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Over 40 years in Buffalo!
- The Living Hope Congregation of the WCG
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Over 40 years ago, the
Worldwide Church of God
(WCG) established a local congregation in Buffalo, NY. Today, our congregation
is one of many congregations that can be found around the world (around
900 worldwide as of 2002).
Our current meeting place is one that we lease or rent. We have held
services in many different locations throughout Buffalo and the surrounding
areas. This is a result of being called through a Radio and Television
ministry rather than through a local Church with its own building.
Our current meeting place is a relatively central location for our
membership. Many of our members come from the general areas and communities
around Buffalo. However, others come from areas further away such as
Niagara Falls, Grand Island, Amherst, Angola, Getzville, Orchard Park,
Hamburg, Eden, Derby, North Collins and Irving.
Even though our membership spans this large of an area, we are unified
in the knowledge of redemption and salvation by God's grace through
faith in Jesus Christ. Our current understanding of grace has not always
been at the core of our belief. Some number of years ago, we were quite
legalistic and many considered us a cult. However, God has seen fit
to reveal the grace Jesus Christ has given to every person who has ever
lived.
- Our Testimony
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God has been, and is yet, doing a mighty work in our Church. Before
1994, our focus was less centered onto Jesus than it is today. In the
eyes of some of our peers, we had achieved cult status. You might think
we must have been way out on the fringe of Christianity. However, notice
what Tammy Tkach (the wife of Joe Tkach, who currently leads our Church)
has to say about our past Christianity (a portion of an article taken
from September 1998, Worldwide News).
"I'd like you to meet my new friend, a member of the Worldwide
Church of God, the former cult that God has so miraculously changed."
The first time I was introduced this way, I instantly recoiled.
I wanted to say: "Stop, it's not true. We weren't a cult."
Then I thought about it and realized many viewed us as a cult or
near cult.
When I had a chance to talk to my friend, I explained to her that
we had never viewed ourselves as a cult. I told her when we were baptized,
we were baptized into the church of Jesus Christ, not into any denomination.
We were baptized into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit.
We had always believed in Jesus, who died for our sins and through
whom we receive salvation. I told her we believed wholeheartedly in
the Bible and our desire was to obey and serve God in every way we
could. She was a little surprised by my statements.
Though we believed that Jesus Christ was our Savior, we had slipped
into a legalistic approach to God's grace similar to what the Galatian
Church in the Bible did. We believed Jesus was our Savior but added
requirements to be followed so we might be pleasing to God. In our old
way of thinking, it was both what Jesus did and what we did that made
us right with God. Much of what we observed, clean and unclean foods,
ceremonies given by God in the Old Testament, the keeping of commandments
given to Moses, or any of our other works, involved the idea of being
made right with God through our own effort along with the sacrifice
of Christ. This idea is entirely false, but it was what we observed.
Today, we joyfully announce salvation has been freely given by Jesus
Christ alone. Believing you are a sinner in need of a Savior and that
Jesus Christ is that Savior allows you to appropriate that salvation.
Our Old Covenant belief that there is some work we need to do to have
or keep salvation has been replaced by the New Covenant belief of faith
in Jesus Christ alone. Our loving God has caused a transformation that
has brought our focus squarely onto Jesus Christ where it belongs. We
are very thankful to our Creator for the change.
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