Janice Wendell Crouch, wife of late-husband Paul Crouch (founder of Trinity Broadcast Network), passed away last Tuesday, May 31. Together, both co-found TBN in 1973. In the 40th anniversary of TBN, Paul explained that it was extremely difficult at the beginning for he and his wife to obtain their first television station. For both of them, it would be amazing just to have one station on the air. They prayed, interceded and believed that God would open a door. All doors closed consistently, and no one wanted to help them.
Finally, they made a deal with an owner of channel 40; this was a deal that had previously been done without any type of success. The owner always refused no matter how much they persisted. The deal consisted of $1 million for the station; they had nowhere near that money. The whole summer of 1974, according to Crouch, they were on the air only two hours a night talking to California. Their dream was to have a 24-hour Christian-television station, throughout the world. The owner demanded $100,000 and gave them a deadline. On the day of the deadline, they had about two-thirds of the money, and then Crouch had a visitation with a man that supernaturally heard a word from the Lord to bless them with a gift. He heard the station and was interested in what Paul and Jan Crouch were preaching on, and felt like this was from God. The cashier's check was the remaining amount of money that was needed to give the first down payment.
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"God is never early, he is never late. He is always just on time," Crouch said on the 40-year anniversary.
A few months after the station was launched, hundreds of people would call them to receive Jesus. The influence of TBN began to spread throughout the world. Now, every continent has access to listen and to view the channel at high quality.
Their story is not only a testimony of the supernatural power of God, but it is the evidence that God himself found the network.
"We didn't begin Trinity Broadcast Network. I will forever have it on my mind that I never started it," Paul Crouch said.
The network came to be thanks to all the gifts, prayers and petitions of the people that would listen to their two hour station in California. They didn't have the money to produce that kind of miracle. All that they had was faith. Now the influence that TBN has over the world is impressive, and it will never be compared. They were pioneers of Christian television; it is because of God using them that we have access to watch preachers and powerful messages on television.
Now, both of them have gone to be with the Lord, but their legacy lives on. Their humble hearts and the fact that they don't take credit for anything is an example of the hearts that they had. God gives grace to the humble, and he humbles the proud. While their family is probably mourning right now, I pray and declare the peace of God over their lives. It is not an easy time, but we have the confidence and assurance that they are back united in heaven.
