PCG’s Financial Concerns for ‘Armstrong Auditorium’

Armstrong Delusion (one of the anti-COG sites) apparently got a copy of a co-worker letter written by Gerald Flurry of the Philadelphia Church of God’s. Here are some comments about finances and Armstrong Auditorium in that letter:

…our building fund donations are $700,000 less than they were last year. I want you to think about that.

Before we built Armstrong Auditorium, we sent a letter to our Church members only, asking for pledges to the building fund. We used those pledges to determine how much we could invest in construction and loan repayment until all the construction costs were repaid in full. We’ve enjoyed using the auditorium for over a year now, but we still have a big balance left on the loan–over $7Million…And if our ways are pleasing God, no recession or depression could make a bit of difference.

Now, presuming that the above is authentic (PCG co-worker letters, unlike those of groups like the Living Church of God, are not normally publicly posted), this confirms something I reported about over a month ago (see PCG No Larger Than 4th Size Among Groups with Origins in WCG) that PCG may have shrank (shrinking membership would tend to be a factor in less donations, recessions would as well).

Because of its extra-biblical requirements for membership, etc., I am hesitant to conclude that PCG is actually a COG, but some of its members probably are part of it.

Overall, PCG seems to be smaller than it was several years ago. Its building fund deficit and debt seem consistent with that.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include the following:

Teachings Unique to the Philadelphia Church of God Simply calling oneself ‘Philadelphia’ does not make one so (see Revelation 3:7-9), nor does Gerald Flurry calling himself “that prophet” make it so. This article provides many quotes from this group which claims to be faithful.
What is a True Philadelphian? Many claim to be part of the Philadelphia era of the Church, but is claiming enough? This article has biblical and historical evidence about who really are the Philadelphians.
Are the Laodiceans the Modern Sadducees and Pharisees? Discusses similarities of the Sadducees and Pharisees to various COGs in this end-time.
Who Was Herbert W. Armstrong? How is He Viewed Today? Includes quotes from the 1973 edition of The Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong and explains who he was and how he should be viewed today.