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.