Voice of Prophecy

The Voice of Prophecy, founded in 1929 by H.M.S. Richards, Sr., is a Seventh-day Adventist religious radio ministry headquartered in Loveland, Colorado.[1] Initially airing in 1929 on a single radio station in Los Angeles the Voice of Prophecy has since grown to numerous stations throughout the United States and Canada. It was one of the first religious programs in the United States to broadcast nationally. Under the leadership of Shawn and Jean Boonstra, the ministry has now expanded into additional forms of media, including the weekly Disclosure broadcast [2] and Discovery Mountain radio adventure series for kids. Additional projects include humanitarian efforts in countries such as India [3] and Myanmar.

Voice of Prophecy
TypeReligious/Non-Profit
FoundedOctober 19, 1929 (1929-10-19)
FounderH.M.S. Richards, Sr.
HeadquartersLoveland, Colorado, United States
Area served
North America, Guam, Micronesia, Puerto Rico
Key people
Shawn Boonstra (Speaker/Director) Jean Boonstra (Associate Speaker)
Websitewww.vop.com
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History

H.M.S. Richards, Sr. began a regular radio program on October 19, 1929 on KNX (AM) in Los Angeles.[4][5][6][7]

Richards earliest studio was his South Gate Tabernacle near Long Beach, where he was presenting nightly evangelistic meetings. His office was a renovated chicken coop in Walnut Park, California. Seventh-day Adventist Church members donated their old eyeglasses and gave teeth with gold fillings and jewelry and watches to help buy the first radio time on Long Beach station KGER.[8]

Later Richards presented daily live broadcasts of The Tabernacle of the Air over KGER in Long Beach, California, and live weekly remote broadcasts from his tabernacle to KMPC (AM) in Beverly Hills.[4][9]

In January 1937 the broadcast footprint expanded over a network of several stations of the Don Lee Broadcasting System, and the name of the broadcast was changed to the Voice of Prophecy.[7] The first Voice of Prophecy coast-to-coast broadcast was over 89 stations of the Mutual Broadcasting System on Sunday, January 4, 1942.[4][5][7] It was one of the first religious programs to broadcast nationally.[10]

Up until the early 1950s broadcasts were produced live. Mispronounced names and singer mistakes went out unedited to the listeners. By 1980, Richards had a $6 million budget. The Voice of Prophecy broadcast each Sunday to 700 stations around the world.[9]

Throughout the years Voice of Prophecy broadcasts were marked by an opening theme song of "Lift Up the Trumpet" performed by the King's Heralds quartet and closed with Richard's poem "Have Faith in God" each week having a new verse written.

Speakers

H.M.S. Richards, Sr. was speaker from 1929 to 1969. In 1969, Richards' son, H.M.S. Richards, Jr., succeeded him and was speaker from 1969 to 1992. He was followed by Pastor Lonnie Melashenko, then by Fred Kinsey. The current speaker is Shawn Boonstra.

Preceded by
founder		 Founder/Speaker/Director
H.M.S. Richards, Sr.
October 19, 1929 - 1969		 Succeeded by
H.M.S. Richards, uJr.
Preceded by
H.M.S. Richards, Sr.		 Speaker/Director
H.M.S. Richards, Jr.
1969 - 1992		 Succeeded by
E. Lonnie Melashenko
Preceded by
H.M.S. Richards, Jr.		 Speaker/Director
E. Lonnie Melashenko
January 1993 - July 2008		 Succeeded by
Fred Kinsey
Preceded by
E. Lonnie Melashanko		 Speaker/Director
Fred Kinsey
September 2008 - April 2012		 Succeeded by
Shawn Boonstra
Preceded by
Fred Kinsey		 Speaker/Director
Shawn Boonstra
2012		 Succeeded by

Musicians

Various musicians perform on the broadcast. Female vocalist Del Delker began as a regular on the program since 1947. The male quartet King's Heralds also performed weekly on the program from 1936 until 1982. Wayne Hooper served as musical director until his retirement in 1980.[11]

Discover Bible School

A key program of Voice of Prophecy is the Discover Bible School. Introduced on February 1, 1942 as The Bible School of the Air, it was one of the first correspondence Bible schools in North America.[12]

Known today as the Discover Bible School it offers free Bible guides by mail [13] or online[14] and has affiliate schools in over 120 countries with lessons in over 80 languages and dialects.[15]

In 2010, the Bible School celebrated its one millionth graduate.[16]

Evangelists

Jim Reinking became a Voice of Prophecy evangelist in 1998 and served the ministry for 13 years.

See also

References
  1. "Voice of Prophecy Dedicates New Headquarters in Loveland". Voice of Prophecy. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  2. "Disclosure". Voice of Prophecy. Voice of Prophecy.
  3. "India Project". Voice of Prophecy. Voice of Prophecy.
  4. "HMS Richards (Founder)". The Voice of Prophecy. Archived from the original on 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  5. "Through the Decades..." (PDF). The Voice of Prophecy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  6. "Record, November 23, 2002" (PDF). South Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2011. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  7. Land, Gary (2005). Historical Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists. Lanham MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 313. ISBN 0-8108-5345-0.
  8. "'Voice of Prophecy' founder dies". The Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, Iowa: United Press International: 10. April 25, 1985. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  9. Keys, Laurinda (June 7, 1980). "85-Year-Old Voice of Radio Program Claims He's No Prophet". The St. Petersburg Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, FL: Associated Press: 4. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  10. Knight, George R. (1999). A Brief History of Seventh-Day Adventists. Adventist Heritage Series (2nd ed.). Review and Herald Publishing Association. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-8280-1430-4.
  11. "Voice Of Prophecy press release regarding Wayne Hooper". The Voice of Prophecy. Archived from the original on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  12. "Voice of Prophecy Bible School About Us". The Voice of Prophecy. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  13. "Discover Bible Guides by mail". The Voice of Prophecy. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  14. "Discover Online Bible Guides". The Voice of Prophecy. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  15. "Discover Online Languages". The Voice of Prophecy. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  16. Johnson, Kurt. "College Student Is One Millionth Graduate" (PDF). The Voice of Prophecy News. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
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