the streets, to the moral decay in society, to the words of Jesus Christ about lawlessness (Matthew 24:12) and the words of the apostle Paul about “perilous times” when men will be “lovers of themselves” (2 Timothy 3:1-5), the Bible paints a very dark picture of societal conditions just prior to the return of Jesus Christ.

As Christians, we do not get involved in the politics of this world, but we embrace the values and principles of the Kingdom of God, the origin of our citizenship (Philippians 3:20). And because of that, our focus is on preaching the gospel of the Kingdom to the whole world, while caring for those whom God will call.

In this letter I want to look beyond the chaos and evil all around us and focus on the future of the Church and the work of preaching the gospel. In recent months we have seen some extraordinary results from our Media efforts. Our subscribers to Discern magazine have risen to more than 45,000 in the past few months. One of our Life, Hope & Truth Presents programs has over 300,000 views when we combine the figures from our YouTube channel and our Life, Hope & Truth website. This is an amazing number, the likes of which we have never seen before.

And as a result of our advertising, the downloads of two of our booklets (The Book of Revelation and Change Your Life) have risen to a total of more than 250,000 in recent months. Our Personal Correspondence Department has set new records each month, going from an average of 17 messages per day in January 2023 to 112 per day in May 2024. These are just a few of the encouraging statistics that we have seen in the past few months.

In the context of planning for the future, I want to update you on the possibility of constructing an education center on our property in McKinney that would also serve as a meeting facility for the local Dallas congregation. We have been working on this project for the past three years. As needed along the way, the administration, in cooperation with the Ministerial Board of Directors, has made decisions that have guided us in this process. As a result of our strong financial position, we knew from the beginning that we had certain options: build now, delay until a future date, or not build at all. With the drawings finally completed, the administration has been holding discussions with the board, and we are now prepared to make some decisions.

To question the need for another building is appropriate. There are three basic objectives that would be fulfilled with the construction of an education center on our property:

1. To centralize all of our education programs (including Foundation Institute) in a new facility, thus freeing up much-needed space in the office for Media expansion.
2. To expand our capacity for ministerial conferences and leadership development programs.
3. To provide a meeting facility for the local congregation. The Dallas–Fort Worth area has the largest group of members in one metropolitan area, with approximately 500 in attendance in three congregations.

Since we began in December of 2010 we have created or further developed a dozen different leadership and education programs. Some of these programs would directly benefit from a new facility. This would especially be true of Foundation Institute, biennial ministerial conferences, the Pastoral Development Program, Young Adult Leadership Weekends, and possibly the International Leadership Program as it is further developed going forward. All of these programs are currently operating even without a second building, but most would benefit from the potential for expansion that an education center could provide.

In addition to the education and leadership development programs that are currently operating or are being planned for the future, the local congregation would benefit by having a facility for weekly Sabbath services, holy day services, Bible studies, speech and leadership training classes, and church socials.

One of our options for this project has always been to delay. With that in mind, during a recent meeting of the administration and the Ministerial Board of Directors, a unanimous decision was reached to delay any building until at least January 2025. Here are the reasons that were discussed for such a delay:

• Economic conditions. There is uncertainty about the future of the U.S. economy. We should have more clarity by waiting until the end of this fiscal year (December 2024).
• Contentious U.S. presidential election. While one can say that this happens every four years, I don’t believe this year’s election will be typical of the past. This won’t be a normal election and could further divide our nation, creating more economic uncertainty.
• Building costs. The cost of construction rose by more than 50 percent in 2023, but the general consensus is that the overall cost of construction (labor and materials) will drop by the end of 2024. We have already seen a decrease in some prices this year, but there are certainly no guarantees that this will be true at the end of this year.
• New budget year. In December of 2024, the MBOD will approve a budget for the fiscal year 2025. Some important facts will be known by that time that are not known at the present time. What will our budget priorities be for 2025? What will our total income be in 2024? (Currently our income is ahead of last year and above budget projections.)

It isn’t because of a lack of funds that we are making the decision to delay. The Church is in an excellent financial position with the capacity to build an education center with cash, and without affecting the annual operation of the Church or our efforts to preach the gospel. The reality, of course, is that once funds are expended, they are gone and no longer available for other projects. During this recent MBOD meeting, we asked ourselves if we are willing to spend funds at the present time or if we should wait an additional seven months in order to analyze economic conditions and the future needs of the Church. The administration and MBOD unanimously concluded that it would be better to wait until January 2025 to make that decision.

In addition to the points mentioned above, there is another consideration that cannot be ignored. Because of the inevitable factor of age, it is obvious to all of us that within the next five to 10 years we will be losing some of our best teachers and pastors to retirement. How we will replace them is on my mind continuously. An education center may not be absolutely essential at this time, but I believe it would benefit our current education and leadership development programs and any new ones we choose to develop for the future. These programs will be essential for the future of the Church and must be given high priority.

Thank you for your support and patience as we work through all these details. Please continue to pray for this important decision for the future of the Church. We are a work of faith and we depend on God to take care of us, but we want to do our part in gathering facts and making the best decisions for the future based on those facts.

In a couple of weeks, we will be together to observe the Day of Pentecost—a very special holy day that celebrates the sealing of the spiritual firstfruits. I want to wish all of us a most meaningful festival, focusing our attention on the work at hand, personally and collectively, in spite of the growing evil and chaos in the world around us!

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Jim Franks