It’s a symptom of both the economic downturn and a problem faced by churches generally everywhere at some time or another. A perfect storm of problems, from declining revenues to an aging congregation, has hit one of the most famous churches in the world. The Crystal Cathedral, founded by Robert H. Schuller in 1955 in a rented drive-in movie theater before becoming one of the largest churches in the world, is having money troubles. The Crystal Cathedral has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it attempts to cut its bills, raise its revenue, and revitalize membership.
The megachurch, which sits on a 40-acre campus in Orange County community Garden Grove, California, is currently ran by Senior Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman, daughter of founder Robert. The Crystal Cathedral’s signature program, The Hour of Power, has been cutting back on expenses, and the church is planning on selling some property and office space it owns, but it is still estimated to owe between $50 and $100 million dollars to hundreds of vendors.
Said Pastor Coleman, reciting one of her father’s famous axioms: “Tough times never last, but tough people do.”
Tags: financial problems, Crystal Cathedral, Hour of Power, Garden Grove, California, televangelism, Robert H. Schuller, Sheila Schuller Coleman, Orange County, Crystal Cathedral files for bankruptcy, Crystal Cathedral in debt, bankruptcies, money trouble, Chapter 11