Our History
The Voice of Prophecy
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The Voice of Prophecy radio, Bible school, and evangelistic ministry has its international headquarters at the Adventist Media Center in Simi Valley, California.
H. M. S. Richards, a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist, pioneered the use of radio to present the gospel 75 years ago -- when many of his colleagues thought the new device was the Devil's playground.
Today, Voice of Prophecy strives to stay on the cutting edge in reaching contemporary society, utilizing the latest technologies for sharing God's Word.
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H.M.S. Richards (Founder) (1894-1985)
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HAROLD MARSHALL SYLVESTER RICHARDS
Dr. H. M. S. Richards, founder of the Voice of Prophecy radio broadcast, was born in Davis City, Iowa. Both his father, Halbert M. J. Richards, and his paternal grandfather were ministers of the gospel. As a young boy, Harold decided that he, too, would devote his life to preaching the gospel.
Young Richards got a taste of evangelistic work during a summer vacation when he helped his father in an evangelistic campaign. After his high school graduation from Campion Academy in Colorado in 1914, he conducted his first series of gospel meetings in a little hamlet far up the side of Pikes Peak.
H.M.S. Richards Jr. (1929-2000)
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Harold Marshall Sylvester Richards Jr., the eldest son of Harold and Mabel Richards, was born on October 25, 1929. Making light of the date of his birth, Harold used to jokingly say, "I was born in the month and year of the beginning of the Great Depression," and with a mischievous smile he would add, "and I've been depressed ever since!"
His father, H.M.S. Richards, had founded the Voice of Prophecy radio ministry on October 19, 1929, just six days before Harold was born. It would seem Harold's life was destined from the start to become closely entwined with his father's vision.
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Lonnie Melashenko was speaker/director for Voice of Prophecy from January 1993 until July 2008. Voice of Prophecy is the world's second oldest religious broadcast.
Pastor Melashenko was only a year old when he first came to the broadcast: his father, Joe, was bass in the King's Heralds quartet and instructor in the ministry
Lonnie began working with the radio ministry in January 1989, serving as announcer while continuing as senior pastor of the 1400-member
When Pastor Melashenko retired from Voice of Prophecy in 2008, Pastor Fred Kinsey was named speaker/director for the ministry.
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Fred Kinsey was speaker/director for Voice of Prophecy from September 2008 to April 2012. He previously served as assistant to the president for communication at the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, where his responsibilities included coordinating corporate communication for the Adventist Church in North America and serving as president of the Adventist Media Center.
Prior to joining the Division office in 2005, he was chair of the communication department at Pacific Union College, where he taught classes in design, debate, and public relations. His career has also included 20 years (1981-2001) at the Northern California Conference as communication and stewardship director and assistant to the president. He also has experience in commercial radio (classical, adult contemporary, and beautiful music stations), and a few years ago he was the classical announcer for the Earthlink Radio Network.
A graduate of Loma Linda University (1974, history major and communication minor) and the Theological Seminary at Andrews University (1978, M.Div. degree), Kinsey served as a pastor in Ohio from 1978 to 1981.
Pastor Kinsey and his wife, Lynette, live in Maryland. They have two adult children - Stephanie now serves in her father's former position as communication director for the Northern California Conference; Jeffrey works for Microsoft in computer programming.
