Paul Crouch

{{short description|American television evangelist (1934–2013)}}

{{for multi|his son, the Christian broadcaster|Paul Crouch Jr.|the communist activist and informer|Paul Crouch (activist)}}
{{cleanup|reason=Sources are poorly added or poorly cited|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Paul Crouch
| image       = Paul Crouch.jpg
| birth_name  = Paul Franklin Crouch
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1934|3|30}}
| birth_place = [[St Joseph, Missouri]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2013|11|30|1934|3|30}}
| death_place = [[Orange, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Pacific View Memorial Park]]<br>[[Corona del Mar, Newport Beach]], [[California]]
| occupation  = [[Evangelism|Evangelist]], television network executive
| employer    = [[Trinity Broadcasting Network]] (TBN)
| title       = President
| term        =
| successor   =
| boards      =
| spouse      = {{marriage|[[Jan Crouch]]|1957|2013}}
| years_active = 1955–2003
| partner     =
| children    = [[Paul Crouch, Jr.]]<br>[[Matthew Crouch]]
| website     = {{URL|paulcrouch.com}}
| footnotes   =
| known       = Founder of TBN
| relations   = five grandchildren, including [[Brandon Crouch]] and [[Brittany Koper]]
}}

'''Paul Franklin Crouch''' /kraʊtʃ/ (March 30, 1934 – November 30, 2013) was an American [[Televangelism|television evangelist]]. Crouch and his wife, [[Jan Crouch|Jan]], founded the [[Trinity Broadcasting Network]] (TBN) in 1973; the company has been described as "the world’s largest religious television network."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dell’Omo|first=Augusta|date=2021|title=Infernal Handiwork: Trinity Broadcasting Network Aids Apartheid South Africa, 1980–1994|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/dh/dhab032|journal=Diplomatic History|volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=767–793 |doi=10.1093/dh/dhab032|issn=0145-2096}}</ref>

==Biography==
Crouch was born in [[St. Joseph, Missouri]], the third son of oft-traveling [[Assemblies of God]] missionaries, Andrew F. Crouch (January 7, 1889 – June 1, 1941) and wife, the former Sara Swingle (September 26, 1891 – September 29, 1976). Crouch had two older brothers, the Rev. Philip Crouch (1918–2005), and John Mark Crouch (1923–1991). 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 College]] ([[Assemblies of God]]) in [[Springfield, Missouri]] in 1955 with a degree in theology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tbnnewswire.com/paul-crouch/paul-crouch-sr |title=TBN Founder Paul Crouch: Leading the Way for Christian Broadcasting &#124; TBN Newswire |access-date=2014-01-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106213241/http://tbnnewswire.com/paul-crouch/paul-crouch-sr/ |archive-date=2014-01-06 }}</ref>

Crouch 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 Janice Bethany 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) 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 [[KOTA-TV|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 [[KPXN-TV|KHOF-TV]] in [[San Bernardino, California]].

===Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) history===
{{main|Trinity Broadcasting Network}}
Crouch left KHOF in 1973 and with his wife, Jan, founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) along with [[Jim Bakker|Jim]] and [[Tammy Faye Bakker]] (the Bakkers left in 1975). 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,<ref name="mediabiz.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.mediabiz.com/thebridge/?release_id=154#1052 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122110107/http://www.mediabiz.com/thebridge/?release_id=154#1052 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 22, 2010 |title=Mediabiz's Mission is to use Real World data to solve the media industry's future challenges |publisher=Mediabiz.com |access-date=December 1, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="highbeam.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-102725178.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104054255/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-102725178.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |title=Heavenly success: TV's largest religious network continues to expand around the world, while adding shows aimed at reaching a much wider audience. (30th Anniversary) |publisher=Highbeam.com |access-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2010/04/07/41240/top-station-groups-stay-the-course |title=Top Station Groups Stay The Course |date=7 April 2010 |publisher=TVNewsCheck.com |access-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref> Forbes.com indicated that Paul F. Crouch had compensation of $402,244 in the Fiscal Year ending on 12/31/08.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/14/charity-10_Trinity-Broadcasting-Network_CH0157.htm]{{dead link|date=December 2013}}</ref>

TBN is viewed globally on 70 satellites and over 18,000 TV and cable affiliates. TBN is also seen on the web globally.<ref name="TBN.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.tbn.org/watch-us |title=Watch Us |publisher=Tbn.org |date=January 1, 1970 |access-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref> 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. He was also executive producer for such Christian films as ''[[China Cry]]'' (1990), ''[[The Omega Code]]'' (1999), ''[[Carman: The Champion]]'' (2001), ''[[Megiddo: The Omega Code 2]]'' (2001), and ''[[Time Changer]]'' (2002).

In the U.S., TBN's coverage grew through agreements with national cable operators. TBN is viewed via major cable and satellite companies such as [[Comcast]], [[Cox Communications|Cox]], [[Time Warner]], [[Verizon FIOS]], [[DirecTV]], [[AT&T Inc.|AT&T]], [[Dish Network]], and [[Charter]].<ref>[http://www.ncta.com/OrganizationType/CableNetwork/1514.aspx] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206010101/http://www.ncta.com/OrganizationType/CableNetwork/1514.aspx|date=December 6, 2008}}</ref>

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,<ref name="Smile of a Child">{{cite web |url=http://www.smileofachild.tv |title=Smile of A Child TV |publisher=Smile of A Child TV |access-date=December 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203014525/http://www.smileofachild.tv/ |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2013}} JCTV – youth network,<ref name="JCTV">{{cite web |url=http://www.jctv.org/flashindex.php |title=JCTV |publisher=Jctv.org |access-date=2013-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003123/http://www.jctv.org/flashindex.php |archive-date=2013-12-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Church Channel,<ref name="The Church Channel">{{cite web|url=http://www.thechurchchannel.com |title=A New Digital Network From TBN, the Leader in Religious Television |publisher=The Church Channel |access-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref> TBN Enlace USA – Spanish language network,<ref>[http://www.enlace.org/#/inicio/]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915160257/http://www.enlace.org/|date=2016-09-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/enlacetv?ref=search |title=Enlace – San José (Costa Rica) – Kabel- en satellietservice, Religieuze organisatie |publisher=Facebook |access-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2013}} TBNE-Italian, The Healing Channel – Arabic language network, TBN-Russia, TBN Nejat TV – [[Persian language|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 10 years with degenerative heart disease.<ref>[http://www.dailynews.com/obituaries/20131130/grandson-televangelist-paul-crouch-dies-at-79 "Grandson: Televangelist Paul Crouch dies at 79"]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.christianpost.com/time-for-everything/televangelist-and-tbn-founder-paul-crouch-dead-at-79-19015/ |access-date=May 8, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131201004739/http://blogs.christianpost.com/time-for-everything/televangelist-and-tbn-founder-paul-crouch-dead-at-79-19015/ |archive-date=December 1, 2013 |title=Televangelist and TBN Founder Paul Crouch Dead at 79 }}</ref>

==Criticisms and controversies==
In 2000, Crouch was sued for $40 million<ref name="Post-Standard">News Service Report (5 January 2002) "West Virginia Woman Settles Suit with Network" ''The Post-Standard'' (Syracuse, New York) page B-2</ref> 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<ref>''Fleener v. Trinity Broadcasting Network'', 203 F. Supp. 2d 1142 (5 September 2001, United States District Court for the Central District of California)</ref> the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.<ref name="Post-Standard"/><ref>Coker, Matt (11 January 2002) "A Clockwork Orange" ''OC Weekly'' (Orange County, California) page 10</ref>

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.<ref name="LobdellLATimesSep222004">{{cite web |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2004/sep/22/local/me-tbn22 |title=Ex-Worker Accusing TBN Pastor Says He Had Sex to Keep His Job|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 22, 2004|author=William Lobdell}}</ref> TBN officials denied the allegations.<ref name="LobdellLATimesSep222004"/> On March 15, 2005, Ford appeared at the taping of the [[ION Television]] show ''[[Lie Detector (TV series)|Lie Detector]]''. The show's producers decided not to air the show, and the outcome of the lie detector test was never released.<ref>Lloyd Grove, "Born again: Evangelist sex scandal," New York Daily News, March 31, 2005</ref>

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.<ref>Eckholm, Eric [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all Family Battle Offers Look Inside Lavish TV Ministry] ''New York Times'' May 4, 2012</ref>

==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]]<ref name="parentstv.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/news/release/2008/0228.asp |title=TBN Awarded Seal of Approval by Parents Television Council |publisher=Parentstv.org |date=February 28, 2008 |access-date=December 1, 2013 |archive-date=April 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424211838/http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/news/release/2008/0228.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Appointed by President [[Ronald Reagan]] to the Private Sector Initiative Project<ref>{{cite news|title=Paul Crouch, Co-Founder Of Trinity Broadcasting Network, Dies|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/30/247959496/paul-crouch-co-founder-of-trinity-broadcasting-network-dies|newspaper=NPR}}</ref>
* 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<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/ecosoc6396.doc.htm |title=COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS REJECTS SPECIAL STATUS FOR GROUP, CLOSES FILE ON ANOTHER, APPROVES 10 APPLICATIONS WHILE DEFERRING 15 OTHERS |publisher=Un.org |access-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb name | id = 0189426 | name = Paul Crouch }}
* {{Find a Grave|121022447}}

{{TBN|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crouch, Paul}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:American evangelists]]
[[Category:Film producers from Missouri]]
[[Category:American television evangelists]]
[[Category:American television company founders]]
[[Category:Assemblies of God people]]
[[Category:Christians from Missouri]]
[[Category:Oral Roberts University people]]
[[Category:People from St. Joseph, Missouri]]
[[Category:Central Bible College alumni]]
[[Category:Crouch family]]
[[Category:Pentecostals from California]]
[[Category:Burials at Pacific View Memorial Park]]