Herald of Truth TV, September 1958, Madison Church of Christ, Ira North

Description:
Herald of Truth was a radio and television ministry of the Highland Avenue Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. The television programming grew out of the success of its radio programming and was syndicated to over 150 stations. The initial programs were filmed on location at several Churches of Christ across the United States.

In September 1957, Herald of Truth wrote to Ira North requesting to film a Sunday morning worship service for the national television program from Madison Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee. Letters went back and forth between Madison Church and Herald of Truth for many months to plan the program, prepare and approve the script, and finalize production. The programs were highly scripted and edited in these settings due to the national exposure and to precisely fit in the space allotted.

In August 1958, Harold Bradley, a future Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee and Madison Church member, partnered with Herald of Truth to use Bradley Studios to produce this film. The video includes the 1,000-seat auditorium, Bixler Chapel, and the original Valley View Camp before Interstate 65 was built north of Nashville.

Ira North was 36 years old when this film was produced. His sermon on Philip and the Eunuch captures the essence of the distinctive doctrine among Churches of Christ and reflects his training in speech and rhetoric. The sermon and invitation song illustrate a typical practice among Churches of Christ.

The two baptisms following the sermon may be the earliest filmed among Churches of Christ. The film also spends considerable time, relatively speaking, portraying the distinctive acapella singing characteristic of Churches of Christ.

Additional Herald of Truth programs were filmed at Madison, Vultee, Hillsboro, Acklen Avenue churches in Nashville, Union Avenue, and Highland Street churches in Memphis. After filming the program at Hillsboro in 1959, Batsell Barrett Baxter became the regular speaker, and production shifted to a studio format.

Thank you to Mac Ice at Abilene Christian University Special Collections and Archives! We greatly appreciate your help!