Gospel Dynamite

Charles O. Baptista, a Venezulean-born, US-educated piano salesman, started Scriptures Visualized Institute to produce educational and evangelism films. The films stood out since they often used very simple concepts and animation to bring their message to public. During World War II, projectors were in short supply, so the company partnered with audiovisual manufacturer Devry to create the Miracle Projector an inexpensive projector that was thus more accessible to churches. By the early 1950s, Baptista was doing more with filmstrips and audiovisual equipment than with 16mm film a shift that tied up much of the company's money and led to their ultimate demise in the 1960s.