A Survey of Feast Administration
Author: Nathan Kroon | Student Leader, Living Education – Charlotte, 2022-23
Estimated Reading Time: 3 min.
Mr. Rod McNair took the opportunity to share a little bit about what goes on in the world of Feast Administration.
The Church has experienced some new developments this past Fall Holy Day season, and he was eager to explain them to the students. On multiple graphs, Mr. McNair showed record-breaking statistics that the Living Church of God achieved in 2022. On the Festival Survey, there were more first-time Feast attendees than ever—many people have come into the Church through the efforts of the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
International or Local?
Mr. McNair listed the benefits of traveling internationally as well as the benefits of traveling locally. There was a considerable increase in transfer requests in comparison to last year, though that was mainly due to COVID-19 being more normalized in the United States today. Perhaps the most obvious benefit to traveling internationally is that you get to see new sights that you may not be used to. Another benefit is experiencing the customs of other cultures and seeing what traditions international members have during the Feast of Tabernacles. Some sites, like Myanmar, have not yet been able to hold any Feast activities since the COVID panic. One advantage of traveling locally, however, is that you may have a better idea of how to serve others in the area and help your local pastor. Mr. McNair suggested that if you mostly travel locally, it could be rewarding to go international, and vice versa.
Multiple Miracles
There were also many instances in which God granted protection to several Feastgoers. Most notably, He allowed hurricane Ian to pass over four southeastern US locations in which there were Feast venues, without any sort of damage or harm inflicted upon the brethren. On top of that, during the middle of church services while Mr. Kenneth Frank presented his sermon, a tornado nearly missed the site in Fontana, Wisconsin. Also, a married couple attending the Lake of the Ozarks feast site avoided death when their car fell into a heavily wooded ravine; when it seemed like they were about to crash into a large tree at a high speed, the car came to an improbable slow-down, and they were stopped by a younger, much smaller tree. Afterwards, they recalled that they introduced the ambulance driver to the Tomorrow’s World telecast. These examples and others made it clear that God was watching over His Feast sites!
Through this forum, the students were given some insight on what goes on in Feast Administration. They also saw what statistics those working in the Festival Department pay attention to, such as new attendees, transfer requests, and possible concerns and circumstances in which God intervened.
Nathan Kroon is a Student Leader at Living Education. He originally hails from Washington State and is a 4th generation Christian. Currently, he works at Headquarters as a Video Editor and is the Lead Landscaper at the LivingEd dorms. His hobbies include playing guitar, listening to music, drawing, and watching movies.
