In 1968, King Leopold of Belgium requested to meet Herbert Armstrong. That meeting began a history of Mr. Armstrong building bridges of friendship with world leaders and supporting cooperative projects with the aim of “helping people help themselves.” One of the first such projects was an archaeological excavation at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount in association with the Hebrew University and Israel Exploration Society.

Additionally, around this time mobile schools were established to educate Thailand’s mountain people, and worldwide expeditions were conducted by the King Leopold iii Foundation. These initiatives led to the establishment of a new and necessary dimension of the worldwide work Herbert Armstrong led.

Writing to Church members on June 5, 1975, Mr. Armstrong announced, “Some weeks ago I authorized the formation of a new foundation—named the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation [aicf]. It is non-profit, dedicated to serving humanity worldwide. It has become a necessary adjunct to this new worldwide dimension of getting Christ’s true gospel to the nations through heads of government.”