In 1971, the elders of the Torrance Church of Christ asked Howard Cox to start a Bible Correspondence Course as apart of their Mission outreach program. Howard, the deacon in charge of missions, along with his wife, Margaret, work together to start this correspondence course. Jimmie Lovell supplied them with a Bible Correspondence Course written by the Bible Department of Pepperdine University. The course was called "The Light of the World". Howard and Margaret wrote Jolly Meyers and Doris Penick in Glen Rose, Texas in order to obtain names of students interested in a Bible Correspondence Course. They were sent their first 100 students located in the Caribbean and 100 in Africa. The students numbered 200 when they began to gain teaching support from other Torrance church members. Many members soon volunteered to teach as the first group of teachers began to hear from their students. Every lesson returned contained 20 to 50 additional names of students who were interested in taking the course. The Torrance church had 55 teachers within the congregation and 2,000 students collectively.

Jimmie Lovell told Howard that he had never seen so much enthusiasm as this course generated in the Torrance congregation. Jimmie was publishing a paper called "ACTION" at the time. Howard told him that it would be great if other churches and individuals nationwide become involved in the Bible Correspondence program. Jimmie said that he would use the ACTION paper to encourage other churches. However, Howard and Margaret had to coordinate the program. Jimmie decided to call the program "World Bible School". This name began appearing in the ACTION paper in March 1973. World Bible School rapidly grew to 60,000 teachers working with over one million students worldwide. (The number of students is estimated by the number of lessons printed each year.) There is no way to determine how many lives have been touched by this correspondence work. Many churches worldwide have been started as a result of this outreach. It is estimated that at least 70,000 students are baptized every year.

World Bible School (WBS) is based on one of the Bible's greatest passages; "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17 NIV) WBS believes the Bible is a book that exists for every person in the world. A book for all times giving life meaning, enrichment, alternatives, and beyond this life. The Bible is God's Word and God's message is for everyone. This is why the main focus of the program is to go into all the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Churches would send a missionary into a mission field at great expense. The missionary spent much time learning the language and culture to enable Bible teaching to the local natives. After two or three years, the missionary returned home. WBS has thousands of students already taught by teachers waiting for a missionary to arrive. This allows the missionary to establish a church in the area immediately.

WBS is a Bible school by mail. Teachers are volunteer Christian men and women who live in the United States, Canada, and other countries. The students live in over a hundred countries and number into the millions. These students became familiar with WBS through advertisements in their local newspaper, friends or relatives in a prior WBS program, or local Christian churches. Many students reside in third world countries, labor long days to provide for their families, and work great distances from their immediate family. These students might be a non-baptized believer, a newly baptized Christian, or a more mature Christian in search of gaining more knowledge and strengthening their faith. The WBS central offices located in Texas and California distribute the student's name and address to teachers worldwide. Teachers obtain materials, lessons, tracts, Bibles, and bulk mailing ability through these offices. In addition, these offices are a source for local missionary or follow-up contacts. The church at Mission Viejo has served 13 years in this evangelist ministry.