History

The Alliance’s history stretches back over 70 years. The Alliance began as Evangelical Ministries in 1949 when Donald Barnhouse, with the encouragement of Dr. C. Everett Koop, was approached by a major network to pioneer a coast-to-coast ministry. Soon after the first broadcast of The Bible Study Hour aired introducing Dr. Barnhouse’s monumental study of Romans, a series which ran its 455 messages for over a decade. Evangelical Ministries wpuold also begin publishing Eternity magazine.

In 1969, Dr. James Boice left his work at Christianity Today and became the preacher for The Bible Study Hour. Dr. Boice had the same passion for God’s Word and, like Dr. Barnhouse, an entrepreneurial spirit that helped bring the Word to people in pioneering ways. From broadcasting and publishing, to conferences like the historic Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, Dr. Boice used his great gifts to promote the teachings of Scripture clearly reflected in the five solas of the Reformation. A decade later, Evangelical Ministries played a strategic role in the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy. Both of these efforts had a massive impact upon evangelicalism in North America and around the world.

Evangelical Ministries began a new era in 1994, with Dr. Boice’s recognition that American evangelicalism was experiencing a crisis and had generally capitulated to the “spirit of the age,” especially in terms of Christianity’s consumerism, pragmatism, politicization, and disregard for theological clarity, these leaders lamented that many churches had become very unbiblical—including some churches that loudly affirmed their belief in biblical authority.

Consequently, the Alliance was formed to constructively address these concerns within the wider Christian community. Thus, Evangelical Ministries, Inc. reconstituted in 1996 to create the Alliance remaining a Section 501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation under the Internal Revenue Code and under the laws of the state of Delaware.