T
he Crystal Cathedral's "Hour of Power," which has aired for 40 years, will continue to appear on cable networks such as Lifetime and TBN, and on broadcast TV in markets including California, Colorado, Florida and Ohio, said John Charles, director of development and public relations.
"If we can just hang in there and be smart about surviving the downturn in the economy, this storm will pass and we will be OK and we can begin to grow again as a ministry," Sheila Schuller Coleman, Schuller's daughter and the church's recently appointed leader, said in a prepared statement.
The church was founded in the 1950s at a drive-in theater and attracted congregants with its sermons on the power of positive thinking. Now boasting 10,000 members, its worship hall features a soaring glass spire that opened in 1970 and remains an architectural wonder and tourist destination.
The church saw revenue drop 27 percent from roughly $30 million in 2008 to $22 million in 2009, church spokesman Mike Nason told The Associated Press. The church had projected an 18 percent revenue drop.
Church leaders blamed the decline on the struggling U.S. economy. They intend to save $4.9 million and stave off further financial collapse by selling 170 acres in southern Orange County, including a retreat and wedding center, laying off 50 employees and cutting "Hour of Power" from eight of the 45 domestic broadcast TV stations that air it.
Church officials declined to name the cities where the program would be cut because station managers have not yet been notified.
The church will also cancel this year's "Glory of Easter" pageant, which attracts thousands of visitors and is a regional holiday staple along with the church's "Glory of Christmas" show.
The disclosure mirrors the troubles in recent months at other megachurches that have suffered from the downturn and reduced charitable giving.
Rick Warren, best-selling author and founder of Saddleback Church, made an appeal on New Year's Eve for urgent donations after finding his organization was nearly $1 million in the red. Parishioners raised $2.4 million for Saddleback and its ministries within days.
The Crystal Cathedral doesn't expect a similar outpouring from its members or viewers of "Hour of Power."
"It would be nice, but we understand the economy and people are hurting and our audience are not rich people," Charles said. "There's a lot of people on fixed incomes and they're giving what they can."
That aging membership base, along with the bad economy, could be a big part of the Crystal Cathedral's problem, said Richard Flory, a senior research associate for the Center for Religion & Civic Culture at the University of Southern California.
The era of blockbuster televangelists is fading and viewership is declining even as the age of the average viewer creeps upward, he said.
"I can't imagine anybody younger than 40 watching some sort of televangelist," he said. "Younger people are worshipping in smaller venues. I think the megachurch is always going to appeal to groups of people, but the television piece of it, I just don't see that as a growth market anymore."
The church and its internationally known telecast have been bleeding dollars and members for years
- a trend that accelerated when Schuller Sr. stepped down and passed his senior pastor role to his son, Robert A. Schuller Jr.
Schuller Jr. became engaged in a bitter family feud, disappeared from "Hour of Power" broadcasts and abruptly left the church in 2008, less than three years after he took over for his father.
