Few Bible
prophecy teachers who have had a television broadcast ministry and
served the Lord also as a pastor did so longer than Dr. J.R. Church. He
was the founder and host of Prophecy in the News. On March 22,
2012, he unexpectedly died leaving his earthly body behind and his
spirit was taken up to be with the Lord. He was a well-known Christian
personality especially amongst avid students of Bible prophecy.
J.R. Church,
whose ministry was national and reached audiences around the world via
Internet, authored a number of books. Among those books are: Hidden
Prophecies in the Psalms, published first in 1986, and then revised
in 1990; Guardians of the Grail: And the Men Who Plan to Rule
the World, 1989; They Pierced The Veil, 1993; Hidden
Prophecies in the Song of Moses, 1999; The Mystery of the Menorah
written with Gary Stearman, 1999; On the Eve of Adam:
God's Ancient Plan for Lucifer's Defeat, 2001.
Guardians of the Grail: And the Men Who Plan to Rule the World
explores the legend of the Holy Grail and the kings who claim to have
been connected with it. It links the Knights Templar, Priory of Sion,
the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, House of Theosophy, and modern
Mormonism. The book also discusses the way that mankind will be deceived
into accepting worldwide enslavement under the guise of "peace and
prosperity" in the person of the Antichrist and his coming establishment.
Hidden Prophecies in
the Song of Moses
is based on the
prophecy of Revelation 15, which says that the saints will sing the song
of Moses.
On his website: prophecyinthenews.com,
while reflecting on his walk with the Lord, J.R. Church described how he
came to know the Lord:
"When I was seven
years old, I was invited by a kid down the block to attend a Wednesday
afternoon Bible class held after school at the home of Mrs. Pauline
Click. She lived on the corner of 33rd and Ave. P., just two short
blocks from my house--short blocks, but a long walk for a seven-year-old.
My twin brother, Terry and I crowded in with 40 other kids in her living
room sang songs like "Do Lord" and 'I'm in the Lord's Army.' Mrs. Click
could really fire my imagination with her storytelling! When she
concluded her lesson with an invitation to receive Christ, Terry and I
responded.
At age 15, Mrs.
Click informed me that I was too old to attend her children's Bible
class any longer! But in later years when I became a pastor in the city,
she joined my congregation. I turned out to be the pastor to the very
person who led me to the Lord. She's been in heaven for several years
now, but still laying up spiritual treasures through the more than 40
ministers and missionaries who came out of her weekly Bible class.
After many years of
dedication to serving the Lord, it could be said that those two short
blocks turned into a lifelong walk."
J.R. Church was
married to Linda and they have two grown children and many precious
grandchildren. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Temple
University in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1962. He then became an ordained
Baptist minister and served as a pastor for 17 years. After 40 years in
ministry, on July 21, 2000, Immanuel Baptist Theological Seminary in
Sharpsburg, Georgia, presented Pastor Church with a Doctor of Divinity
degree.
After hearing
great preachers like J. Harold Smith, R. G. Lee, Jack Wyrtzen, and many
others, J.R. Church said, "I am a composite of those who inspired me
down through the years." Over those years, Pastor Church developed a
passion for eschatology and for watching biblical prophecy unfold before
his eyes. Because of that passion, J.R. and Linda moved to Oklahoma City
in 1979 where he founded Prophecy in the News, a worldwide
television and publishing ministry devoted to the study of biblical
prophecy and current events.
It is clear that
J.R. Church had a love for discovering the deeper truths in God's Word.
His presentations were always dynamic, well-studied and quite
fascinating.
In summary, J. R.
Church was a Bible scholar who truly loved the Lord. He gave his life to
studying and teaching the Bible. He, like the staff at Rapture Ready
today, faithfully worked to win lost souls to Christ and prepare the
church for the Rapture and the Second Coming of the Lord. Today, his
co-host Gary Stearman, alone hosts Prophecy in the News
continuing to carry on J.R. Church's legacy.