Paul Crouch: One of the fathers of American Christian Broadcasting dies at 79.

Pray for the Crouch family, as we await burial arrangements.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• Paul Crouch dies at 79
• He was the co-founder of  Trinity Broadcasting Network
• He worked in radio and TV for nearly 60 years

Paul Crouch, one of the fathers of modern American Christian broadcasting has died at the age of 79 and the tributes are pouring in. Crouch teamed with his wife, Jan, to launch the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which is now the country’s largest Christian television broadcaster. Trinity is one of the largest owners of broadcast TV outlets – and its shows can be seen on 287 stations in the United States.


Crouch was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, the son of Assemblies of God missionaries. Crouch, whose father died when he was seven years old, was mainly raised by his mother with the help of his grandparents. He soon became interested in amateur radio and announced he would use such technology to send the Gospel around the world. He graduated from the Central Bible Institute and Seminary in Springfield, Missouri in 1955 with a degree in theology.
He also received three honorary doctorates: a Doctor of Litterarum (D.Litt) on May 29, 1981, from the California Graduate School of Theology,Glendale, California; a Doctor of Divinity on May 29, 1983, from the American Christian Theological Seminary, Anaheim, California; and a Doctor of Laws degree on May 5, 1985, from Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Crouch and the former Janice Bethany (Crouch) met in 1957 and were married in Missouri. They have two sons, Paul Crouch Jr. and Matthew Crouch.

Early broadcasting career
Crouch began his career in broadcasting by helping to build an educational AM station (KCBI-AM) on campus while a student at Central Bible Institute and Seminary. In 1957 he became a radio announcer at KRSD in Rapid City, South Dakota and progressed rapidly to program director. Shortly thereafter he was promoted to manager of sister station KRSD-TV, the NBC affiliate in Rapid City.
In 1961, he was appointed by the general council of the Assemblies of God to organize and operate their newly formed Department of Television and Film Production in Burbank, California, a position he held for four years. Crouch was responsible for the ongoing production of films focusing largely on foreign missions and foreign missionary works, as well as the Assemblies of God’s large inventory of audiovisual materials and children’s teaching aids.
From 1965 to 1970 Crouch was general manager of KREL radio in Corona, California. In 1966, he purchased a minority stock interest in KREL. During his time at KREL, he successfully completed the station's application for an increase in power to 5,000 watts.
After leaving KREL in 1970, Crouch was invited to serve as general manager for KHOF-FM and KHOF-TV in San Bernardino, California.

Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) history
Crouch left KHOF in 1973 and with his wife, Jan, founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). In 1974, TBN purchased its first TV station, KLXA-TV (now KTBN-TV). Since then, TBN has grown to become the United States' largest Christian television network, and the third largest group owner of broadcast TV stations in the U.S., with CBS, FOX, and NBC holding fourth, fifth and sixth place, according to TV News Check's annual listing of the Top 30 Station Groups.
TBN is viewed globally on 70 satellites and over 18,000 TV and cable affiliates. TBN is also seen on the web globally. TBN is carried on over 287 television stations in the U.S. and on thousands of other cable television and satellite systems around the world in over 75 countries, where their programming is translated into over eleven languages.

In the US, TBN’s coverage grew through agreements with national cable operators. TBN is viewed via major cable and satellite companies such as Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, Verizon FIOS,DirecTV, AT&T, Dish Network, and Charter.[6]
In addition to TBN, Crouch and his wife developed and oversaw operations for TBN’s affiliated television networks: Smile of a Child - children’s channel, JCTV - youth network, The Church Channel,[10] TBN Enlace USA - Spanish language network, [not in citation given] TBNE-Italian, The Healing Channel - Arabic language network, TBN-Russia, TBN Nejat TV - Persian-language channel, and TBN-HD, TBN’s new high definition network.

Death
Crouch died at his home in Orange, California, on November 30, 2013, after a decade-long fight with degenerative heart disease, his grandson Brandon Crouch told The Associated Press. Trinity Broadcast Network had reported that Crouch became ill and was taken to a Dallas area hospital in October while visiting the network's facility in Colleyville, Texas. Later he returned to California for continued treatment of "heart and related health issues."