March 2026 Member Letter

March 5, 2026

Dear Brethren,

What a busy year it has been for several of us in the office—and we are only two months into it! Sharron and I have attended two retirements (with six more to go) of men and their wives from the full-time ministry. On Feb. 12 I returned from my trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. The plane ride from Dallas to Melbourne, Australia, was 17 hours and 40 minutes. I believe it is the longest trip I have taken on a plane. It was tiring, but we survived and had a wonderful time with the brethren in those three countries. It was exciting to meet a newly credentialed elder, Paul Vaughan, and his wife, Sue. I also enjoyed attending services in Melbourne, one of our newest COGWA congregations.

This past weekend I attended the memorial service for Valerie Davidson. Valerie died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. Valerie was the wife of Tracy Davidson and the daughter of one of our retired pastors, Bruce Gore. Valerie and Tracy were dedicated servants in the Birmingham, Alabama, congregation. My connection with the Gore family goes back to my first year out of college, when I was sent to Atlanta, Georgia, as a ministerial assistant at the ripe old age of 22. Bruce Gore, with his wife, Phyllis, was the pastor in Warner Robins, Georgia, at that time. They were a beautiful family that set an excellent example. The memorial service was held on the Sabbath of Feb. 28. It was a long and emotional day for everyone who knew Valerie. I gave the sermon during services, and Paul Luecke conducted the memorial service afterwards. Several family members spoke during the memorial.

While in Birmingham, we heard the news that the United States and Israel had conducted a bombing raid on Iran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the religious leader of Iran, along with 40-plus other leaders. After negotiations surrounding Iran’s development of nuclear weapons failed, Israel and the U.S. took action to take out Iran’s nuclear program and to bring about regime change.

We have probably all seen the horrific killing of Iranian protesters over the past couple of years and, in reality, over the past 47 years since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, when the shah was forced to abdicate and Iran became a religious state. Man’s inhumanity to his fellow man has been on bright display. But now what? Clearly, the real work lies ahead. Creating a democratic government with freedom of expression will be a tough challenge. Rarely has this approach worked.

While it is impossible to say exactly where this specific event will lead, it certainly is riveting to watch. We know the outline and the ultimate fulfillment of prophecy, but exactly where each piece will fit in that story, we simply don’t know. We do know that we now have a war in the Middle East that has the potential to change the course of history and, no doubt, lay some of the ground work for the end-time scenario that is described in Daniel 11. War in the Middle East will one day lead to a confrontation between the king of the South and the king of the North. Truly momentous times! The Middle East is the center of these end-time events. Christ’s command to watch seems all the more important as we see events unfold. Let’s read that command in Mark 13:35-37:

“Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

In the rest of this letter I want to provide an update on the new building that is being constructed on our property in McKinney, Texas.

This past week large sections of concrete were poured at our building site. The fire lane around the building was poured, along with a large section of the parking lot in the far northern portion of the property. And on Friday, Feb. 27, the foundation was poured. We now have a clear outline of the building, and next week, depending on the weather, the steel structure will go up.

Even though there have been several delays because of weather and new requirements by the city of McKinney, we are still on target to finish the building by October and possibly as early as Sept. 1. It would be great if the building could be finished in time for the next class at Foundation Institute, but that may not be possible. Personally, I would be happy to see it done by the Feast of Tabernacles. We should have a dedication ceremony sometime either right before the Feast of Tabernacles this year or shortly afterward. My best guess is that it will be sometime after this year’s Feast.

This building will be the new “Education Center” for the Church and will be a home for our many education programs. To give you an idea of what we have planned for the new building, here is a list of the programs that we currently have that will make use of the new building:

• Foundation Institute students and instructors.
• Biennial International Ministerial Conference.
• Pastoral Development Program, which is also conducted biennially in the off years from the ministerial conference.
• FI continuing education summer classes.
• Annual Young Adult Leadership Weekend program. This past year we had 150 who attended from around the country.
• National seminars on marriage and other topics. These will be developed as part of an overall education program for the membership.
• Possible Feast site.
• Home for the Dallas congregation’s church services.
• Special combined services in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Sherman metroplex.

It is truly an exciting time for the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. On Dec. 23, 2025, we marked our 15th anniversary. The past 15 years have been nothing short of amazing, not because of anything we have done, but because of God’s blessings. When we built our office building, I could not imagine that seven years later we would be constructing an education center to “feed the sheep,” as Christ commanded when speaking with Peter in John 21:17. It is our mission to both preach the gospel to the world and care for those whom God has called.

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Jim Franks