January 31, 2004: 270 subscribers of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine ordered the new twelve lesson Bible Correspondence Course in January. Four lessons at a time and a test with an answer card are mailed to those who order the course. Subscribers who average 80% on the three tests receive a certificate of completion.

February 5, 2004: UCOG donates funds to help reprint the booklet Das Geheimnis Ihrer Existenz ["What is Your Destiny?"], published by the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"]. For the reprint, a third chapter with the title "Paradise lost" was added to the content. The new chapter highlights the main message preached by Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God.

March 8, 2004: The "Bundes-Verlag", a publisher of Christian magazines and books, has accepted an ad for the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine, which will appear in a special advertizing brochure for the "Jesus-Day", a convention of evangelical Christians to be held in Berlin in September. Using a quote from German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the ad asks the question "Why are you alive?".

March 23, 2004: The March-April issue of the Gute Nachrichten magazine was mailed today to 4154 subscribers in 21 countries in Europe. The lead article "Quo vadis, Christentum, im 21. Jahrhundert?" was written by UCOG President Paul Kieffer.

March 30, 2004: The editors of the Adventist magazine "Sabbatwächter" ["Sabbath watchman"], published by an organization in southern Germany, have requested permission to reprint the article on depression from the January-February issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine. The editors wrote: "We feel that the topic of depression is very important and we would appreciate being able to use your magazine as a reference."

April 7, 2004: 1051 readers of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine have been sent a renewal letter. 689 former readers are receiving their second renewal letter and a chance to subscribe once again. The other 362 letters are being sent to current subscribers whose subscriptions are expiring. The expected renewal rate for former readers is 15%, and for current readers 30%.

April 15, 2004: The April issue of the Intern newsletter was mailed to 249 subscribers. "Intern" is published monthly and provides interested subscribers of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine additional articles on biblical subjects and news about activities of the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"]. The "Intern" subscription list has tripled in the last 18 months.

April 21, 2004: One of the first "Gute Nachrichten" subscribers to complete the Bible correspondence course writes: "Some time ago I ordered your correspondence course and have now taken the tests. My score on test one was 92% and on test two it was 88%. I sent the third test card in a little later and look forward to receiving my score. I have to admit that I did not look up everything on test one, but tests two and three were more difficult. Because I am interested in history it was clear to me that there were differences between the original Christianity and today's version. However, your literature has helped me to see even the smaller differences that are also important."
• 48599 Gronau (Germany)

April 28, 2004: The first baptism request from the new Bible correspondence course has been received. A couple from Potsdam (near Berlin) has requested baptism counseling after receiving the final four lessons of the course, including lessons on baptism, the true church and the Holy days. So far 20 students have completed all 12 lessons, and 270 others are currently enrolled in the course.

May 2, 2004: At the annual conference of the United Church of God in Cincinnati, Ohio, UCOG President Paul Kieffer reports on the preaching of the gospel in the German-language area. Listen to his report in mp3 audio format (2.7 MB, approximately 11 minutes).

May 19, 2004: The May-June issue of the Gute Nachrichten magazine was mailed today to 4019 subscribers in 21 countries in Europe. Paul Kieffer, UCOG President, co-authored articles on the Da Vinci Code and the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

May 27, 2004: Paul Kieffer, President of UCOG, had meetings in Vienna, Austria on May 25-26 with an Adventist pastor and members of the Adventist church as well as former members of the Worldwide Church of God. After a four hour meeting, a couple from the Adventist church indicated a desire to join the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"], which currently has one member in Vienna.

June 6, 2004: For the seven month period from November 2003 through May 2004, 12,862 people from 42 countries visited the Gute Nachrichten website, the main website of the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"]. The total number of hits for the seven month period was 312,334. On average, 60 people visit the "Gute Nachrichten" website daily. Traffic on the "Gute Nachrichten" website has doubled in the last year. UCOG owns and maintains the domain names for the "Gute Nachrichten" and the Vereinte Kirche Gottes websites.

June 10, 2004: This week 115 readers of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine were mailed an offer to receive Intern, a monthly publication of the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"]. "Intern" contains biblical material from the "United News" and other sources. All "Gute Nachrichten" readers who have renewed their subscription and have been on the mailing list four years receive the offer. Previous offers have brought a 22.4 percent response.

June 20, 2004: The statistics for the spring Holy Day offerings have been finalized. On the first day of Unleavened Bread, the offering in the German-language region was 6682 €, a 10.4% increase over 2003. On the last day of Unleavened Bread, the offering (5114 €) was a decrease of 6.5% compared to last year. The Pentecost offering was 9.7% higher than last year at 6963 €. Overall, the total offering for the spring festivals increased 4.9% over 2003.

July 1, 2004: During the first six months of 2004, the publisher of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine, the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"], processed 14,745 literature mailings (a mailing is an envelope, which may contain more than one item). 13,943 copies of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine and 1451 copies of the monthly publication "Intern" were sent to subscribers. In addition, 2424 booklets were mailed. The most requested publications were the booklet Das Reich Gottes — eine gute Nachricht ["The Gospel of the Kingdom"] and the new Bible study course. In addition, 3570 direct mail promotional letters were mailed to subscribers.

July 5, 2004: 22 people attended a "windwill weekend," a young adults activity hosted by UCOG and the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"]. Young adults from Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States met in Germany from Friday, July 2nd to July 4th at the "Windmühle Wissel", an authentic windmill restored with hostel-style accommodations. Read more »

July 14, 2004: On the last day of June, a direct mail offer was mailed to 1064 people for a free subscription to the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine. The group is comprised of everyone who had previously ordered a sample copy of "Gute Nachrichten" or a brochure during the period from 1998 to the end of 2003. To date the response rate is already 6.8%, including the following comment: "Thanks for your kind offer. I did not subscribe earlier because I was already affiliated with the 'Jehovah's Witnesses'. However, I am interested in your timely explanation of the Bible, so please count me in as a new subscriber."

July 19, 2004: The German postal service "Deutsche Post AG" has agreed to allow the monthly publication "Intern" to be sent six times a year within Germany as a supplement to the bi-monthly "Gute Nachrichten" magazine. Normally it costs 0.77 € to mail a copy of "Intern" within Germany. The cost to mail "Intern" as a supplement is only 0.0062 €. With 221 "Intern" subscribers in Germany, mailing costs will be reduced by 1000 € annually.

July 28, 2004: Two of the six issues annually of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine will now be published with 24 pages instead of the regular 16 page issue. The change is made possible by discontinuing the semi-annual letter, which previously had been mailed to all subscribers who had renewed their subscription to "Gute Nachrichten". The cost of mailing 2000 semi-annual letters is greater than printing an extra 8 pages for 4000 subscribers. Instead of being mailed, the semi-annual letter will be published in "Gute Nachrichten" twice a year in the 24 page issue. The first issue to have 24 pages instead of 16 will be the September-October 2004 issue.

August 9, 2004: 17 children and 9 adults from Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland attended the first summer camp hosted by UCOG and the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"]. Camp was in session from Tuesday, August 3 to Sunday, August 8 at a nature hostel in the woods in Oerlinghausen, near Bielefeld, Germany. Read more »

August 20, 2004: As of the end of July 2004, 63 students had completed the new Bible study course. Those students who receive an average score of 80% on their three tests receive a certificate of completion and are offered a sermon tape. 40% of those who successfully complete the course have ordered the tape, a sermon by UCOG President Paul Kieffer titled "The 2nd commandment".

September 2, 2004: In a test this summer to promote more personal contact with readers, 14 "Gute Nachrichten" subscribers living within a 10 mile radius of Heidelberg, Germany were invited via direct mail to an informal discussion with "Gute Nachrichten" staff member Albert Wilhelm and his wife Ursula, who live near Heidelberg. 5 of the readers have now responded positively to the offer, which will be repeated in other parts of Germany.

September 8, 2004: UCOG contributes funds for the purchase of a low power FM transmitter for use at the Feast of Tabernacles feast site in Schluchsee, Germany. The transmitter will be part of a new simultaneous translation system. Using the normal FM broadcast band for this service eliminates the need to use an expensive system that utilitzes infrared technology.

September 16, 2004: 133 people met at four locations for Feast of Trumpets worship services in the German-language area. 37 people met in Schriesheim near Heidelberg, and the attendance was 14 in Munich. 30 people from Germany and Switzerland met for a worship service in Regensdorf near Zürich, Switzerland. UCOG President Paul Kieffer spoke at a combined service for German and Dutch believers in Venlo, the Netherlands, near the German border. His sermon in German was translated simultaneously into Dutch by Anne Kristel Dekker.

September 23, 2004: The September-October issue of the Gute Nachrichten magazine was mailed today to 3876 subscribers in 18 countries in Europe. The new "Gute Nachrichten" features 24 pages, making it the first non-English "Good News" issue this size. UCOG contributed funds to help finance the extra printing costs for this issue.

October 3, 2004: 193 people representing 9 countries meet in Schluchsee in the southern Black Forest to observe the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. Guest speaker Gary Antion from Cincinnati, director of the "Ambassador Bible Center" (ABC), gives two sermons and presents three "Ambassador Bible Center" lectures during the Feast.

October 7, 2004: Feastgoers at the Schluchsee, Germany Feast of Tabernacles site donate $450 to the restricted "Media Center" fund for the Home Office of the United Church of God. The proposed "Media Center" was mentioned in the September issue of "Intern" and in the United Church of God annual video report shown during the feast.

October 15, 2004: UCOG processes Holy Day offerings from the Schluchsee, Germany Feast of Tabernacles site totaling $2260. UCOG will issue receipts for these donations, making it possible for U.S. visitors at the Schluchsee feast site to have a donation receipt for U.S. income tax purposes.

October 19, 2004: The United Church of God-Germany has placed on permanent loan to the Portuguese Work a state-of-the-art Sennheiser infrared wireless translation system, consisting of 30 infrared headphones, an infrared transmitter, an infrared broadcast element and other peripheral equipment. The equipment cost $6000 and was paid for by donations from UCG-Germany members. It will used at the Feast of Tabernacles site and at church services in Portugal.

October 30, 2004: An ad for the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is being run in two health magazines this fall. The ad "Bio" runs during the months of October and November, and the ad in "Reform Rundschau" will appear in November. The ad uses a quote from German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and asks the question "Why are you alive?".

November 3, 2004: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"] prints its 14th booklet, Die Kirche Jesu Christi: Wahrheit und Fälschung ["The Church Jesus Built"]. Instead of the English version's original smaller booklet size, the German booklet was typeset to magazine size, significantly reducing its thickness – an important consideration for mailing. UCOG contributed funds for the printing costs of the new booket.

November 8, 2004: The statistics for the fall Holy Day offerings have been finalized. On the Feast of Trumpets, the offering in the German-language region was 5588 €, a 13.9% increase over 2003. On the day of Atonement, the offering (4333 €) was an increase of 1.9% compared to last year. The offering at the Feast of Tabernacles in Schluchsee was 6.1% higher than last year at 8656 €, and on the Last Great Day the offering of 9405 € was 13.2% higher than last year. Overall, the total offering for the fall festivals increased 9.2% over 2003, and the total festival offerings for 2004 were 7.3% higher than last year.

November 17, 2004: The November-December issue of the Gute Nachrichten magazine was mailed today to 3977 subscribers in 18 countries in Europe. For the year 2004, the average number of "Gute Nachrichten" subscribers was 3985, a new high.

November 23, 2004: The labeling system for mailing the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine within Germany has been certified for use with the new automated address correction update implemented by the German postal service ["Deutsche Post AG"]. The new system takes effect in January 2005. The current manual system will be phased out at the end of the year. Those publishers wishing to use the new automated system with its electronic address correction notification are required to have their address labels certified for machine readability. The labels require strict adherence to formatting codes determined by the postal service. The programming and layout for the "Gute Nachrichten" labeling system were done by UCOG President Paul Kieffer.

December 1, 2004: With German being the most widely spoken 1st language within the EU, readers of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine live in 18 different European countries. This week a reader from France sent this comment: "Thank you for your magazine, especially the article about depression, which affects me. I also like the other articles and the interviews. I can read and speak German, although I don't write well. I am French and was born in Strasbourg."

December 7, 2004: For the first time, the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"] will advertize on the Internet to promote the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine. The first banner ad will be placed with a Christian website in Germany, and various search engines like google.de are under consideration for testing. Barbara Höffken from Berlin, who also does the web design for the "Gute Nachrichten" website, has prepared five variations of the banner ads now under consideration for the test. All five ads ask the question "What will the future bring?", and the third ad answers with the "Gute Nachrichten" subtitle, "Answers for today and tomorrow".

December 14, 2004: The third annual European young adults activity sponsored jointly by UCOG and the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"] will be held from July 7-10, 2005 in Mechernich, Germany, in the scenic Eifel region. The venue is close to the Belgian and Dutch borders and was formerly a grammar school complex and now provides hostel-style lodging, a spacious kitchen, conference rooms and athletic fields. Read more »

December 21, 2004: Members of the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"] begin distributing handmade greeting cards to support livelihood projects for believers in the Philippines.