January 3, 2007: 31,646 visitors from 39 countries visited the UCOG website in 2006 during its 3rd full year of operation with its new design and improved features. The number of visitors on the UCOG website during 2006 increased by 105 percent in comparison to 2005, and the amount of material downloaded increased by 125 percent.

January 5, 2007: Outgoing mail statistics for 2006 show a record total of 34,638 pieces of literature distributed in the German language, a 7.8 percent increase over 2005. The most requested booklets during 2006 were "Nach dem Tode – was dann?" ["What happens after death"] and "Amerika und Großbritannien: Was sagt die Bibel über ihre Zukunft?" ["The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy"].

January 15, 2007: The January-February issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is mailed to a record number of subscribers. The new issue has 4348 readers in 20 European countries, an 18 percent increase over January 2006. The lead article on the subject of Europe's future and demographics was written by UCOG President Paul Kieffer.

January 19, 2007: The Christian website www.glaube.de ["faith"] has requested permission from the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] to publish five "Intern" articles ["United News" in German] on its website. The website is maintained on a volunteer basis by people interesting in promoting Christian beliefs in Germany. Since the articles will be linked directly to the "Gute Nachrichten" website, the arrangement will be a source of free advertizing for our literature.

January 26, 2007: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes publishes its 17th booklet, "Die alles entscheidende Frage: Gibt es einen Gott" ["Does God Exist?"]. UCOG contributed funds to help pay the cost of printing the new booklet. In addition to its booklets, the Vereinte Kirche Gottes has already published the complete "Bible Study Course" in German.

February 2, 2007: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] publishes its fourth study paper on the Internet, Wann sollen wir das Pfingstfest halten? ["Pentecost and its Observance"]. Another study paper will be published in March, and nine other study papers are in various stages of the editing process.

February 6, 2007: In January 2007 a total of 9089 visitors were counted on the "Gute Nachrichten" website, 40 percent more than the previous monthly high. The most requested articles were "What is the holy spirit?" [171 requests], "Is adultery no longer a sin?" [154 requests] and "The 10 commandments in the New Testament" [111 requests].

February 11, 2007: 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 "The Middle East in Bible Prophecy".

March 7, 2007: The March-April issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is mailed to a record number of subscribers. The new issue has 4517 readers in 20 European countries, an 14 percent increase over March 2006. Included in the new 24 page issue is the semi-annual letter to "Gute Nachrichten" subscribers written by UCOG President Paul Kieffer.

March 19, 2007: The March-April issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is the first one to be mailed to regular subscribers in Germany without using a mailing envelope. Most magazines in Germany are sent this way. The annual savings by eliminating envelopes will be about 1000 € for the first year. Although some subscribers may cancel as a result, today a postal worker from a post office near Heidelberg ordered the magazine and some booklets after having seen "Gute Nachrichten" on its way to a subscriber.

March 31, 2007: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] publishes its fifth study paper on the Internet, Sollen Christen zur Wahl gehen? ["Voting and involvement in politics"]. Ten other study papers are in various stages of the editing process and are scheduled to be published within the next 12 months.

April 11, 2007: The attendance and offering statistics for Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the German-language region have been finalized. 94 people met at five locations to keep the Passover. On the first day of Unleavened Bread, 136 people attended services in four locations: Dormagen (47), Meersburg (55), Munich (12) and Schriesheim (22). The offering was 7729 €, a 8.7% increase compared to 2006. On the last day of Unleavened Bread, 131 people attended services in five locations: Dormagen (37), Hamburg (9), Munich (15), Schriesheim (30) and Winterthur in Switzerland (40). The offering (7156 €) increased 21.9% in comparison to 2006.

April 21, 2007: The advertizing campaign using Google "Adwords" continues to generate responses. The campaign began in November 2005. Since then, 1358 new subscribers have been added to the "Gute Nachrichten" mailing list at a cost of 1.84 € per response. Since November 2005, "impressions" (ads) for "Gute Nachrichten" were shown 6,110,438 times, bringing 72,093 extra visitors to the "Gute Nachrichten" website.

April 29, 2007: The special fundraiser to provide $3000 to help pay the printing costs for the German version of the 32 page booklet "The Middle East in Bible Prophecy" has reached 60 percent of its goal.

May 16, 2007: A website in Switzerland offering advice for women seeking to exit the lesbian lifestyle has requested permission to post the article "Understanding the Lesbian Client", published in the May-June 2006 issue of "Gute Nachrichten". The article will be made available in pdf format, and the reference to the source for the article will contain an active link to the "Gute Nachrichten" website.

May 18, 2007: The May-June issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is again mailed to a record number of subscribers. The new issue has 4647 readers in 20 European countries, an 14.5 percent increase over May 2006. The UCG-Germany editorial team wrote the lead article on the subject of Germany's plan to increase the capacity of its daycare centers nationwide.

May 25, 2007: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] announces a special combined Sabbath service on June 23, 2007 in Dormagen, Germany. UCG Media Operations employees Peter Eddington and Clay Thornton will visit Germany to shoot footage for this year's UCG festival film and to conduct interviews with members after the church service in Dormagen. UCG-Germany and UCG-Holland members will attend, and a small group of UCG members from Lüttich (Belgium) has also been invited to attend and enjoy a potluck meal after the service.

May 29, 2007: Statistics for the Feast of Pentecost have been finalized. 146 people met in six locations in the German-language region: Berlin (8), Dormagen (38), Hamburg (12), Munich (16), Schriesheim (29) and Regensdorf in Switzerland (43). The offering in the German-language region was 9574 €, a 44 percent increase compared to 2006. The total offering for the 3 spring Holy Days (Unleavened Bread, Pentecost) was 24.8 percent higher than last year.

June 1, 2007: The special fundraiser to provide $3000 to help pay the printing costs for the German version of the 32 page booklet "The Middle East in Bible Prophecy" 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 18th booklet published by the VKG when it is printed.

June 8, 2007: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] has completed a 3 year project to put all "Intern" [German version of "United News"] articles as HTML documents on the web. Since "Intern" is published monthly, there was a backlog of articles dating back to January 1999. With the completion of this project, the "Gute Nachrichten" website now offers over 500 articles in HTML format.

June 18, 2007: After seeing an article on the "Gute Nachrichten" website about the health benefits of quitting smoking, a website in Germany dedicated to helping smokers kick the habit contacted the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] to suggest sharing resources for the common goal of promoting better health. As a result, the "Gute Nachrichten" website will provide a corresponding link in its articles on smoking.

June 23, 2007: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] hosted a special combined Sabbath service in Dormagen, Germany for 62 people from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Peter Eddington from UCG Media Operations in Cincinnati gave a split sermon on hope, and UCOG President Paul Kieffer gave a split sermon on the economic and religious influence of end-time Babylon. After services, the group enjoyed a potluck meal, and Peter and UCG media employee Clay Thornton conducted interviews with 20 UCG-Germany and UCG-Holland members.

July 1, 2007: In June the number of visitors on the "Gute Nachrichten" website exceeded 10,000 for the first time. The monthly total was 11,977 visitors, about 22 percent more than in May and about 35 percent higher than in June 2006.

July 4, 2007: United Christian Outreach Germany announces a special fundraiser to provide $1000 as festival assistance for Mnazakan Poghossjan to attend this year's Feast of Tabernacles in Schluchsee, Germany. Mr. Poghassjan is the only member of the church in Armenia.

July 13, 2007: The July-August issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is again mailed to a record number of subscribers. The new issue has 4715 readers in 20 European countries, an 14.5 percent increase over July 2006. This year's circulation goal of 5000 subscribers by the end of 2007 is now within reach.

July 19, 2007: United Christian Outreach Germany was unsuccessful in an attempt to purchase the internet domain "www.gutenachrichten.de". The domain owner informed UCOG that the price would be in the five-figure range. UCOG owns the domains "gutenachrichten.at" (Austria), "gutenachrichten.ch" (Switzerland) and "gutenachrichten.eu" (European Union), which all point to the main domain name www.gutenachrichten.org.

August 1, 2007: In July the number of visitors on the "Gute Nachrichten" website exceeded 13,000 for the first time. The monthly total was 13,007 visitors, 8.6 percent more than June's record total and an increase of 275 percent in comparison to July 2006.

August 5, 2007: 12 children and 5 adults from four congregations in Germany attended the 4th annual summer camp hosted by UCOG and the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["United Church of God-Germany"]. Camp was in session from Wednesday, August 1 to Sunday, August 5 at a nature hostel in the woods in Oerlinghausen, near Bielefeld, Germany. Read more »

August 11, 2007: Mnazakan Poghossjan, the only member of the United Church of God in Armenia, has obtained his visa for travel to Germany from the German embassy in Yerevan to attend this year's Feast of Tabernacles in Schluchsee. Instead of having a private person invite Mr. Poghossjan (as was done the last two years), the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] was the sponsor for this year's visa application, which helped to expedite the process.

August 16, 2007: Since starting its MP3 sermon program in January 2006, the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] has placed 22 sermons in MP3 format on the United Church of God website. In July 2007 these sermons were downloaded 2438 times. More sermons will be added in the future.

August 23, 2007: United Christian Outreach Germany's fundraiser has reached its goal to provide $1000 for airfare and visa expenses for United Church of God member Mnazakan Poghossjan 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 is currently unemployed. He has a new job starting in September and will earn about 35 € ($45) a month. Without additional help, he would never be able to attend a UCG Feast site.

September 3, 2007: As part of its bimonthly MP3 sermon program for members, the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] is distributing the first Bible Study in a series on the book of Acts, recorded by United Church of God elder Matt Fenchel. Matt lives in the greater Cincinnati area and served several years in Germany.

September 12, 2007: The September-October
issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is again mailed to a record number of subscribers. The new issue has 4855 readers in 20 European countries, an 15.4 percent increase over September 2006. This year's circulation goal of 5000 subscribers by the end of 2007 is within reach.

September 14, 2007: 174 people met at five locations in the German-language region for church services yesterday on the Feast of Trumpets. In Venlo (in the Netherlands near the German border) the attendance was 80 at a combined service of UCG-Holland and the Dormagen, Germany congregation. 27 people met in Schriesheim (near Heidelberg), and 44 were in attendance in Winterthur, Switzerland. In Munich the attendance was 12, and 11 people attended the afternoon service in Hamburg.

September 24, 2007: The offering statistics for the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement in the German-language region have been finalized. The offering on the Feast of Trumpets was 7022 €, 0.6 percent less than last year. The offering (5458 €) on the Day of Atonement increased 6.5 percent in comparison to 2006.

October 2, 2007: 98,962 visitors from 41 countries visited the "Gute Nachrichten" website in the 12 month period ending September 30, 2007, a 96 percent increase over the previous 12 month period. The volume of data downloaded increased by 36.4 percent during the 12 month comparison period.

October 5, 2007: 217 people from 14 countries meet in Schluchsee in the southern Black Forest to observe the biblical Feast of Tabernacles. This year's guest speaker in Schluchsee was Robert Berendt from Canada, a member of of the UCG Council of Elders. Mr. Berendt gave one sermon in English and another in German. Read more »

October 10, 2007: The offering statistics for the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day in the German-language region have been finalized. The offering on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles was 11,517 €, 33.6 percent more than last year. The offering (12,152 €) on the Last Great Day increased 28.9 percent in comparison to 2006. The total offering on the seven annual Holy Days in 2007 was 21.8 percent higher than last year.

October 18, 2007: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] publishes its sixth study paper on the Internet, Sind unsere Kinder berufen? ["Are our children called now?"]. Two more study papers will be published in November, and several other study papers are in various stages of the editing process.

October 29, 2007: The "Gute Nachrichten" magazine and website are listed in the "Banger" annual directory of publishers and publications in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The annual listing provides researchers data about the magazine, number of subscribers, contact information, etc. "Gute Nachrichten" has been listed in the directory every year for the last seven years.

November 5, 2007: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes publishes its 18th booklet, "Krisenherd Nahost: Was sagt die Bibel über seine Zukunft?" ["Middle East in Prophecy"]. UCOG contributed funds to help pay the cost of printing the new booklet. In addition to these 18 booklets, the Vereinte Kirche Gottes has also published the 12 lesson "Bible Study Course" in German.

November 11, 2007: Two years ago today the Vereinte Kirche Gottes [UCG-Germany] started its advertizing campaign using Google "Adwords". Since then, 1955 new subscribers have been added to the "Gute Nachrichten" mailing list at a cost of 2 € per response. Since November 2005, "impressions" (ads) for "Gute Nachrichten" were shown 12,344,673 times, bringing 106,283 extra visitors to the "Gute Nachrichten" website. In the coming weeks the Google campaign will be expanded to include all available German booklets.

November 19, 2007: The November-December issue of the "Gute Nachrichten" magazine is again mailed to a record number of subscribers. The new issue has 4962 readers in 20 European countries, a 2.2 percent increase over the September issue and a 17.2 percent increase over November 2006. This year's circulation goal is 5000 subscribers by the end of December.

November 28, 2007: For the first time, the number of "Gute Nachrichten" subscribers has topped the 5000 mark. With the latest subscription requests, there are now 5004 subscribers. UCOG is currently the only organization providing direct funding to assist the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] in its publishing efforts.

December 3, 2007: The Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] publishes its seventh study paper on the Internet, Eheschließungen mit Andersgläubigen ["Marrying Outside the Faith"]. Several other study papers are in various stages of the editing process.

December 14, 2007: 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 "Creation or Evolution?".

December 16, 2007: At its final meeting of the year today, the National Council of the Vereinte Kirche Gottes ["UCG-Germany"] approved hiring editorial staff member Jesmina Allaoua on a full-time basis as of January 1, 2008. Jesmina has been employed part-time since January 2000.