On Thursday, March 25, 2021, It Is Written speaker and director John Bradshaw held a Facebook Live broadcast to mark the 65th anniversary of that supporting media ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The first program entered people’s homes on television on Sunday, March 25, 1956.
After the Facebook Live broadcast, in which Bradshaw wore a necktie worn by ministry founder George Vandeman, It Is Written staff gathered in person (safely distanced) or by Zoom for a special devotional thought, dedicatory prayer, and light refreshments.
During his devotional remarks, Bradshaw reminded the team that every ministry action was weighted with eternal consequences. “The men and women who started [this ministry] propelled It Is Written to groundbreaking accomplishments over the years,” Bradshaw said. He challenged the current staff to stay faithful to the goal of seeing souls saved, and closed with a dedicatory prayer asking God to bless the ministry until its work is done and Jesus returns.
Commenting on the anniversary, Bradshaw said, “[I imagine] that when Pastor George Vandeman founded It Is Written 65 years ago, he did not anticipate we would still be here 65 years later. We don't want to mark another anniversary 65 years from now. We’re looking to see the world reached with the Good News so we can go home!”
According to Bradshaw, the organization is working as hard as it can toward that goal, joined by hundreds of people from around the world who make the ministry possible by their financial support.
From one weekly program filmed in a make-shift television studio in a living room to 10 programs produced in a camera-ready studio in Collegedale, Tennessee, United States, It Is Written has been sharing the gospel through technology. The first religious television program to air in color, the ministry also helped pioneer satellite and virtual evangelism. Still the 10th longest-running weekly television series in the United States, It Is Written remains dedicated to sharing the gospel with the world.
According to the ministry leaders, today It Is Written is more than just television programs. The ministry offers a full-time online television channel, It Is Written TV; an evangelism training school, SALT; a children's ministry, My Place With Jesus; a Spanish language ministry, Escrito Está; a full-service warehouse providing sharing resources; humanitarian work impacting lives in countries around the world; and multiple annual evangelistic initiatives in cities across the globe each year.
This year, It Is Written is offering ACTS 20:21, a full-cycle virtual and in-person evangelism program being used by hundreds of churches around the country seeking to reach their communities with the gospel.
“Ninety-eight percent of our funding comes from donors who believe in this work as strongly as we do,” Bradshaw shared. He added, “Many have been giving since the days of George Vandeman and continue faithfully today.”
