The Scope of the Work
Mr. Armstrong died on January 16, 1986:
- 725 congregations in 57 countries.
- Weekly worldwide attendance was 130,000 brethren (125k baptized) served by 1500 ministers.
He started in 1931 with 19 people.
- Annual revenue was 163.7 million dollars.
o A budget bigger than Jerry Fallwell and Billy Graham’s organizations combined.
In 1986, Time Magazines Richard Ostling wrote an article on Televangelists a few weeks after Mr. Armstrong died. He wrote:
- Jimmy Swaggert’ s Tv. Show could be viewed in 197 markets.
- Orral Robert’s Tv show could be viewed in 192 markets.
- Jerry Fallwell’s Tv show could be viewed in 172 markets.
- Robert Schuller’s “Hour of Power” could be viewed in 169 cities.
None of the televangelists generated as much revenue as Herbert W. Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong’s “World Tomorrow” aired on 382 Tv stations. Plus, 36 radio outlets around the world. He was one of the best known prominent religious leaders in the 20th century and perhaps, the most significant theologian in American history.
The World Tomorrow radio and TV programs were viewed by scores of millions in many nations across much of the globe. The weekly responses to the telecast averaged from about 20,000 to 80,000.
In 1985 the Plain Truth magazine:
- Was being produced in 7 languages with a circulation of 8.4 million with an estimated readership of 20 million.
- In 1985 Time Magazines circulation was 5.9 million.
In 1985 the world population was 4.9 billion people:
- 1 out of every 583 human beings on earth received the Plain Truth.
- U.S. ratio = 1 in 48.
- Canada ratio = 1 in 27.
Good News had a monthly circulation of 828,000. The circulation of Mr. Armstrong’s most popular two magazines when combined exceeded the combined circulations of America’s most popular news magazines: Time and Newsweek.
In his 52-year ministry:
- USP was the most popular book with 12-15 million requested copies.
- 7 Laws of Success was the most popular booklet with 3 million copies.
- Capstone work: Mystery of the Ages was sent out by the millions.
God raised up Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong to take Christ’s true Gospel to many world leaders, even as God chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and a number of the prophets such as Jeremiah, Daniel, Jesus and other apostles. He took Christ’s powerful Gospel Message to over 50 presidents, prime ministers, premiers, kings, princes, emperor, governors, mayors of important cities, members of parliament, ambassadors of nations, judges and other high officials of various national governments and of the world. He also met many other world leaders such as the secretary-general of the United Nations, and the President of the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
God used the ancient Prophet Elijah to teach and train several young “prophets”—in several “colleges”—which were in the cities of Israel at Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho. It is interesting to note that God used Mr. Armstrong to establish three Ambassador Colleges, with campuses at Pasadena, California, Big Sandy, Texas and Bricket Wood, England. Two Imperial Schools were also established by him. Those institutions of learning trained many thousands of students, from many nations of the world.
Under Mr. Armstrong’s supervision and approval, an Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course was produced. A Ministerial Bulletin was regularly sent out around the globe. Youth magazine and other materials were published for the benefit of the young people who were interested in God’s Truth. Wonderful truths on nearly every spiritual subject were expounded in hundreds of well-written books, booklets, reprint articles, and letters that were printed and mailed out by the tens of millions.
Between 1980 and 1984 the church distributed:
- 361 million pieces including books, booklets, magazines, lessons and letters.
- According to a PGR this would fill to capacity a train 6 1/2 miles long, with 624 boxcars.
This very work, in which we are greatly blessed for having a personal part, was foretold by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:14 and Mark 13:10. The Gospel of the Kingdom of God began being preached to Israel in late 1934 on the local radio station, KORE, the only Eugene station, then only 100 watts of power. And then, a "century" of time cycles or 1,900 years (19 x 100) passed from the time the Gospel had been suppressed in A.D. 53 until the Gospel began reaching Europe and other areas of the world as a whole in 1953 on Radio Luxembourg. By 1972 almost the whole world had been reached (Laos/Cambodia-80’s). This is the scope of the work and all the far-reaching implications. We need to recognize how God powerfully used a man that was willing to be used.
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