Paul Crouch

For his son, the Christian broadcaster, see Paul Crouch Jr. For the communist activist and informer, see Paul Crouch (activist).

Paul Franklin Crouch (/kraʊtʃ/; (March 30, 1934 – November 30, 2013) was an American televangelist and the co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). Founded in 1973 with his wife, Jan Crouch, TBN grew to become the world's largest religious television network.^[1] Crouch was a prominent figure in the prosperity gospel movement, a theology that drew both a massive global following and significant criticism regarding the network's fundraising tactics and the family's lavish lifestyle.^[2]

Paul Crouch
Born	Paul Franklin Crouch (1934-03-30)March 30, 1934 St Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Died	November 30, 2013(2013-11-30) (aged 79) Orange, California, U.S.
Resting place	Pacific View Memorial Park Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, California
Occupation(s)	Evangelist, television network executive
Years active	1955–2003
Employer	Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN)
Known for	Founder of TBN
Title	President
Spouse	Jan Crouch ​ (m. 1957⁠–⁠2013)​
Children	Paul Crouch, Jr. Matthew Crouch
Relatives	five grandchildren, including Brandon Crouch and Brittany Koper
Website	paulcrouch.com

Biography

Early life and education

Paul Franklin Crouch was born on March 30, 1934, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He was the son of Assemblies of God missionaries Andrew F. Crouch and Sara Swingle. His father died when Crouch was seven years old, and he was raised primarily by his mother and grandparents.^[3]

Crouch attended the Central Bible College (affiliated with the Assemblies of God) in Springfield, Missouri, graduating in 1955 with a degree in theology.^[4] In 1957, he married Janice Bethany (known as Jan Crouch), whom he met while she was attending Bible college in Missouri.^[5] They had two sons, Paul Crouch Jr. and Matthew Crouch.

Early broadcasting career

Crouch began his broadcasting career in the 1950s, working in radio and television production for the Assemblies of God denomination. In 1961, the denomination appointed him to organize its newly created Department of Television and Film Production in Burbank, California.^[3] During his tenure, he oversaw the production of films and audiovisual materials for missionary work.

In the mid-1960s, Crouch moved into station management, serving as the general manager for KREL radio in Corona, California. In 1970, he left KREL to manage KHOF-FM and KHOF-TV in San Bernardino, California.^[6]

Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN)

Main article: Trinity Broadcasting Network

In 1973, Paul and Jan Crouch, along with Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The network began operations by renting airtime on KBSA-TV before purchasing KLXA-TV (Channel 40) in Santa Ana, California, in 1974.^[5] The Bakkers left the network shortly after its founding to start their own ministry, The PTL Club.

Under Crouch's leadership, TBN expanded from a single low-power station to the world's largest religious television network.^[7] Crouch utilized satellite technology to distribute TBN's programming globally, focusing on a model of viewer-supported funding often referred to as the prosperity gospel. This theology, which suggests that God rewards financial giving with material wealth, became a central theme of the network's fundraising appeals ("Praise-a-Thons").^[5]

Crouch also produced several Christian films through the network's production arm, including The Omega Code (1999) and Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001).

Later life and death

In his later years, Crouch and the network faced scrutiny regarding financial transparency and the family's use of tax-exempt ministry funds for personal amenities, including multiple homes and private jets.^[7]

Crouch suffered from chronic heart problems for a decade prior to his death. He died of heart failure at his home in Orange, California, on November 30, 2013, at the age of 79.^[4] He is buried at Pacific View Memorial Park in Newport Beach, California.

Criticisms and controversies

In 2000, Crouch was sued for $40 million^[8] by author Sylvia Fleener, who accused Crouch of plagiarism in his popular end-times novel (and subsequent movie), The Omega Code. Fleener's lawsuit alleged that the movie's plot was taken from her own novel, The Omega Syndrome. A former Crouch personal assistant, Kelly Whitmore, revealed that she had encountered a loose-leaf binder in Jan Crouch's luggage that the Crouches referred to as "the End Times project" and that he often called it "The Omega" but said he disliked the working title, "especially the word 'Syndrome'. After the defendant's motion for summary judgment failed^[9] the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.^[8][10]

In September 2004, the Los Angeles Times reported that in 1998 Crouch paid Enoch Lonnie Ford, a former employee, a $425,000 formal settlement to end a wrongful termination lawsuit. The paper also reported that Ford had alleged a sexual relationship between the two men.^[11] TBN officials denied the allegations.^[11] On March 15, 2005, Ford appeared at the taping of the ION Television show Lie Detector. The show's producers decided not to air the show, and the outcome of the lie detector test was never released.^[12]

A May 2012 New York Times article reported on the personal spending of Paul and Jan Crouch, including "his-and-her mansions one street apart in a gated community" in Newport Beach, California. Paul Crouch received $400,000 in executive salary as president and his wife $365,000 as first vice president of TBN. Brittany Koper, a granddaughter of the Crouches who had authority over finances, claimed that TBN appeared to have violated the IRS ban on "excess compensation" by nonprofit organizations.^[13]

Bibliography

• Hello World! A Personal Message to the Body of Christ. (autobiography) (Nelson, 2003) ISBN 0-7852-6312-8
• I Had No Father But God
• The Omega Code: Another Has Risen from the Dead
• Megiddo: The Omega Code 2
• Shadow of the Apocalypse. (Berkley Trade, October 5, 2004) ISBN 0-425-20011-6

Awards and citations

• Parents Television Council Seal of Approval for TBN
• Parents Television Council Seal of Approval for JCTV (now JUCE TV)
• Parents Television Council Seal of Approval for Smile of a Child TV^[14]
• Appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the Private Sector Initiative Project^[15]
• In May, 2009, the United Nations officially recommended the Smile of a Child Foundation to receive special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for the Democracy Coalition Project^[16]