The Crystal Cathedral, home to the Hour of Power broadcast is in financial turmoil
The shimmering, glass-walled California megachurch known as the Crystal Cathedral, home to the Hour of Power broadcast—an evangelism staple that’s been on the air for more than three decades—is in financial turmoil. It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County property to pay off debt, since its revenue dropped by nearly $5 million last year, according to a recent letter to elite donors from founder Robert H. Schuller, one of the most popular televangelists in U.S. history. In the letter, Schuller hinted that the show might go off the air without renewed support. “The final months of 2008 were devastating for our ministry,” the 82-year-old pastor wrote. But economic conditions may not be the only culprit: Schuller’s son and successor as senior pastor, Robert A. Schuller, has not proved as popular with viewers in a personality-driven business.