Telethons: Lucrative Engine of TBN Empire

The worldwide broadcasting empire of Tustin televangelist Paul F. Crouch gets its income from weeklong fund-raising appeals, called “Praise-a-Thons,” that raise tens of millions of dollars and are among the more lucrative such programs on U.S. television.

Crouch reported pledges of $55 million from his two 1988 telethons--pledges that he said are honored at a rate of better than 80%, which would give his Trinity Broadcasting Network a 1988 income of about $44 million, a 10% increase over the reported figure for 1987.

That is more than the $41 million raised during Jerry Lewis’ Labor Day weekend telethons for victims of muscular dystrophy, on a hookup that included 200 stations, and more than twice as much as the $21 million raised on the United Cerebral Palsy’s “Star-athon ‘88” last January.

It is not quite as much as the $54.5 million reportedly raised by the Billy Graham Evangelical Assn., but that total came from appeals made on his televised crusades, his regular weekly radio program and direct mail appeals in all of 1987, the most recent year for which figures are available.

Donations to Crouch’s TBN also continued to climb last year at a time when other televangelists, including Garden Grove’s Robert Schuller, were reporting sharply declining revenue in the wake of scandals involving Jim and Tammy Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart.

TBN said it got pledges of more than $25 million during its most recent telethon, conducted on a 141-station, nationwide hookup for 5 days in late October. Most of the money raised was earmarked for acquiring new television and radio stations, as well as for maintaining and replacing the network’s high-tech equipment.

Crouch’s goal is anything but modest.

“We’re going to make history tonight, as far as Christian broadcasting in concerned,” Crouch told viewers in late October on the first night of the autumn telethon.

“Every channel, every satellite, every radio, every television ought to belong to God’s people,” he said, his fervor rising. “We should have possessed it many years ago. But we let the Devil have it. And, oh, he took it, yes he did. He was glad to have it. Satan has been using the airwaves with impunity for many years to curse and damn the souls of men and women, boys and girls. . . . And we let it happen.”

Observers of televangelism say they cannot account for TBN’s continuing success in fund raising. Because he has been untouched by scandal, some suggest, Crouch may simply be receiving contributions that once were sent elsewhere.

“The pie hasn’t gotten smaller,” said Robert Abelman, professor of communications at Cleveland State University. “Giving has just gotten more selective.”

According to Abelman, who surveyed the pattern of giving to religious broadcasters before and after the Bakker scandal, “there is a lot of money out there that is still being given to religious broadcasters. . . . With the Bakkers, Swaggart and (Oral) Roberts out of the picture, that does open avenues for greater income for many more televangelists. . . . Trinity really has come on strong. They have a lot of new, young televangelists. They are making their presence known.”

And, unlike the better-known broadcast ministries, TBN maintains no church, no college or amusement park to create a large, unproductive overhead, so contributors may think that their money goes a lot further.

Crouch also was unusually frank when he kicked off last April’s telethon.

“We don’t need a ‘Praise-a-Thon,’ ” he told viewers then. “Every bill is paid. For all practical purposes, we have zero debt.”

Because TBN was already running in the black and didn’t really need any more money to maintain its operations, he pointed out, the only real reason to raise funds was to expand. But that expansion, Crouch said, “is a fire that burns within my spirit.”

Like other fund-raisers, the Crouches’ telethons feature heartfelt appeals, songs, live remotes from around the country, taped segments and drum rolls as large gifts are announced. On some nights, there is even a hint of daring Christian decolletage among the gospel singers. Behind glass walls, more than 100 volunteers answer phones on two levels, and on several occasions there were so many people calling that the phone system blew a fuse. Viewers were regularly invited to jump in their cars and drive to the studio just off the Santa Ana Freeway and join the proceedings.

In addition to the tote board keeping track of money raised, there is another which keeps track of the number of souls saved, the latter numbering more than 3 million since TBN went on the air 15 years ago. There are celebrity guests too--televangelists like Oral Roberts and Rex Humbard.

In an adjoining studio, there is a raised map of the United States 20 yards long, outlined in lights. Locations of various TBN outlets and affiliates are marked with regional symbols, like a beach chair and palm tree in Miami, an oil rig in Houston. At various times during the telethons, which go off the air each night at 1 a.m. Pacific time, Paul and Jan Crouch will stroll around the “country” announcing amounts given by viewers of different stations.

Crouch and his wife, longtime residents of Corona del Mar, usually eschew hysterical appeals and don’t threaten to go off the air if money is not forthcoming.

“We don’t beg and plead and cry,” Crouch told viewers the first night of the October telethon.

In fact, Crouch prefers to compare his telethons to the more tasteful public television and radio pledge drives. There are premiums for those who pledge, ranging from a paperback book (not written by Crouch, who doesn’t write books) sent to those making any pledge to a cassette of a gospel group for a $1,000 contribution. Those pledging at least $25 a month for a year receive a pin which spells out “Jesus” in script made of rhinestones.

One viewer who appreciates the relatively soft sell is Vernal Harshberger, an 81-year-old retired schoolteacher from Westminster.

“I don’t care for a lot of ranting and raving,” said Harshberger, who has visited the Tustin studio three times. “I love to hear Paul preach. I think he is a terrific preacher. Jan’s comments are wonderful too.”

Harshberger began watching regularly after the death of her first husband and, with her second husband now in a nursing home, continues to watch TBN between 2 and 3 hours a night. She is a viewer of UHF Channel 40, rather than through a cable system, and makes a monthly contribution to the ministry.

About 10 years ago, Harshberger, who has no children, decided to establish a trust that will give her $75,000 house to TBN after she dies. Harshberger said that she once hoped to be a missionary, and that the unsolicited gift was her way fulfilling a childhood commitment to spread the Gospel.

A new concept of getting the word out. Part I, Page 1.

TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK’S FINANCIAL PICTURE PLEDGES In millions of dollars Trinity Broadcasting Network Praise-a-Thon: $44.0 Jerry Lewis’ Labor Weekend Telethon: $41.0 United Cerebral Palsey’s Star-athon 88”: $21.0Billy Graham Evangelical Assn. yearlong fund drive: $54.5 Source: Individual Telethons TBN SPENDING: 1987 How they spent an income of $40,482,183. General and Administration: 17.0% Salaries: 11.9% Programming, Production and Engineering: 13.1% Building of new stations and outreach: 44.4% Satellite: 5.3% Source: TBN