Editing Grace Communion International (section)

== Founding ==
In 1934, [[Herbert W. Armstrong]], an advertising agent turned [[televangelist|radio- and televangelist]], founded the Radio Church of God, a radio ministry<ref>{{citation|title=Cartoonist drawn to sharp views|first=Mary Ann|last=Albright|date=2 July 2011|work=The Columbian|url=http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/jul/02/cartoonist-drawn-to-sharp-views/|access-date=30 June 2016}}</ref> in [[Eugene, Oregon]]. Armstrong's biography states that he had been ordained in 1931 by the [[Church of God (Seventh Day)|Oregon Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day)]], an [[Adventist]] group, but split with them in 1933. On January 7, 1934, Armstrong began hosting a broadcast on a local 100-watt radio station [[KORE]] in Eugene.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} The program was essentially a condensed church service on the air, with hymn singing featured along with Armstrong's message. Armstrong later named his program ''[[The World Tomorrow (radio and television)|The World Tomorrow]]'', perhaps inspired by the theme of the [[1939 New York World's Fair|1939 World's Fair]], "The World of Tomorrow". To facilitate the work of the growing church, Armstrong incorporated it on March 3, 1946, as the ''Radio Church of God''. Although his views were rejected by the local congregation, he gained a following through his ''World Tomorrow'' broadcasts and ''[[The Plain Truth]]'' magazine.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}           

In 1947, Armstrong incorporated his California ministry,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=1986-01-17 |title=Herbert Armstrong, 93, Dies; Evangelist and a Broadcaster |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/17/obituaries/herbert-armstrong-93-dies-evangelist-and-a-broadcaster.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> relocated the church's headquarters to [[Pasadena, California]], and founded [[Ambassador College]] as the denomination's educational arm. The broadcast of ''[[The World Tomorrow (radio and television)|The World Tomorrow]]'' went into Europe on [[Radio Luxembourg (English)|Radio Luxembourg]] on January 7, 1953. In 1968, the movement was renamed the Worldwide Church of God (WCG).<ref name="Tucker">{{citation|title=From the Fringe to the Fold|first=Ruth|last=Tucker|year=1996|work=Christianity Today|url=https://www.gci.org/aboutus/fringe|access-date=July 1, 2016|archive-date=August 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822005813/https://www.gci.org/aboutus/fringe|url-status=dead}}</ref>