January 2, 2006: United Christian Outreach Germany announces a special fundraiser to provide $3000 to help pay the printing costs for the German version of the 32 page booklet "Does God Exist?".

January 9, 2006: 15,474 visitors from 21 countries visited the UCOG website in 2005 during its 2nd full year of operation with its new design and improved features. During 2005 the website registered 325,915 hits. The number of visitors on the UCOG website during 2005 increased by 327 percent in comparison to 2004.

January 16, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] introduces its new MP3 sermon program on CD-ROM. Instead of distributing two cassette tapes per month to members, MP3 CDs will be distributed every other month. Using CDs reduces the time required for duplicating sermons by about 75 percent. Take a look at the MP3 CD sermon label for first CD distributed this month.

February 1, 2006: United Church of God President Clyde Kilough visits Germany and has a tour of the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] office in Niederkassel-Mondorf. On the Sabbath he speaks to 75 brethren from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Read more »

February 15, 2006: An official review of the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] payroll accounting records for the years 2001-2004 by the "Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte", Germany's federal insurance agency for social security payments, results in unqualified approval. The required review takes place every four years. Although not a full examination of all accounting records, a review resulting in unqualified approval indicates that all salary and benefit payments were made accurately, completely and in full accordance with German law.

February 17, 2006: Outgoing mail statistics for 2005 show a total of 32,835 pieces of literature distributed in the German language. In addition to the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine, over 3600 copies of Intern ["United News" in German] were mailed to subscribers. With 364 subscribers, the circulation of "Intern" now accounts for about 9% of the "Gute Nachrichten" mailing list. In addition, more than 3600 booklets were mailed during 2005. The most requested booklets were "Das Geheimnis Ihrer Existenz" ["What is Your Destiny?"] and the new booklet "Amerika und Großbritannien: Was sagt die Bibel über ihre Zukunft?" ["The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy"].

February 21, 2006: As part of a regular direct mail program, 164 subscribers of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine receive a renewal letter with an offer to continue their subscription. Last year 3759 direct mail offers were sent. There are 14,662 names in the "Gute Nachrichten" subscriber database (current and former subscribers). Take a look at an outline of the renewal program used for maintaining the "Gute Nachrichten" subscription list.

February 23, 2006: The special fundraiser to provide $3000 to help pay the printing costs for the German version of the booklet "Does God Exist?" has reached 60 percent of its goal.

March 7, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] opens a bank account in Switzerland. Having a Swiss bank account makes it much more convenient for "Gute Nachrichten" subscribers and members of the United Church of God in Switzerland to donate. Up to now, anyone residing in Switzerland had to initiate a foreign bank transfer to Germany to make a donation. "Gute Nachrichten" subscribers and members of the United Church of God in Switzerland will be informed about the new account.

March 10, 2006: In the four months since the start of the advertizing campaign using Google "Adwords", 500 new subscribers have been added to the "Gute Nachrichten" mailing list at a cost of 1.70 € per response. During this time, "impressions" (ads) for "Gute Nachrichten" were shown 1,321,998 times, bringing 21,686 extra visitors to the "Gute Nachrichten" website.

March 17, 2006: The March-April issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is mailed to 3959 readers in 20 European countries, a 7.4 percent increase over the previous issue. The 24 page magazine features articles on the "Intelligent Design" and "Evolution vs. Creation" themes and includes a "Letters to the Editor" section and a letter from UCOG President Paul Kieffer to "Gute Nachrichten" subscribers. The goal for "Gute Nachrichten" circulation is 5000 subscribers by the end of 2006.

March 23, 2006: At their annual board meeting, UCOG directors (from left) Scott Thomas, John Burquist and Paul Kieffer approved a plan to provide support for producing a new hymnal in the German language for use in worship services. In addition, the board approved exploring the possibility of providing some financial support for a qualified applicant from the German-language region for the 2007 session of the "Ambassador Bible Center" in Cincinnati, Ohio.

March 31, 2006: After reviewing financial information provided by UCOG for its initial trial period (which ended on December 31, 2005), the United States Internal Revenue Service has confirmed the 501(c)(3) status of United Christian Outreach Germany. With this permanent ruling, UCOG remains exempt from federal income tax and may continue to accept donations which are tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes in the United States of America.

April 5, 2006: Mnazakan Poghassjan, the only member of the United Church of God in Armenia, writes an email to UCOG President Paul Kieffer with some personal news: "We named my son Arman, who was born on March 18, 2006. My wife and the child are doing well." Mr. Poghassjan speaks fluent German and receives pastoral care from the Vereinte Kirche Gottes [UCG-Germany].

April 6, 2006: United Christian Outreach Germany's special fundraiser to provide $3000 to help pay the printing costs for the German version of the 32 page booklet "Does God exist?" is now fully funded. The booklet has already been translated and checked for language style by members of the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"]. It is in the final stages of editing and will be the 17th booklet published by the VKG when it is printed in the 2nd half of the year.

April 18, 2006: As part of a project on "Religious Diversity" in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany's largest state, the University of Bochum will provide information on 250 Christian churches, including the Vereinte Kirche Gottes [UCG-Germany]. The project will be published via the Internet in May 2006. Read more »

May 1, 2006:The statistics for Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread have been finalized. 101 people met in the German-language region to keep the Passover. On the first day of Unleavened Bread, 132 people attended services in four locations: Haan-Gruiten (48), Munich (10), Schriesheim (29) and Winterthur in Switzerland (45). The offering in the German-language region was 7108 €, a 11.1% decrease compared to 2005. On the last day of Unleavened Bread, 112 people attended services in four locations: Cologne-Porz (42), Munich (13), Schriesheim (29) and Winterthur in Switzerland (28). The offering (5870 €) increased 1.2% in comparison to 2005.

May 11, 2006: Six months ago today marked the start of the advertizing campaign using Google "Adwords". Since November 11, 2005 700 new subscribers have been added to the "Gute Nachrichten" mailing list at a cost of 1.84 € per response. During this six month perid, "impressions" (ads) for "Gute Nachrichten" were shown 1,868,016 times, bringing 31,597 extra visitors to the "Gute Nachrichten" website. The advertizing campaign will be expanded in the coming weeks to include the "Yahoo" search engine.

May 16, 2006: The May-June issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is mailed to 4071 readers in 20 European countries, a 2.8 percent increase over the previous issue. For the first time, a "Readers ask, we answer" column was included to answer questions from subscribers. The first question answered was about Jesus' view of homosexuality. Including former readers, the "Gute Nachrichten" database now contains 15,088 subscriber records.

June 1, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"] provides typesetting for the new Dutch booklet "God's Holy Days", published by UCG-Holland. The booklet will be printed next week in Bonn at Köllen Druck & Verlag where the German "Good News" is printed. The Vereinte Kirche Gottes is also providing typesetting for the 12 lesson Bible Study Course in Dutch.

June 8, 2006: Statistics for the Feast of Pentecost have been finalized. 123 people met in five locations in the German-language region: Berlin (8), Haan-Gruiten (44), Munich (12), Schriesheim (29) and Winterthur in Switzerland (30). The offering in the German-language region was 6620 €, a 4.8 percent increase compared to 2005. The total offering for the 3 spring Holy Days (Unleavened Bread, Pentecost) was 2.6 percent less than last year.

June 15, 2006: With the introduction its new MP3 sermon program at the start of the year, the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] is now able to offer MP3 sermons on the Internet for interested readers of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine, in response to requests made by subscribers. The first eight sermons are now available on the VKG website.

June 22, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] publishes "Die apokalyptischen Reiter", a special reprint issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine on the subject of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The five articles in the special issue were originally published in "Gute Nachrichten" during 2004 and 2005, and the last article was lengthened to four pages. The special reprint will be promoted for the first time in the July-August issue of "Gute Nachrichten".

July 10, 2006: Only 9 days after being established, United Christian Outreach Germany's special fundraiser has reached its goal to provide $600 for airfare for United Church of God member Mnazakan Poghassjan to attend this year's Feast of Tabernacles in Schluchsee, Germany. Mr. Poghassjan is the only member of the church in Armenia. He speaks fluent German, and his monthly salary is equivalent to about 40 € ($50). Without additional help, he would never be able to attend a UCG Feast site.

July 14, 2006: The Juli-August issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is mailed to 4116 readers in 20 European countries, a 1.1 percent increase over the previous issue and a 5.6 percent increase over July 2005. The new issue features two articles on grieving and coping with death, complementing the ongoing Internet advertizing campaign using Google "Adwords".

July 22, 2006: HTML versions of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine for all issues since January 1999 are now available on the German page of the United Church of God website. The HTML version is offered for each of these issues in addition to the standard PDF version.

August 1, 2006: A "Gute Nachrichten" subscriber from Stuttgart, Germany writes: "I am excited about your magazine 'Gute Nachrichten' and especially your reprint issue 'Die apokalyptischen Reiter' ['The apocalyptic horsemen'] and the editorial on page 2. I love America. I spent 1.5 years as a prisoner-of-war in U.S. hands (from 1944-1946) and it was the nicest phase of my life."

August 9, 2006: 14 children and 9 adults from Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland attended the 3rd annual summer camp hosted by UCOG and the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"]. Camp was in session from Wednesday, August 2 to Monday, August 7 at a nature hostel in the woods in Oerlinghausen, near Bielefeld, Germany. Read more »

August 16, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] has started using the "Yahoo!" search engine for its internet advertizing in addition to using Google "Adwords". The first responses from "Yahoo!" have already been received. Since mid-November 2005 Google "Adwords" advertizing has generated 852 orders for the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

August 30, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] reprints the booklet "Das Reich Gottes – eine gute Nachricht" ["The Gospel of the Kingdom"], making it the 8th booklet to be reprinted. Since January 2001, the Vereinte Kirche Gottes has invested $185,000 in printing costs for preaching the true gospel in the German-language region.

September 12, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes will invite "Gute Nachrichten" and "Intern" [German version of "United News"] subscribers to attend services on Sunday, October 8, 2006 during the Feast of Tabernacles in Schluchsee. UCOG President Paul Kieffer will deliver the main sermon. The subject of his sermon, titled "The 2nd Exodus", is being announced to subscribers.

September 21, 2006: The September-October issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is mailed to 4207 readers in 20 European countries, a 2.2 percent increase over the previous issue and a 7.4 percent increase over September 2005. The new issue features three articles on the Noachian flood and also has the semi-annual letter from UCOG President Paul Kieffer.

September 25, 2006: 170 people met at five locations in the German-language region for church services on the Feast of Trumpets, September 23. In Venlo (in the Netherlands near the German border) the attendance was 78 at a combined service of UCG-Holland and the Dormagen, Germany congregation. 31 people met in Schriesheim (near Heidelberg), and 38 were in attendance in Winterthur, Switzerland. In Munich the attendance was 12, and 11 people were at the first ever UCG Holy Day service in Hamburg.

September 29, 2006: As part of its ongoing speaker evaluation program, the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] has asked Dr. Philip Aust, Assistant Professor of Communication at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia, to evaluate the German-language speakers at this year's Feast of Tabernacles in Schluchsee. For his evaluations Dr. Aust has agreed to use the evaluation form developed by the Vereinte Kirche Gottes and used by its members in evaluating elders and other speakers who give sermons at church services.

October 2, 2006: 50,435 visitors from 41 countries visited the "Gute Nachrichten" website in the 12 month period ending September 30, 2006, a 60 percent increase over the previous 12 month period. The number of "hits" increased by 205 percent during the 12 month comparison period.

October 19, 2006: 165 people from 7 countries meet in Schluchsee in the southern Black Forest to observe the biblical Feast of Tabernacles. This year's guest speaker in Schluchsee was former UCG President Roy Holladay. In addition to his sermons, Mr. Holladay also presented two seminars on developing leaders for the church's future. Read more »

October 22, 2006: During the Feast of Tabernacles in Schluchsee a brief presentation highlighted the first ten years of the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"]. The church was officially registered on August 13, 1996. Take a look at the Powerpoint presentation (1.1 MB) shown during the anniversary.

October 28, 2006: The statistics for the fall Holy Day offerings have been finalized. On the Feast of Trumpets, the offering in the German-language region was 7066 € (36.4% more than in 2005). On the day of Atonement, the offering (5124 €) was a decrease of 2.7% compared to last year. The offering at the Feast of Tabernacles in Schluchsee was 0.2% less than last year at 8605 €, and on the Last Great Day the offering of 9410 € was 11.6% lower than last year. Overall, the total offering for the fall festivals increased 1.6% over 2005, and the total festival offerings for 2006 were 0.1% lower than last year.

November 10, 2006: The November-December issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is mailed to 4234 readers in 20 European countries, a 24.5 percent increase over November 2005. 364 "Gute Nachrichten" subscribers also receive "Intern" ["United News" in German], representing 8.6 percent of the total GN circulation. "Intern" is offered regularly to those subscribers who have been receiving "Gute Nachrichten" for at least four years.

November 16, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] publishes its first study paper on the Internet, Prinzipien des Sabbathaltens ["Principles of Sabbath Observance"]. Two more study papers are completed and will be posted soon, and several other papers are in various stages of the editing process.

December 2, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] publishes its second study paper on the Internet, Der hebräische Kalender – eine Zusammenfassung ["Summary of the Hebrew Calendar"]. Several other papers are in various stages of the editing process.

December 13, 2006: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] publishes its third study paper on the Internet, Das neutestamentliche Passa ["The New Testament Passover"]. Two more study papers are scheduled for publication on the internet by the end of March 2007.