Basic HTML Version
pleased God ... to reveal His Son in
me, thal 1 mighl preach Him 10 the
world. 1 conferred not with ftesh and
blood [humans), neither went 1 to
any lheological seminary, but, as the
original apostles and Paul were
taught by CHRIST IN PERSON,
SO
was
1 taught by the SAME C HRIST,
through His WRITTEN WORD" (cf.
Gal.l:li.IS-17).
"But." Mr. Armstrong said at the
time, "IF all these churches ARE
wrong- and JF, as Jesus said, His
Church would never die bul con–
tinue to exist- where is the one true
Church today?"
Mr. Armstrong and his wife be–
gan fe llowshipping with people of
the Church of God in the Will–
amette Valley and Oregon City. in
Oregon. They were living then in
Portland. These humble but sincere
people. il soon became clear. had
MORE BIBLICAL TRUTH than any
olher church- though they consli–
luled one of the smallest and most
scattered churches. But unlil the
summer of 1928 he had refused 10
speak before these small loca l
church groups, because he felt the
ministry was a profession no man
ought to choose himself. Finally he
was virtually drafted into doing so.
Realizing that he had the training
and unusual experience in the busi–
ness world. the education, lhe know–
how. the vision, lhe initiative and
experience in utilizing modern
methods necessary to get 1he Work
ofGod going out in a complex mod–
ern world, lhey looked more and
more to Mr. Armstrong for lead–
ership. And finally il became evi–
dent to all that lhe call to lhe
ministry was genuinely from God.
and not a self-imposed one. In J une
1931, Mr. Armstrong was ordained
by the Oregon Conference and en–
tered the Work ofGod full time.
New Era-New Llfe
It was under his leadership that a
new era of the Church of God was
begun. The Church was revitalized
and injected with new life and vigor
by the Spiril of God, so that Christ's
gospel - His ORIGINAL MESSAGE–
could go out in power lo the whole
world. Much more than human ex–
perience and know-how was re-
Tlle
PLAIN TAUTH
January
1979
quired. Once again God was
sending forth and infusing into His
Church His Spirit of POWER.
The time had come for the final
message of God for this present
world to go out with great impact.
The time had come for God's Work
to prepare the way for the soon–
coming wonderful WORLD TOMOR–
ROw-the time when. by act of God.
His govemment will be restored on
earth. It will be a world of PEACE. of
HAPPINESS, of JOY, with abundance
and plenty. under the worldwide
government of lhe great God
through the living Jesus Christ!
In the summer and autumn of
1933, Mr. Armst rong gave a series
of lectures in and around Eugene,
Oregon, on the original gospel mes–
sage taught by Christ which pro–
duces peace. true success, and real
happiness. The response was spon–
taneous and beyond expeclalion.
An invilalion followed to speak on
radio station KORE. then Eugene's
only radio outlet. Frank Hill. owner.
suggested a weekly half-hour pro–
gram to give this missing dimension
in God's TRUTH exposure to a wider
audience. He, himself. contributed
substantially to its cost.
Phenomenal Growth
God now began opening doors for a
Spirit-empowered Wor k to leap
forth (Rev. 3:7-8). The Work from
this point grew in power and scope
at the rate of 30 percent a year over
the next 35 years.
The fi rst week in 1934,
The World
Tomorrow
program went on the air.
lt met with an immediate response,
considering the small power and
limited coverage of the slation.
KORE was then of the very smallest
wattage for commercial broad–
casting-100 watts. G radually the
program went on more and more
stations. By 1942 the program had
gained national coverage in the
Uni ted States, and by 1945 it be–
carne a daily program.
Finally. the broadcast had the
largest wattage of any radio pro–
gram worldwide-more than 50 mil–
Iion watts of power weekly–
reaching an estimated 100 million
lisleners, besides many additional
millions reached by other media.
On February 1, 1934.
The Plain
Truth
magazine made its mo[ t
humble bow. That Volume 1, Num–
ber 1 had a circulation of approxi–
mately 250 copies.
The Plain Truth
was offered radio listeners gratis,
but subscriptions were entered only
on persona l request. lt has never
been our policy to put a price on the
magazine, nor to request financia!
support in its columns or on the air.
Today
The Plain Truth
is one of
the fi nest quali ty magazines in the
world, but it still con tains the same
vital message. and it is still offered
free of charge.
Why
a College?
As the Church and its work ex–
panded, the establishmen t of a col–
lege became imperative. T here were
a number of reasons for this.
The Church of God had never
been a proselyting church. Jesus
Christ set the example. He
never
urged people to "get saved" or "be
converted." When the woman at J a–
cob's well in Samaria asked Him 10
give her of God's Spi rit. which He
had referred toas "living water." He
made no effort to convert her.
He d id proclaim the good news of
the Kingdom of God. saying. "Re–
pent ye, and believe the gospel"
(Mark 1: 15). He chose His disciples
and simply said, "Follow me." They
followed unqueslioningly. He made
no emotional appeals for converts.
He made no pleading "altar calls"
accompanied by sentimental hymns.
Nor did the apostles. The Church of
God follows the example they set.
Therefore it has no evangelistic
program or missionary activities in
the modern sense of the words. ln–
stead. its commission is to proclaim
the good news of the coming King–
dom of
God- not
to convert the
world. but merely "as a witness" to
all nations.
T his is actually an EDUCATIONAL
message of the wAY OF LIFE to be
lived in the Kingdom of God-THE
WAY that leads to success. to peace,
happiness. to lhe full, enjoyable,
abundan! life.
It
invo lves the
KNOWLEDGE of the PURPOSE of
human life on this planet-the real
meaning of life; the knowledge of
the TRUE VALUES in a wor)d pur-
43