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G
od's Church has always
been a "little fiock," and
God's ministers have been
called out of many occupa–
tions, many times in mid-life, to
preach tbe gospel and serve His
Church.
The modern manifestation of the
Church of God began in a one–
room schoolhouse on the outskirts
of Eugene, Oregon, in the depths of
the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Back then, the worldwide member–
sbip of the fiedgling Church could
be crowded into that one tiny room.
It was this small congregation that
provided the moral and financia!
support for Herbert W. Armstrong's
newborn radio and publishing ef–
forts.
Through the 1930s and into
World War II, as the impact of tbat
small Church's media efforts grew
to national scope,
it
became appar–
ent to Mr. Armstrong that he would
need a group of dedicated and edu–
cated men to assist him in bis grow–
ing ministry. Hundreds of people
scattered across North America
The
PLAIN TRUTH June/ July 1978
were writing in, asking for belp and
encouragement with their problems.
Many requested information about
the Church (then called the Radio
Church of God) and baptism. But
the day-to-day pressures of broad–
casting and writing made it impos–
sible for Mr. Armstrong alone to
personally follow up on all these
requests by letter, let alone in per–
son.
For sorne time Mr. Armstrong
had had the vision of starting a
four-year liberal arts college. I ts
purpose would be to provide young
men and women with a broad lib–
eral arts education which also em–
phasized spiritual values and
Christian living. Mr. Armstrong
carne to see that such an· educa–
tional institution could also serve
the secondary purpose of training
dedicated men for the ministry to
assist him in establishing churches
and pastoring the scattered, but
growing, membership. So, in the fall
of 1947, Ambassador College was
born.
Mo~t
students who carne in those
early years did not come with the
express intention of becoming min–
isters. What drew them was the
uniqueness of the Church and its
college-a school whose currículum
was founded upon the principie that
the Word of God is the foundation
of all knowledge.· In a.ddition, they
were drawn by the opportunity to
have a part in what they felt was the
most important human work on
earth. Even if it were only working
part time as a college janitor or
helping to read the thousands of let–
ters pouring in from all over the
world, one was doing "the Work."
Explosive Growth
E
rom the very beginning, the
Ambassador College currícu–
lum included a core of theo–
gical classes to complement the
regular liberal arts currículum. The
theology classes ranged from a
course in Old Testament Survey toa
study of the life and teachings of
Jesus and the epistles of Paul. Addi–
tionally, since Mr. Armstrong had
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