In the past few month, the Media Department, despite its small size, has been working on several new projects as part of its mission to help members grow in their understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• The April-May edition of Christian Odyssey includes a survey for our readers. Since members make up the large majority of our readers, we especially want members to respond to this survey to help us chart the course for how Odyssey might better serve their needs.

• The cover article for the April-May Odyssey is "Is the Bible Just a White Man’s Book?" The article originated as a sermon by Dan Rogers in 1997. A transcript of the sermon was placed on our Internet site, and we noticed that large numbers of people were viewing it, and it became our most-often-recommended internet literature item. Due to the popularity of the transcript, we decided to work with Dan Rogers to turn it into a complete article for Odyssey.

• We have produced a brochure that local congregations can use to offer free subscriptions to friends and neighbors. In this way local churches can offer something of value to visitors and other contacts. Each brochure has space on the back for local church information to be added.

• Several congregations have also ordered bulk copies of Odyssey for local distribution in waiting rooms or other public areas. This is one way in which the denominational office can help local churches create a higher profile in their community. See www.christianodyssey.com/brochures

• The churches in Australia have begun to use Christian Odyssey as their magazine for members and for a significant number of nonmembers on their circulation list. The magazine is sent to them electronically and it is printed in Australia to save shipping costs.

• In September, Joseph Tkach began a weekly video program titled Speaking of Life. The 2-4 minute messages discuss a variety of topics, showing how the gospel is relevant to everyday life. The programs are posted on the www.wcg.org internet site each Friday. People may watch or listen to the programs online, or download the messages for later playing. See box below for recent titles.

Recent Titles in Speaking of Life

• In March, we began a program titled You’re Included. The program title refers to the good news that in Jesus Christ humanity is included in the fellowship that exists between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our first three messages are a round-table discussion hosted by J. Michael Feazell with guests Dr. C. Baxter Kruger (left) and Steve Horn (right) of Perichoresis Ministries joining Joseph Tkach, John McKenna and Michael Morrison. There are three parts to this message, each 26 minutes long. To listen or download, go to www.wcg.org/av/default.htm.

• As part of You’re Included, we also plan to include an audio Bible study and some videotaped discussions. These will be released at an irregular schedule, as we have time to create and produce them. If you would like to be notified by email whenever these programs or other new materials are added to our website, sign up at www.wcg.org/weeklyupdate.htm

• Even after 20 years, people find old advertisements for magazines and booklets that we used to publish. If they ask for The Plain Truth, we explain that the PT is published by an organization that is not affiliated with us, and we give them the contact details for Plain Truth Ministries. We also offer them a free copy of our booklet Good News for Bad People and a subscription to Christian Odyssey. Over the past four years that we have done this, we have received almost 5,000 requests for out-of-print literature. About 20 percent of the people request our booklet, which we send along with an offer of another booklet.

• Our website continues to be a well-used resource for pastors, members, and nonmembers. In 2006, there were more than 2 million visits to the website. The ten most popular articles in 2006 were:

• Several years ago, we put a small feature on our website that enables readers to recommend articles to their friends. We have been keeping track not just of which articles are viewed, but also which articles are most often recommended. Over the past four years, the ten most recommended articles are: