The Thursday night Hurricane projections were dire. The eye of Harvey was focused on Corpus Christi. Leaders and residents prepared for the worst. Prayer was the only hope. City officials and pastors united across the area, crying out for God’s mercy and for God to rebuke the storm. Then, in the predawn hours prior to landfall on Friday, Harvey miraculously turned westward. Corpus Christi had minimal damage, no deaths or reported injuries. Prayers had been answered.

Renowned evangelist and author, Jennifer Wilde, heard God saying “Now is the time” to act upon a vision she received 37 years ago. One God – One Day – One Africa (1GDA) was born as a ministry to fulfill God’s desire to reach out to every possible country in Africa in May 2019 – and every church and ministry can be part of this.

Charlotte, N.C. –Church of God Prayer Ministries will hold an open house on Tuesday, September 5 at their newly acquired headquarters located in the former location of the Lee University Charlotte Center.

Hurricane Harvey has been designated by some weather experts as a 1 in 1,000 year disaster. With more than 1 million people displaced across the Texas Gulf Coast and into Louisiana, Operation Compassion is responding with all of its assets and enlisting the help of many disaster relief partners from across the United States. One partner in Hawaii is sending product, California, Connecticut, Miami, Florida, Chicago, IL, literally from all parts of the United States, product is being sent to Operation Compassion and made available to the survivors.

As the 44th conference of the International Ecumenical Fellowship (IEF) came to a close, those gathered departed for their home countries with a vision for “the church of tomorrow” and a renewed commitment to unity.

Operation Compassion is in full disaster relief mode as semi-trucks are moving into the disaster area created by Hurricane Harvey and the aftermath of the torrential rainfall that tallied more than 50 inches and counting. Food, bottled water, blankets, cleaning supplies and hygiene products are a few of the items contained in each truck. Each semi-truck contains 24 pallets of product which weighs approximately 40,000 pounds.

Church of God General Overseer Tim Hill will be the featured artist on the Sirius XM satellite radio station Enlighten, a channel featuring Southern Gospel music 24/7 located at channel 65.

The 44th conference of the International Ecumenical Fellowship (IEF) has released a “Declaration of Wittenberg: We walk towards the visible unity of the Church,” a statement that culminated the week-long assembly, held 21-28 August.

The theme of the conference was “From the True Treasure of the Churches – Discovering the Gospel Together.”

The declaration observes both the 50 years the IEF has existed, and the 500 years that have passed since the Reformation. “Since its founding in 1967, the IEF has sought to instil in its members a yearning for unity,” reads the declaration. “With joy, we celebrate the unending work of promoting bridges of dialogue and encounter, the mission to heal wounds, to reconcile and to witness together our faith in Christ.”

The declaration challenges people to transform a painful history of conflict and indifference into a journey of reconciliation and unity.

“Through our own history of 50 years, we have tried to contribute to this journey and will continue to do so,” the declaration continues. “But we cannot advance without recognizing each other as brothers and sisters.”

The assembly agreed that, more than ever, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a common treasure, that brings churches to continuous conversion, reform and renewal. Those gathered also thanked God for the spiritual gifts they received through sharing meals, prayers, songs and ecumenical dialogue.

“Through our togetherness, we experience acute pain for not being able always to celebrate the Eucharist in communion with each other,” the declaration reads. “Nevertheless our joy is great when, under certain circumstances church leaders offer eucharistic hospitality.”

The assembly expressed its intention to improve ecumenical relationships by working as Christians together to foster Christian values in a secularized society, to welcome and support immigrants and refugees, and to promote justice and peace and the integrity of creation.

“In this new beginning we are convinced that visible unity in reconciled diversity is more than ever the ultimate Christian goal that our Lord prayed for,” concluded the declaration. “To realize this goal we commit ourselves to explore new means, new ways, new generations, new countries.”

(Source: Christian Newswire)

CLEVELAND, TN: With up to 30 percent of Houston, Texas, America’s fourth largest city, under water after receiving more than 50 inches of rain from Hurricane Harvey, the Church of God family around the world has extended its prayers and support to help in the recovery efforts in South Texas. Further, with the storm now making another hit on Southwest Louisiana, our prayers and efforts also include that area. In speaking about this massive storm, Dr. Timothy M. Hill, General Overseer of the Church of God, offered these comments: