Robert Schuller

Robert Harold Schuller (September 16, 1926 – April 2, 2015) was an American Christian televangelist, pastor, motivational speaker, and author. Over five decades, Schuller pastored his church in Garden Grove, California starting in 1955. The weekly broadcast of Hour of Power television program followed began in 1970, and he led until his retirement in 2006. His grandson, Bobby Schuller, carries on the Hour of Power, which has aired for over fifty years. During his time as a minister, Schuller oversaw the construction of two churches in Garden Grove, California. The first church built under his tenure was the Garden Grove Community Church chapel which seated 500, and the second was the much larger Crystal Cathedral, which has a capacity of 2,200. Schuller began broadcasting his Hour of Power program from the smaller Garden Grove chapel in 1969. He made the decision to begin his broadcast shortly after he had received encouragement from longtime friend Billy Graham during a visit with the popular evangelist. The Hour of Power broadcast later continued in the Crystal Cathedral. The Schuller organization was not closely associated with any major scandal. During the 1990s, his televised sermons were regularly viewed by an estimated audience of 20 million. Schuller's weekly telecast was one of the first instances of weekly televised church services, and became the world's most widely watched hour-long church service.