March 29, 2021
In Sugarcreek, Ohio, elder John Miller, partially affected but also motivated by the COVID-19 challenge, has innovatively used the pandemic to find ways to reach his community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He organized a new Feast of Tabernacles site in neighboring Berlin and explains this in a podcast with Victor Kubik at
Because of new people curious about the United Church of God, John Miller started a Bible Study series at his home in Sugarcreek and invited the people that came to the Berlin Feast of Tabernacles as well as others who heard about us on social media and radio interviews with John Miller. Several people have been keeping the Sabbath for years and had not found a home. There are four new families and many children.
Here are the topics of the Bible Studies along with attendances:
Date, Topic , Attendance
January 1: “It is a Sign between Me and You” 28
January 15: “Then God blessed the Seventh Day and Sanctified it” 32
January 29: “The Sabbath was Made for Man” 36
February 12: “There remains a Sabbath-rest for the people of God” 38
February 26: “Christ our Passover is Sacrificed for us” 28 (two families were out of town)
March 12: “Let us keep the Feast with the Unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth”
Notable Highlights:
1) Several had never heard of Beyond Today and United Church of God and are now subscribers.
2) Several asked where to send their tithes.
3) The families are looking for fellowship with Sabbath-keepers for their kids.
4) We have encouraged them to apply for United Youth Camp and expect that they will follow through.
5) Some are discussing baptism and several others are moving in that direction. The topic of taking the Passover has come up in this context.
6) They are inviting other friends with Sabbath-keeping interests.
7) At the last study two Amish Adventists came for the first time.
8) The discussion about the timing of Passover and Christ resurrections at the last study went on till 11:00 PM
9) They want the Bible Study series to continue and want to participate in celebrating the Days of Unleavened Bread so the program has been extended until Pentecost
10) One of the consistent attendees offered his event building for Night to Be and Days of Unleavened bread.
There is a desire in our area to come out of the bondage of tradition hence the title “Finding Freedom With the Feasts of the Lord.” However, leaving tradition is very hard and the culture is inherently against "new things" and new beliefs.
Then, here is John Miller’s update about “The Night to be Much Observed,” in Sugarcreek which had 42 in attendance shown in the photo gallery."
On the First Days of Unleavened Bread there were 66 in attendance with about 17 children under 15). Twenty-five of those in attendance are new from the Berlin FOT and have been coming to our Bibles Studies. They are basically five families, plus kids and grandparents. One family is formerly Amish. All of them have been keeping the Sabbath in some form for up to six years. They are well-grounded in what they believe. For example, one of the mothers asked me last evening how to count Pentecost this year because she had made scratch-off cards for her children to count and knew that you count from the “morrow after the Sabbath” and realized that this year it is not obvious which Sabbath to use to start counting. I sent her the link on our website.
We were very grateful that Corbin & Kur Rose and Jessica Hendrickson were able to come and provide special music. It was very positively received. Coincidently, one of the pieces they did turn out to be our host's favorite song. He was very moved by it. The positive impression that these young people made on those who are new was crucial. Jessica has a demeanor that is especially endearing.
There are probably 25 more that did not come that were invited. We will see how many show for the seminars, which may be less intimating for our culture than a service.
We appreciated our gracious hosts. I may have to impose a curfew because I found out that several of the new families stayed and talked till 1:00 AM this morning and then were back for services at 10:00 AM. Our host was one of those who stayed up, so it was not a problem in his mind, but I spoke with him and his wife Hannah said there is a “time to come” and a “time to leave.”
So that is where it is at moment. I need to get to work on the seminar for tomorrow night entitled "The Call to Come Out of Bondage." We will be using the plagues of Egypt article and the latest Beyond Today as handouts.
- John Miller
