TBN co-founder Jan Crouch died early Tuesday morning after suffering a massive stroke. She was 78.
“Laurie and I have just watched the transition of our precious mother from this world to the next; watched her step into the presence of Jesus and into her heavenly reward,” Matt and Laurie Crouch said in a statement, “Jan Crouch, known around the world as Momma Jan, has gone home.”
Crouch and her husband, the late Paul Crouch, founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network in 1973. She produced multiple television programs including Praise the Lord, The Glory of America and Say Yes.
“Those who battled for the kingdom of God knew her as a fighter—someone who didn’t give up, someone who fought relentlessly to get the gospel around the world,” Matt and Laurie said. “Viewers of the Trinity Broadcasting Network knew her as someone who partnered with Paul Crouch in the launch and expansion of TBN, and as someone who came into their homes for over 40 years.”
Crouch was the daughter of Reverend and Mrs. Edgar W. Bethany, and grew up in Columbus, Georgia. Her father served as a pastor in the Assemblies of God denomination, and was the founding president of Southeastern University (Florida). While attending Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, Crouch met Paul F. Crouch.
“To thousands of orphans around the world, and those orphaned in spirit, she was Momma Jan, quick with a smile, a gift and a word of encouragement,” Matt and Laurie said. “To a select few she was not a television figure, but was sister, wife, Mom or Grandma—an integral part of a family.”
The Crouches married in 1957, and have two sons, Paul Jr. and Matthew, both of whom were high-ranking officials and program hosts on TBN. Paul Jr. left TBN in 2011, where “a memo was circulated … at the network advising people he is leaving,” according to CBN.
“Jan Crouch loved many things, but most of all she loved Jesus, and now has seen Him face to face and has experienced His grace in fullness,” Matt and Laurie said. “She has taken a piece of our hearts with her, but it’s so wonderful to know that Paul and Jan Crouch are together again, in the arms of Jesus.”
According to the TBN website, today TBN and its 26 global networks and affiliates reach every inhabited continent on 80-plus satellites and more than 20,000 television and cable affiliates, as well as via the internet, Charisma News previously reported.
The Crouch family has deep roots in the Assemblies of God. Paul Crouch’s father, two uncles and an aunt were all in attendance at the founding General Council of the Assemblies of God in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1914.
George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, was among the first of two hosts of daily teaching programs when TBN began with rented cameras in small quarters in Santa Ana, California. Wood taught Bible, and Dr. Jack Hayford taught on prayer.
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