What began as a devotional on a single Los Angeles radio station, today circles the globe as the Voice of Prophecy. VOP, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's premiere radio outreach, celebrated it's 75th anniversary this year.

"I'm just thrilled at what the Lord has done during these first 75 years," said Pastor E. Lonnie Melashenko, who for 12 years has been speaker/director of the international broadcast, based at the Adventist Media Center in a Los Angeles suburb. "We're excited about what the coming years will bring."

Melashenko and his VOP colleagues recently marked their anniversary with a series of public meetings across the United States, culminating in a Nov. 13 event in Takoma Park, Maryland, in the United States. A further celebration is planned for Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, in May of 2005.

From morning devotionals on KNX-AM in Los Angeles, the program has expanded to more than 1,500 radio stations around the world, broadcasting in 36 languages. The VOP, as the broadcast and ministry are known, has been a pioneer in Adventist outreach, launching a correspondence Bible school which, today, offers lessons in 80 languages through 140 affiliated schools worldwide. Those lessons, often under the title "Discover," are the backbone of follow-up for "Sow 1 Billion," the Adventist Church's year-long effort to distribute 1,000 million Bible study invitations worldwide.

Long before such large numbers seemed possible, a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, Harold Marshall Sylvester Richards Sr. -- better known as H.M.S. Richards, Sr. -- saw radio as a way to reach people in the Los Angeles area where he was preaching a series of evangelistic meetings. As the KNX opportunity opened up, Richards appealed for donations, and gifts of money, jewelry and even gold teeth were reportedly provided. Four years later, the ministry began buying airtime on a Long Beach, California station and in 1942 contracted with the Mutual Broadcasting System to reach its 89-station, coast-to-coast network.

Richards, a voracious reader who is said to have read the Bible, cover to cover, more than 100 times, was the principal speaker on the program from 1929 to 1960. In that year, his son, H.M.S. Richards, Jr. became an associate speaker and, in 1969, the younger Richards assumed primary responsibility for the program.

The father-and-son team was popular with listeners and broadcasters. In the 1980s, the VOP was accepted into membership of the National Religious Broadcasters, which later gave the VOP a special award for its decades of service.

"When I think about Voice of Prophecy's 75th year in broadcasting, I am reminded of a book by Eugene Petersen titled: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction," said Dr. Frank Wright, president of the NRB. "I commend our friends at Voice of Prophecy for their faithful perseverance in proclaiming the transforming grace of God in Christ to a world that so desperately needs to hear. May the next 75 years (if the Lord tarries) be as blessed and productive as the first."

Along with its daily and weekend radio programs, the VOP is producing a new weekly video series for use in Seventh-day Adventist congregations worldwide. Called "Exploring the Word," the telecasts are designed to offer newcomers to the church an insight into key Bible doctrines and teachings, supporting local churches whose pastors may face many demands on their time each week. Conceived as a "pastor's class" on video, Melashenko said these programs will offer congregations a new, free teaching tool. The shows air on the church's Hope Channel as well as 3ABN and other private networks.[Editor: Mark A. Kellner for ANN/APD]

More information on VOP activities can be found at the ministry's Web site, www.vop.com.