Welcome! See your: Prayers, Journal, Subscriptions LOGIN | REGISTER Crystal Cathedral Home About Visitors On Television In Church Community Events Teaching Ministries Schools Gifts Worldwide Main Service Times: Main - 9:30 & 11:00 AM | Evening - 7:00 PM | Arabic - 1:15 PM History Home About FIND OUT MORE ABOUT: Education Employment Find A Ministry Get Involved Need Prayer? TV Broadcast Visitors Center 1955 to Today The Rev. Robert H. Schuller and his wife Arvella founded the Garden Grove Community Church - today's Crystal Cathedral - in 1955 under the auspices of Schuller's denomination, the Reformed Church in America, which provided the young couple with $500 to start the ministry. While en route to California on historic Route 66, Schuller listed on a napkin 10 possible venues in which to hold services. Upon learning that the first nine locations were already in use, he embraced the tenth possibility - the Orange Drive-in Theatre. From atop the snack bar's tar-papered roof he would lead weekly services, with Arvella providing music from a trailer-mounted electronic organ. He encouraged all to "come as you are in the family car." Preaching from this unusual pulpit, Schuller faced ridicule - accused by many of conducting services in a "passion pit." Nevertheless, his services gained in popularity, and in 1957, when Dr. Norman Vincent Peale visited to deliver the morning message, the drive-in theater was filled to capacity. Schuller noted that morning that every word Peale spoke was one of encouragement and hope, just as Jesus Christ had spoken. It was a defining moment for Schuller; from then onward, he would frame his messages positively to instill Christ-centered hope in the hearts of hurting persons, encouraging and equipping them to live at their God-given potential. Soon a chapel was built three miles from the drive-in, with the intention that the drive-in services would cease. However, the husband of one woman in rapidly declining health - Rosie Gray - told Schuller that the drive-in services were the only that Rosie could attend. Schuller promised to continue the drive-in services - rushing there after chapel services - until Rosie passed away; astoundingly, Gray's health would improve over the next few years. Recognizing the need for drive-in services to continue, Schuller enlisted the services of renowned mid-century modern architect Richard Neutra to design a structure in which Schuller could preach simultaneously to an in-church congregation and a drive-in congregation - a walk-in/drive-in church. Schuller envisioned a glass wall that would open to the outdoors, allowing him to be seen in an elevated pulpit by persons in parked cars. Neutra's resulting design would shatter ecclesiastical architecture norms, to much acclaim. From this sanctuary (now the church's Arboretum), the church grew to a congregation of thousands, as Schuller's emphasis on "possibility thinking" resonated within the community. In 1968, the 13-story Richard Neutra-designed Tower of Hope opened, housing to this day the world's first church-sponsored, 24-hour suicide and crisis prevention hotline (714-NEW-HOPE). With a 90-feet-tall neon-lit cross as its crown, the Tower of Hope would be Orange County's tallest building for more than a decade. Hearing from pastors eager to replicate the church's success, Schuller, in 1969, began the first ever series of training sessions for pastors in church growth. Today, Schuller and his Institute for Successful Church Leadership are regarded consistently, most recently by The New Yorker magazine, as the catalyst of the mega-church movement. Aware of Schuller's thriving congregation and his welcoming services, the Rev. Billy Graham suggested to Schuller that he take his popular Sunday services to the television airwaves. "Call it an 'Hour of Power,'" Graham said. Schuller launched the weekly "Hour of Power" in February 1970 on Los Angeles' KTLA-5, naming his wife Arvella executive producer - a rarely achieved role for a woman at that time. By the mid 1970s, the "Hour of Power" was reaching all 50 U.S. states - and the local church was bursting at the seams. Thus, Schuller approached famed architect Philip Johnson to design a larger structure to accommodate the growing congregation. Because Schuller missed the serenity of the drive-in theater's clear blue sky, he enthusiastically told Johnson, "Make it all glass!" - a design feat never before attempted in an earthquake zone. Dedicated in 1980, the 10,000-window Crystal Cathedral seats 2,800 worshipers and its marble chancel accommodates up to 1,000 musicians. Years ahead of its time in conservation design, the Cathedral employs no air-conditioning, relying instead upon natural air currents, which come via staggered rows of louvered windows, controlled thermostatically. Also part of this cooling system are two dramatic 90-foot-tall doors, which open at the right of the chancel - a feature carried over from the Neutra sanctuary. Not only is the Crystal Cathedral a worship space, but it has also housed the acclaimed "The Glory of Christmas" and "The Glory of Easter" musical stage productions, and other large-scale musical and dramatic performances over the years. Additionally, 20 million persons a week watch the "Hour of Power," now the fourth longest-running weekly television program in history. Airing in the U.S. on Lifetime, the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and Discovery channel, the "Hour of Power" also reaches all seven of the world's continents, via satellite and cable systems in 50 countries - 13 of which house "Hour of Power" offices. In Russia, following Mikhail Gorbachev's invitation in 1989 to Dr. Schuller to deliver the first televised Christian message to the then-Soviet Union, the "Hour of Power" received in 1992 the country's first license to broadcast a Christian-themed program on national television. In this spirit, the "Hour of Power" is nurturing important relationships inside China hoping to reach this vast, unchurched continent of billions of persons with the positive redeeming message of Christ via TV. Additionally, the ministry is constantly evaluating new and relevant technologies seeking to communicate the positive message of Christ in the most effective and cost efficient methods possible. Join us We would like to invite you to connect with us on these social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, YouTube. Welcome Founding Pastor Meet Our Staff History Art & Architecture Our Beliefs Our Positive Approach Memorial Gardens Media Weddings Contact Us Stewardship As seen on Hour of Power Subscribe Now! Receive e-mail updates, devotionals, and more. Add your email: UPCOMING EVENTS Monday Meals Mondays 1:30 am - 12:30 pm The Ministry and the "Hour of Power" are nurturing important relationships around the world, with partners as オンラインカジノ オススメ (Japan), στοιχηματικές εταιρίες (Greece) and our french assoociates in casino en ligne france . As well as constantly evaluating new and relevant technologies, due to our connection with casas de apostas , seeking to communicate the positive message of Christ in the most effective and cost efficient methods possible. We would like to invite you to connect with us on these amazing social platforms for good clean fun. Whether you are in our congregation in United Kingdom, you can find the best online casino uk . Our Christian followers in New Zealand can enjoy our online casinos new zealand and for our christian African communities there are plenty of fun in online casino south africa, for some religious gatherings you can check the betting companies in ghana . The congregation in Kenya is playing through these betting sites . Our online platforms in Asia, we're reaching through the Indian territory and you can connect to our other followers through online casino india . New technologies are on the verge of spreading the message to our religious Youth. Please feel free to subscribe and enjoy our platforms. © 2012 Crystal Cathedral Congregation. All Rights Reserved. Feedback Support Privacy Policy Terms of Service Contact