April 27 Today in OPC History

On April 27, 1967, the Thirty-Fourth General Assembly entered the third day of deliberations at Faith OPC in Long Beach, California. A major item of business was the report of the Committee on Radio and Television. Committee members Calvin Busch, Ivan DeMaster, Theodore Georgian, Lawrence Sibley, Jr. and Maurice Penn recommended that the Assembly approve the production of a pilot series of fifteen minute tapes for radio broadcasts. The committee explained that the goal of the series would be evangelistic and aimed particularly at the person who would not be seeking the help of orthodox Christianity. A pastor and one or more people from the church community would discuss a need or problem or issue in the light of the Word of God. By identifying the name of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church with this declaration of the gospel, the committee expected contacts would be provided for OPC congregations. The Assembly asked the committee to prepare a fuller evaluation of the format and programming for the proposed denominational broadcast and to present sample tapes of professional quality in its report to the next General Assembly. The next year the committee reported that it was unable to produce samples of the radio program due to the high cost of production as over $20,000 would be needed to produce the samples in a professional manner.

Picture: Larry Sibley