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1971 A HISTORIC MOMENT: REACHING THE WORLD THROUGH TELEVISION
Those were some of the first words coming from an excited and energetic young Kenneth Copeland when, on May 27, 1971, he welcomed viewers to The Word of Faith, a one-hour television program that, over time, would evolve into what is known today as the Believer’s Voice of Victory television broadcast.
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Within weeks, however, faced with challenges that included time restraints and insufficient finances, the program would be placed on hold. A second opportunity at television, through a half-hour syndicated program called The Prayer Group, that began airing in 1972, would prove to be significantly more successful. But once again, the strain of operating an ongoing TV ministry while maintaining a rigorous schedule traveling and speaking proved to be too much for such a young ministry. By 1974, for a second time, plans for a television ministry were set aside. Instead, in 1976 all efforts and resources were focused on radio, which took off like a rocket. TV wasn’t part of the conversation. It just didn’t look doable—until 1978.
One weekend while heading home to Fort Worth from a trip to Arkansas, Kenneth and Gloria stopped for breakfast. They ordered their food, prayed, and then, as they ate, they began to discuss going back on television. “We just couldn’t see how we could possibly do it,” Kenneth has recalled. But suddenly, God’s plan for the television ministry just dropped into Kenneth’s heart, and snapped into place like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. He looked at Gloria and knew from the look on her face she had heard the same “snap.”
In that moment, they both knew that Jesus was saying to them, OK, let’s do it!
“Gloria,” Kenneth said, “tomorrow is Monday. Let’s go home and get on TV!”
“OK!” Gloria agreed.
New Direction
During the month of March 1979, airtime was bought across the country with a onehour special aimed to introduce Kenneth Copeland to a TV audience. By May 1979, a new one-hour Sunday program called the Believer’s Voice of Victory broadcast was launched. The setting was simple—just show the people at home this fiery young preacher from Texas as he opened the Word of God in meetings across America. The new TV audience loved it. In less than 2 years the BVOV TV broadcast was in the top 10 among religious broadcasters.
But God had even greater plans for KCM— and its TV ministry.
As Kenneth explains, in 1988, while he and Gloria were ministering in Australia, the Lord reminded them of a command He had given them in 1976: I told you then that I was coming so soon that I wanted this uncompromised message of faith on every available voice. I haven’t changed. I have not released you from that assignment.
Now, the Lord was adding another voice— giving them an assignment that would be the biggest step of faith they had taken up to that time. He told them:
I want you to begin airing daily, 30-minute broadcasts through which you will teach believers who they are in Christ Jesus. Bring them from religion to reality. Use these programs to teach, not preach. Continue your weekly broadcasts on Sunday and do your preaching there.
While the ministry still lacked the money to go on daily television, the personnel, the equipment and a studio to operate a TV ministry, what Kenneth and Gloria did have was that one word from God. And they had their faith.
That was all God needed!
Speaking about the commission God had given them, Kenneth said by faith in 1988, “That’s what God has told us to do, and we’re going to do it.… Gloria and I are already totally committed to fulfilling this assignment The LORD has given us. We’re going to give everything we have to see to it that this job gets done. We’re going to help arm believers across this nation with the mighty weapons of spiritual combat. We’re going to teach them how to put on the breastplate of righteousness and how to wield the shield of faith. We’re going to see believers turn on the devil and run him and his gang out of their lives, out of their families, out of their churches, and even out of their communities.
“God has commanded us to launch a major offensive, to aggressively attack the forces of darkness. And we are committed to taking that step, no matter what the cost. We will see the wounds that have been inflicted on the Body of Christ in recent times begin to heal. We will see individual believers set free from the bondage of sickness, sin, poverty and fear. We will see the Church truly begin to glorify the Name of The LORD!”
Those early efforts to get the uncompromised Word of God onto daily television were a resounding success, and laid a solid foundation for KCM’s television ministry and its availability around the world today. Kenneth explained it so well: “So how did we jump from weekly television to a daily broadcast? By faith. We meditated The WORD. We confessed our success. We built our faith. We called those things that be not as though they were. We did all the same things you’ll have to do to reach your next faith goal... we looked to God. As always, God was faithful to His WORD.”
Produced by the KCM television department, the BVOV broadcast is often a newcomer’s first glimpse into KCM’s mission to “preach the uncompromised Word of God through every available voice from the top of the world to the bottom and all the way around the middle.” The BVOV broadcast helps believers grow in the things of God by teaching and introducing them to the Word of God. From there, the teaching materials and connections with KCM bring them to a deeper understanding of God’s Word and the practical application of spiritual principles for everyday life.
Reaching Around the World!
Today, the BVOV Sunday and Daily broadcasts are available around the world via streaming to more than 318 million potential viewers in the U.S., and another 3 billion internationally. Some of the areas reached outside the U.S. include Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe and Latin America. The weekly broadcast is aired in Spanish in the U.S., and all across Latin America, Puerto Rico and Spain.
But why stop with two programs? Why not 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?! In 2015 that very opportunity came. The door opened and KCM and its partners stepped through with the Believer’s Voice of Victory Network ® , which became VICTORY Channel ™ in 2019. A Word of Faith centered TV network, VICTORY Channel offers 24/7 programming of God’s Word taught by some of the most trusted Bible teachers, including Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, George and Terri Pearsons, Jerry Savelle, Jesse Duplantis, Creflo Dollar, Keith Moore, Bill Winston, Keith Butler, Mac Hammond, Andrew Wommack, Billye Brim, David and Nicole Crank, Gary Keesee, and many others. To ensure the network stays focused on the mandate to preach the uncompromised Word of Faith, each of the VICTORY Channel programmers are chosen because of their same faith calling. To see a full list of programmers, go to govictory.com/ about.
VICTORY Channel has a viewing audience of more than 34 million on DISH ® , DIRECTV ® and Spectrum, with millions more via streaming platforms that include Roku ® , YouTube ® , Rumble, Apple TV ® , Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, iHeartRadio and TuneIn, as well as GoVictory.com, KCM.org and the Go Victory app.
KCM’s VICTORY Channel doesn’t just preach faith—it is on the air by faith! VICTORY is not supported by advertising and none of the programmers are charged for their airtime. Provision flows through the generosity of its viewers.
Television is powerful. Its signal knows no boundaries. It reaches the darkest, most remote locations on earth. And over the last 43 years it has transformed so much of the Body of Christ, bringing them from spiritual milk to meat, from religion to reality!
Kenneth and Gloria, by their faith and the faith of their Partners and Friends, continue to declare that Jesus is Lord—from the top of the world to the bottom and all the way around the middle!
