Живая Церковь Бога: История и Развитие

One of several groups that formed after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong

The Living Church of God (LCG) is one of several groups that formed after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong, when major doctrinal changes (causing turmoil and divisions) were occurring in the former Worldwide Church of God (WCG) during the 1990s. It was after its founder, the late Roderick C. Meredith, was fired by board members of the Global Church of God (GCG), that he went on to found, for a second time, a new organization in 1998. It is just one of many and varied Sabbatarian Churches of God groups that have sprung up from the former Worldwide Church of God, known today as Grace Communion International (GCI). The US membership of the LCG is claimed to be around 11,300 with about 5,000 of that total number being claimed international members. From the LCG organization, several additional split off groups have resulted over the years, each one headed by a former LCG minister.

The LCG's founder and Presiding Evangelist was, until his death, Roderick C. Meredith (June 21, 1930 – May 18, 2017). Following Meredith's graduation from Ambassador College in Pasadena, California in June 1952, he was assigned by Herbert W. Armstrong (Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God) to set up and pastor WCG congregations in Portland, Oregon; San Diego, California; and Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. On December 20, 1952, after summoning him back to the WCG's headquarters in Pasadena, California, from his pastorship in Oregon, Armstrong ordained him and four other men — including his uncle Dr. C. Paul Meredith — to the position of Evangelist. These men were the very first Evangelists of the WCG. Meredith was the youngest of the newly ordained men and the fifth to be ordained. In the subsequent years, Meredith would help start scores of WCG congregations throughout the United States. He would also conduct many baptizing and evangelizing tours in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Africa. From the early to mid 1950s, and again in 1960, he was assigned by Armstrong to live in Britain to form congregations for the Church there. For years he was one of the WCG's leading theologians and top executives, and an instructor at Ambassador College. However, when overseeing the ministry during the 1960s, he began to gain a reputation for being too strict in his application of Church rules and regulations.

Due to declining health, in 2016 (aged 86), Meredith appointed Evangelist Gerald E. Weston as his successor and as President of the LCG. Weston has served congregations throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has been a frequent writer for the Church's publications, and has trained many ministers over the years. He has been a long time member of the Church's Council of Elders. Upon Meredith's death in May 2017, Weston became the LCG's Presiding Evangelist.

Shortly after the LCG's incorporation, it started producing a weekly, half hour television program: Tomorrow's World. It is carried on 211 television stations throughout the world. In May 2006, the LCG's media department reported that the show was accessible to nearly 78 million American households, or 71 percent of the American television market. According to reports in March 2007 by Nielsen Research, the program was estimated to reach an average of 50,000 new viewers each week. From 1999 to date, approximately 320 programs have been taped and televised. The LCG also publishes a free, bi monthly, subscription magazine titledTomorrow's World. Circulation figures (July 2017), were 282,000 issues. From the magazine's inception in 1999 through to May 2007, 8.3 million copies were produced. Additionally, the church operates a Tomorrow's World website. The church produces several foreign language radio programs, which are broadcast on 15 stations. These include a Spanish program titled El Mundo de Mañana ("Tomorrow's World"), presented by Mario Hernández, who also presents the Spanish telecast with the same title. Also, the French program Le Monde Demain ("Tomorrow's World") is broadcast throughout the Caribbean. It was presented by longtime evangelist and radio presenter Dibar K. Apartian until his death in 2010.

On February 27, 2007, the LCG launched Living University, a nonprofit, online (distance learning) institution. The LCG explored accreditation for Living University's undergraduate degrees, diplomas, and certificates, but Living University was never accredited by any agency recognized by the United States Department of Education. More and more states were blocking non accredited colleges and universities from offering classes within their borders, so it was decided to close Living University. Living University closed on May 14, 2018, after final commencement exercises for 30 students present. In August 2018, the LCG introduced a new program "Living Education".

On March 12, 2005, the LCG was thrust into national and international spotlight when member Terry Ratzmann (aged 44) shot at his brethren congregated for church services at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin. It was one of the worst mass shootings in the state's history. Ratzmann killed eight, including his pastor, his pastor's son, and himself. No conclusive motive for the mass murder was reached, though police investigated religious issues as potential motives for the shooting

"A popular elder and former pastor of the Living Church of God, Karl Beyersdorfer, 73, took his own life May 27, 2016, at his home in Joplin, Mo." He committed suicide just days before his fiftieth wedding anniversary. Depression is thought to have been a factor. A 1966 graduate of Ambassador College, Karl had been an ordained minister for 49 years ministering in the Worldwide Church of God, and then joined Meredith in Global, and then followed him again to the LCG (1998).