About Us
Our Mission:
Plain Truth Ministries proclaims authentic Christianity without the religion.
Our work is Christ-centered, based on God's amazing grace, giving hope to those burned out by legalistic religion.
Our work is Christ-centered, based on God's amazing grace, giving hope to those burned out by legalistic religion.
PTM communicates its message electronically and in print, in its magazines, books and booklets, audio cassettes, CDs, letters, radio, pod-casts, email and on the Internet.
We Believe
Plain Truth Ministries Statement of Faith:
- God
We believe in one eternal, triune God in three co-essential, yet distinct Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. - Jesus Christ
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully human, the Son of God and Lord of all, worthy of worship, honor and reverence, who died for us as a supreme expression of God's love, was raised bodily from the dead, ascended to heaven and will come again as King of kings. - The Holy Scriptures
We believe that the Bible constitutes the divinely inspired written revelation of God, the foundation of truth, the record of God's revelation to humanity. - Salvation
We believe that human salvation is the gift of God, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not earned by personal merit or good works. - The Church
We believe in the universal body of Christ and the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
What We Do
Christianity Without the Religion—Teaching Ministry
Join Greg Albrecht, President of Plain Truth Ministries, at www.ptm.org for a new and revolutionary kind of church service. In our half-hour service, you'll find the freedom of authentic, pure and genuine Christianity — Christianity without walls or denominational barriers — Christianity without humanly imposed rules, rituals and regulations. In short, you'll find Christianity Without the Religion. Available at www.ptm.org 24 hours a day, with a new service posted every Sunday morning.
CWR Magazine
As the flagship magazine of Plain Truth Ministries (PTM) CWRm is a refreshing breath of fresh air in the midst of oppressive religious threats and guilt trips. Go to CWR magazine online.
Plain Truth Magazine
A bold, uncompromising and revolutionary Christ-centered magazine. In the pages of the PTyou will discover authentic Christianity without all the religious "stuff." Go to Plain Truthmagazine online.
Plain Truth Radio
Hosted by Greg Albrecht, daily Plain Truth radio is a half-hour program available 24 hours a day on our website at www.ptm.org. Plain Truth radio is Christian radio with a difference. Greg's powerful and personal delivery on vital topics helps listeners deal with the day-to-day issues that face them.
CWR Blog
Join Senior Editor Brad Jersak and discover fascinating, Christ-centered teaching and insights.
PTM eUpdate
Wherever you may be in this world, every week in your email box you can receive an update from PTM — bringing you reminders and updates, as well as our CWR Bible Survey. Just sign up on our PTM eUpdate web page.
CWR Video Magazine
CWRV is a video only magazine, with pastors, scholars and Christ-followers at large, around the world offering teaching and insight, from a Christ-centered perspective.
CWR Bible Survey
If you are a new student of the Bible, feeling a little intimidated and overwhelmed by the task of reading and studying this incredible collection of 66 books that we call the Bible, this study series is for you! And even if you have read and studied the Bible for 50 years, we think that you will learn and profit from the CWR Bible Survey! We believe the CWR Bible Survey will not only be fascinating, but it will help you to better know the true Word of God, Jesus Christ.
Free Booklets and Literature
PTM offers an extensive assortment of downloadable booklets and reprinted articles to help with relevant questions and issues about God's grace, as opposed to religious legalism.
PTM Website: www.ptm.org
There's always something new happening on our website!
- Join us for worship anytime at Christianity Without the Religion. A new service every week.
- Read the PTM eUpdate online — a new issue every week.
- Browse current and back articles from our flagship magazine CWRM, as well as Plain Truth magazine.
- Listen to Plain Truth Radio—available 24 hours a day.
- Join Senior Editor Bird Jersak and the many short articles and blogs he shares atCWRblog.
- Order PTM resources.
Books by Greg Albrecht
A Taste of Grace —A Taste of Grace is an easy-to-read page-turning exploration of God's amazing grace, demonstrated and illustrated by the teachings of Jesus.
A Taste of Grace reveals God's grace as irreconcilably opposed to the core values and beliefs of institutionalized religion.
A Taste of Grace reveals God's grace to be an absurd and foolish sentiment that doesn't add up to the human mind.
A Taste of Grace reveals God's grace as irreconcilably opposed to the core values and beliefs of institutionalized religion.
A Taste of Grace reveals God's grace to be an absurd and foolish sentiment that doesn't add up to the human mind.
Rejecting Religion—Embracing Grace —Join Greg Albrecht as he examines what Jesus has to say about the kingdom of religion, through an eye-opening study of Jesus' sermon in Matthew 23. Jesus uses words like woe, hypocrites, blind, greedy, self-indulgent, unclean, desolate, hell and snakes to describe the religious industry, its professionals and the consequences it brings into the lives of those it "serves." But the kingdom of heaven, in stark contrast to the oppressive kingdom of religion, is a spiritual dimension of freedom and peace. Rejecting Religion—Embracing Grace affirms the ultimate victory of God's grace—even as the relentless waves of his grace will eventually erode and cover the shifting sands of religion like the waters cover the sea.
Spiritual Soup for the Hungry Soul —Greg's fifth book is a collection of 48 carefully selected messages Greg has previously given at Christianity Without the Religion. With nearly 400 compelling and inspiring pages, this is the most substantial of Greg’s books to date, so while you may be tempted to read it all at once—we recommend reading a little at a time. Spiritual Soup for the Hungry Soul makes a great devotional or a companion to other studies and resources you may use as you journey through the year.
Spiritual Soup for the Hungry Soul –Volume 2 —A second collection of 48 sermons previously given at the teaching ministry of Christianity Without the Religion. Another superb resource enabling the reader to consider timely messages for every week of the year.
Unplugging From Religion...Connecting With God —Get ready to know God who loves you more than you have ever imagined!
Get ready to discover how you can break free from religious shackles and embrace God's unconditional no-matter-what love for you.
Get ready to discover how you can break free from religious shackles and embrace God's unconditional no-matter-what love for you.
Between Religious Rocks and Life's Hard Places—101 Answers to Tough Questions About What You Believe. Greg answers 101 questions about Christianity and the Bible. From prayer to prophecy, from sin to salvation, from tithing to the Trinity—you'll come away from this book equipped with the tools and methodology to face life's spiritual issues grounded in God's grace.
Revelation Revolution—the Overlooked Message of the Apocalypse —is a revolution in the way that many have been trained and taught to think about biblical prophecy. Revelation Revolution is a grace-based, Christ-centered exploration of the biblical book of Revelation. Join many others in beginning to understand what the Bible's most misunderstood book really means.
Bad News Religion—the Virus That Attacks God's Grace. A guide to the most dangerous spiritual virus of the 21st century—the deadly virus of religious legalism—the idea that you can do something that will make God more pleased with you. Bad News Religion shows you how to spot legalism and tells how to identify healthy, Christ-centered, grace-based Christianity.
By Monte Wolverton
Chasing 120—A Story of Food, Faith, Fraud and the Pursuit of Longevity Join PTM board member and nationally syndicated cartoonist Monte Wolverton for a fictional story that is so close to the religious dysfunction in your world today it might make you uncomfortable or you might laugh and cry
By Brad Jersak
A More Christlike God: A More Beautiful Gospel Senior Editor, Brad Jersak (PhD. d.), is a theologian with a pastor's heart—a theologian who can actually be understood! This ground-breaking book and its Christ-centered message is deeply needed, especially within the world of Christendom. Highly acclaimed and endorsed, and critically important.
All nine of these life-changing books are available through Plain Truth Ministries.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Is Plain Truth Ministries (PTM) financed by or affiliated with a church or denomination?
A. No. We partner with and provide resources to other ministries and well as small groups and individual congregations. But we are not dependent on any other ministry or church.
Q. How is PTM financed?
A. The vast majority of our support is from the generous contributions of our dedicated Friends and Partners. The remainder of our income is derived from resource sales and miscellaneous income. PTM is a 501(c)(3) charity, registered with the IRS. Contributions to PTM are tax-deductible in the U.S.
Q. Who is Greg Albrecht?
A. Greg Albrecht is president and CEO of Plain Truth Ministries, teaches at PTM's online church, Christianity Without the Religion, and Editor of our two magazines. You can read a short biography by clicking here.
Q. How is PTM governed?
A. As a nonprofit corporation, PTM is governed by a board of directors. PTM's operations are conducted by a small staff, directed by president Greg Albrecht.
Q. The title of your weekly online worship service – and the tagline on Plain Truth magazine – is Christianity Without the Religion. Isn't Christianity a religion? Just what do you mean by religion?
A. Religion can be defined in various ways, but its popular connotation is any system of practice and observance intended to make people more acceptable to God. By that definition, authentic Christianity is not a religion – because authentic Christianity is not about human effort that enhances our standing with God, but about what God has done for us.
Q. Where are your offices?
A. In the city of Duarte, California.
Q. What radio stations are you on?
A. Plain Truth ministries has chosen to put its resources into the Internet, where Christianity Without the Religion (our worldwide online church) and Plain Truth radio are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week around the world. Some PTM Partners and groups of our supporters choose to sponsor our programs on local stations. Other stations run our programs free of charge, but as this varies from week to week, we have no set listing of stations.
Q. Is PTM connected with the late evangelist Herbert Armstrong?
A. He is part of PTM's history, as he founded Plain Truth magazine in 1934. Although Armstrong was a popular religious broadcaster for many years, his doctrines were deeply flawed. After his death in 1986, Plain Truth magazine and its parent organization, Worldwide Church of God, underwent significant doctrinal reform, abandoning Armstrong's flawed teachings and embracing the good news of the gospel of grace. Plain Truth Ministries was formed in 1996 and has published the new Plain Truth magazine since that time. PTM is no longer involved or affiliated with the Worldwide Church of God (itself renamed Grace Communion International). Our former history of legalistic oppression motivates PTM to warn against religious legalism, to teach sound Christian doctrine and to boldly proclaim God's amazing grace!
Q. The word "religion" seems to get slammed by PTM. Doesn't James 1:27 say, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." This seems to say that religion isn't necessarily bad!
A. James 1:27 tells us about pure and undefiled religion– implying that there is such a thing as impure and defiled religion. So not all religion is good. The idea behind many words changes over time. Religion is such a word. Religion can be used as a term for any kind of belief or faith in God. Religion thus may refer to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. Many secular individuals dismiss all religion as useless, as an emotional crutch that some people seem to need to make it through the day.
However, there is another meaning attached to the word "religion" today to which The New Testament is absolutely opposed. The popular, common denominator of religion is the idea that humans must do, perform and produce works, deeds, virtues or behaviors as stipulated by rituals, rites and regulations. The idea is that having performed ceremonies, having followed religious prescriptions, priests, pills and potions, then God is more pleased with humans than he otherwise would have been. This is the fundamental difference between biblical Christianity and religion in general (whether it be a non-Christian religion, or a practice which claims to be Christian). The gospel of Jesus Christ insists that God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We are, according to the gospel, incapable of pleasing and appeasing God on the basis of our works. That is the definition of religion that PTM uses– and opposes, for it is the enemy of the gospel.
However, there is another meaning attached to the word "religion" today to which The New Testament is absolutely opposed. The popular, common denominator of religion is the idea that humans must do, perform and produce works, deeds, virtues or behaviors as stipulated by rituals, rites and regulations. The idea is that having performed ceremonies, having followed religious prescriptions, priests, pills and potions, then God is more pleased with humans than he otherwise would have been. This is the fundamental difference between biblical Christianity and religion in general (whether it be a non-Christian religion, or a practice which claims to be Christian). The gospel of Jesus Christ insists that God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We are, according to the gospel, incapable of pleasing and appeasing God on the basis of our works. That is the definition of religion that PTM uses– and opposes, for it is the enemy of the gospel.
