Springtime often brings severe weather to my home state of Oklahoma. The past two or three days have seen a major outbreak of tornadoes and large hail in the state’s mid-section.

Yesterday, the city of Moore, just south of Oklahoma City, suffered a monster twister that flattened a wide swath several miles long through the middle of town. This morning’s news has lowered the reported number of deaths to around 24, with many of those being students in an elementary school.

One day before the ferocious storm in Moore, the city of Shawnee and surrounding areas were hit by several twisters, and the home of Elder and Mrs. Vernon Dickinson sustained major damage. Thankfully, neither Vernon nor Diana were injured.

We are unsure whether any Church homes were directly hit in Moore. In any case, the General Conference will send from its Disaster Relief Fund to assist the efforts of compassion and restoration around Central Oklahoma.

It is too early for a complete report on the impact of this round of violent weather upon our many Oklahoma brethren, or on exactly how our Disaster Relief will be routed. However, it is not too early to assure them that they are in our prayers and that their pains and losses will not be forgotten by the Church.

Accordingly, contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund are invited and encouraged. You may do so immediately on our website (cog7.org/giving, under the Missions category), or by mail at the address at the bottom of this email.

With Hope and Trust in Him,

Calvin Burrell
Director, GC Missions

Note: If you’d like to receive the Conference News newsletter with periodic updates such as this one, you may subscribe here.

Additional Resources

There are many organizations aiding the disaster relief effort in Oklahoma. Visit the OKStrong website for a list.

Hotel Information

Hilton Omaha
1001 Cass Street, Omaha, NE 68102
Telephone: 1-402-998-3400
Website: Hilton Omaha (this is not the room reservation website)

Omaha Visitor Information

You will find plenty of information on our registration website, but the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau has put together a website customized for our visit in July. Go to www.visitomaha.com/cog7 and check it out. You can find an Omaha Visitor Guide, some suggestions for things to do, restaurant listings, and more.

Contact Information

E-mail Correspondence: convention2013@cog7.org
Phone: 303-452-7973 (General Conference office)

Complete Price List

Registration Fees

Children three and under are free. The deadline for early registration is April 30, 2013. The online registration system will be available up to the convention, and personnel will be available at the registration desk during the convention to assist with changes, meal purchases, or new registrations.

Room Rate

The General Conference discounted room rate at Hilton Omaha is $89/night + tax, and is valid for rooms reserved for June 29 through July 7, 2013. The special room rate will be available until June 10th or until the group block is sold-out, whichever comes first. The link, phone number, and group code for room reservations will be presented during the convention registration process.

Meals

Please consider buying meal tickets. We have a beautiful hotel and meeting space with very reasonable room rates. The meeting space is included in our contract as long as we meet the hotel’s minimum meal sales. If everyone purchases at least three meal tickets we should meet that minimum requirement. We strive to keep registration fees as low as possible. We know some individuals and families cannot afford to purchase meal tickets so if you can, please consider buying tickets for several meals or the whole week! Meal packages are available that include breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the hotel.

Ready to register? Click the button below to begin.
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On behalf of the General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day), President Whaid Rose, the board of directors, and the 2013 General Conference Convention Committee, we would like to invite you to join us for an exciting Biennial General Conference Convention, July 1–6, 2013, in the heartland of America—Omaha, Nebraska.

“Unity in the Spirit” will be our theme for the week. Our prayer is that we will live that theme throughout as we share meals together, attend devotions, study the Bible, conduct Church business, attend worship services, laugh together, and pray together!

An exciting program is being planned for all ages!

Whether you fly in to the Omaha airport and take the free shuttle to the hotel (which is less than 10 minutes from the hotel) or whether you drive in and enjoy the free parking at the hotel, we think you’ll enjoy the convenience. The facilities are beautiful, and evening and weekend worship services are just a walk across an air-conditioned skywalk to the CenturyLink Convention Center.

You may register online by clicking here. Register early and save money! Early bird registration ends April 30, 2013. After you register for Convention, be sure to reserve your room at the hotel. You may reserve online or by calling 1-800-HILTONS (1-800-445-8667).

We hope to see you there!

Blessings,
Elroy Jr. (Nugget) and Sue Gold
2013 Convention Co-Directors

Convention Information

If you would like some of the details before you begin your registration, check the Convention Information page for location and pricing information.

Register Now

“How I delight in your commands! How I love them!” (Psalm 119:47 NLT).

God’s Word has life-giving power. But the busyness in today’s world gets in the way of consistent daily Bible reading, making the Word of God an untapped spiritual resource for many Christians. There’s new help from Tyndale House Publishers. Tyndale’s REFLECT resources guide believers through the entire Bible in one year in 15 minutes of Bible reading per day, using any version of the Bible. REFLECT offers a one-year Bible reading guide, and resources for a weekly small group discussion.

Tyndale’s REFLECT initiative is endorsed by Whaid Rose and is recommended to General Conference members and congregations as a worthy spiritual endeavor for 2013.

Registration is required for free download of REFLECT resources from www.reflectps119.com. The One-Year Bible associated with REFLECT resources will be offered for purchase (without obligation).

REFLECT resources include monthly poster, weekly reading guide, weekly discussion guide, and leader’s guide.

• Growth in Latin America. Argentina, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Uruguay came to congress in force, while Chile, Paraguay, and Venezuela were received as new members. Now the IMC or CoG7 missions exist throughout Central America and in eleven of thirteen nations in South America.
• Nigeria’s presence and participation. A delegation of five from this largest IMC member conference raised its influence to new levels. Nigeria will host a Pan-African CoG7 conference in December 2012. Ten more IMC nation-members in Africa did not attend this congress due to travel restrictions or financial factors.
• Our UK hosts. This congress in the United Kingdom marked the first time it met outside Mexico or the US. More than 500 folks from the British Conference joined us for a Sabbath of energetic celebration (August 25). Their generous cooperation in hosting this event is warmly appreciated.
• Seven world zones all present. Beyond those mentioned earlier, two delegates came from India, three from Australia, and one from The Philippines, plus delegations from Canada, France, Italy, Jamaica, Portugal, Spain, and the US.
• “Unity Within Diversity.” Congress delegates and observers heard presentations on this theme, then raised their voices to reflect, discuss, and apply its truth—in Christ—to the Church of God (Seventh Day) scattered abroad.

Enrique Vega, delegate from Chile, warmed our hearts as he reported that church’s change from seven weeping Christian brothers, thinking themselves the only ones, to a group celebrating their unity with thousands of other likeminded believers in dozens of nations. This happened in just two days, as they became aware of CoG7 and IMC through contact with our member conference in Italy!

Gustavo Hultgren, delegate from Argentina, told how CoG7 was planted in Paraguay. Due to a wide river between them, it had been difficult for Argentinians to evangelize their Paraguayan neighbors. Then someone built a bridge, and the gospel flowed freely across that river separating two nations!

Similar things happened at the congress near London, August 25–29, 2012. Bridges were built. Brethren in places that were previously unconnected became aware of others just like them (in faith and love), yet different from them (in many details). The gospel bridged our diversity. Our unity in Christ was affirmed, broadcast, and celebrated!

The Conference Tour is a free, all-day event, and everyone is invited. Three services on Sabbath and a worker’s reception on Sunday morning will give us opportunity to come together as a united General Conference. Enjoy worship together as a regional church family. Hear inspiring messages from Conference President Whaid Rose and LifeSpring Dean of Academic Affairs Israel Steinmetz. Participate in the discussion during a Town Hall-style dialogue Q&A session, led by Samuel Holland (Board of Directors) and Darrel Walters (layman). Area church workers and leaders will be hosted at a private reception for further inspiration and dialogue.

Join us for this inspirational and informative day at a location near you.

Tour Stops and Dates

New Features

Online Store

The major new feature of our website is an online store. You may now use this convenient store to place your orders and make payment immediately. It is going to take us a while to get all of our publications and products added to the store, so we thank you for your patience. Of course, you may still phone in your orders, but we encourage you to use the online store to help us process your orders more efficiently.

Featured Articles

Our featured articles will be selected and posted to provide inspiration, information, and Biblical instruction. This will not replace the Bible Advocate magazine or Churchright newsletter, but is intended to expand the resources available to you to enhance your Christian walk and service.

News

Our news section will have timely information about the events and activities of the General Conference, as well as broader topics that impact or are relevant to Christians in North America.

Revamped Features

Find A Church

Another exciting feature is our revamped Find A Church application. You can now search by ZIP code, city, state, or church name. You will find a map, which can also provide driving directions, and contact information, including the church’s address, phone number, website, email address—and anything else we have that we can share.