The Voice of Prophecy team gathers with its executive committee to celebrate the ministry’s 95th birthday. [Photo: Voice of Prophecy]
The Seventh-day Adventist media ministry celebrates its 95th birthday in October.
October 28, 2024 | Loveland, Colorado, United States | Amanda Blake, Voice of Prophecy, North American Division, and Adventist Review
Seventh-day Adventist media ministry The Voice of Prophecy (VOP) celebrates its 95th birthday in October. From its first day until now, VOP has used cutting-edge technology to proclaim the everlasting gospel of Christ, touching millions of lives worldwide.
The ministry began on October 19, 1929, when Adventist preacher Harold Marshall Sylvester (H. M. S.) Richards Sr. started regularly broadcasting biblical messages on California radio stations. Although some church leaders at the time called radio “the devil’s tool,” Richards was determined to harness the recently popularized invention for Christ.
Soon, the young evangelist was broadcasting his program, The Tabernacle of the Air (renamed The Voice of Prophecy in 1937), on a daily basis. His headquarters, a renovated chicken coop in his garage, reflected his humility, a trait he retained even as his broadcast’s fame grew.
H. M. S. Richards Sr., founder of The Voice of Prophecy, spreads hopeful biblical messages to the world via radio. [Photo: Voice of Prophecy]
Five years later, the broadcast went international, and communities around the world became acquainted with the sound of VOP’s signature male quartet, The King’s Heralds, the contralto Del Delker, and the friendly voice of Richards. By the 1960s, more than 1,300 stations in 30 languages carried The Voice of Prophecy.
Also growing was the ministry’s Bible Correspondence School (now called the Discover Bible School), established in 1942. A month after the school was announced, more than 2,000 students had enrolled. By 1946, that number had soared to 85,000.
Shawn Boonstra, in the Voice of Prophecy Authentic studio, has led the VOP as speaker/director since 2013. [Photo: Voice of Prophecy]
“Ninety-five years — and look at the way God blessed a spark in a young preacher’s heart!” Boonstra said. “The ministry started so humbly — in a chicken coop — and now it’s across the face of the earth, ministering in more than 70 languages. It’s become a front-line evangelistic agency for the church.”
Boonstra, alongside his wife, Jean, has been leading VOP for 12 years. The ministry is now based in Loveland, Colorado, the city where Richards grew up and was baptized.
Voice of Prophecy Bible School workers in 1962 (left), and present-day Discover Bible School team. [Photos: Voice of Prophecy]
The Discover Bible School continues to offer free courses for both children and adults. It now supports more than 2,000 churches in North America and hundreds more across the globe. United States graduates alone exceed one million. Far higher is the sum of worldwide graduates, which has soared into the millions.
More than ever before, the Voice of Prophecy is focused on supporting local church evangelism by producing high-quality media resources and bridge events. Its next series, Primordial, decodes the origins of existence to point audiences toward their loving Creator. VOP’s partnership with Pentecost 2025, a North American Division initiative, will allow participating churches to host Primordial and other VOP events for free.
Shawn and Jean Boonstra enjoy the VOP birthday celebrations. [Photo: Voice of Prophecy]
The original version of this story was posted on the North American Division news site.