Today marks the Philadelphia Church of God’s 19th anniversary. For nearly two decades, we have been headquartered in Edmond, Oklahoma. During that time, we have grown from a mere handful of supporters in 1989 to a globe-encompassing work that now reaches millions of people.

Many of these people have become aware of our work because of our weekly Key of David television program, presented by the pastor general of the church, Gerald Flurry. Since its humble beginning on wgn in 1993, our coverage has expanded to include 190 other stations throughout the United States, Australia and Canada. In the U.S., so far this year, our call center has received over 135,000 phone calls from Key of David viewers.

As one of the most popular religious programs on television, the Key of David program has generated nearly 1 million viewer responses over the years. Not once in more than 500 episodes have we asked for money over the air.

The Philadelphia Church of God has also produced a storehouse of literature—hundreds of booklets, books, pamphlets and magazines. Last year, we distributed nearly 4 million pieces of literature for free. Much of this material is also made available on this website.

We were once part of the Worldwide Church of God, led by Herbert W. Armstrong. Prior to his death in 1986, Mr. Armstrong was the world’s leading televangelist and one of the most prominent religious figures of the 20th century—watched, read and followed by millions worldwide. Regarding his 57-year ministry, President Ronald Reagan said, “Mr. Armstrong contributed to sharing the word of the Lord with his community and with people throughout the nation. You can take pride in his legacy.”

We do take pride in that legacy. In fact, it serves as a model for what we do here in Edmond and around the world.

But it hasn’t been easy upholding that legacy. After Mr. Armstrong’s death in 1986, the new administration changed all of his teachings, and we were kicked out for holding fast to our beliefs. On Dec. 7, 1989, the Philadelphia Church of God began with just four families from Edmond. Over time, as God blessed our efforts to reach out to this world in the same way Mr. Armstrong did, the work prospered and our headquarters operations multiplied.

In 1997, we began to print Mr. Armstrong’s books and booklets, since the Worldwide Church no longer wanted them. The wcg sued us for copyright infringement in a blatant effort to suppress those writings from the public. We fought a six-year legal battle for the right to make that material freely available to anyone who wanted it. Finally the wcg sold us those publishing rights—which it never would have done if we hadn’t fought so hard. Stephen Flurry has written extensively about this grueling, six-year lawsuit in his book Raising the Ruins.

Our liberal arts college is named after Herbert W. Armstrong. Since its inception in 2001, Herbert W. Armstrong College has brought hundreds of students to Edmond from all over the world, including India, the Philippines, Colombia, England, Australia and the Netherlands. It is largely through the college and its cultural arm, the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation, that the church has been able to continue Mr. Armstrong’s legacy of sharing God’s way of life with our community and abroad.