| Type | Religious/Non-Profit |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 19, 1929 |
| Founder(s) | H.M.S. Richards, Sr. |
| Headquarters | Simi Valley, California, USA |
| Area served | North America, Guam, Puerto Rico |
| Key people | Fred Kinsey (Speaker/Director) |
| Website | www.vop.com |
The Voice Of Prophecy is a long-running Seventh-day Adventist religious radio broadcast founded in 1929 by H.M.S. Richards, Sr.. Initially aired on a single radio station in Los Angeles it has since grown to numerous stations throughout the United States and Canada and more recently has begun television and video production.
Contents |
H.M.S. Richards, Sr. began a regular radio program on October 19, 1929 on KNX (AM) in Los Angeles.[1][2][3] Later Richards broadcast 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.[1]
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.[1] The first Voice of Prophecy coast-to-coast broadcast was over 89 stations of the Mutual Broadcasting System on Sunday, January 4, 1942.[1][2]
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.
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 and Connie Jeffery (daughter of It Is Written founder George Vandeman) and the current speaker is Fred Kinsey.
| Preceded by founder |
Founder/Speaker/Director H.M.S. Richards, Sr. October 19, 1929 - 1969 |
Succeeded by H.M.S. Richards, Jr. |
| Preceded by H.M.S. Richards, Sr. |
Speaker/Director H.M.S. Richards, Jr. 1969 - 1992 |
Succeeded by Lonnie Melashenko |
| Preceded by H.M.S. Richards, Jr. |
Speaker/Director Lonnie Melashenko January 1993 - July 2008 |
Succeeded by Fred Kinsey |
| Preceded by Lonnie Melashanko |
Speaker/Director Fred Kinsey September 2008 - present |
Succeeded by Current |
Various musicians perform on the broadcast. Female vocalist Del Delker has been a regular on the program since 1947 and is regarded as one of the leading female singers of religious music. 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.[4]
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.[5]
Known today as the Discover Bible School it offers free Bible guides by mail[6] or online[7] and has affiliate schools in over 120 countries with lessons in over 80 languages and dialects.[8]