CROUCHS’ SALARIES GET MAJOR BOOST

Paul and Jan Crouch, who head the Trinity Broadcasting Network, received substantial raises in 1998, according to an October report published in The Orange County (Calif.) Register. The report was based on information from a survey of the non-profit industry.

According to the initial report from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Paul Crouch, TBN’s founder and president, received a raise of more than 64 percent in 1998. The newspaper said it was “the largest pay increase in the country for the top executive of a major not-for-profit group.” Crouch’s earnings went from $159,500 in 1997 to $262,915 the following year. Jan, the organization’s vice president, also received a big raise. Her earnings more than doubled, going from $159,500 to $321,375 during the same time period.

A spokesman for TBN said, “The network felt they needed to compensate them more so their retirement fund could be increased accordingly.” Crouch’s average annual salary since the network’s founding in 1973 has been about $70,000. Jan did not receive a salary until 1981.

Crouch has grown TBN into the world’s largest religious broadcaster, with more than 1,200 outlets, according to November 1999 figures. He also has ventured into the motion picture business with the production of The Omega Code, a full-length feature film. The movie opened in theaters across the country last October and earned a sizable share of attendance ratings for the fall season. The film’s story line is based upon a secret code hidden within the pages of Scripture and is an outgrowth of The Bible Code phenomenon of a few years ago. (See The Quarterly Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1, pg. 4.)

Not all critics were kind to Crouch’s motion picture. One Christian reviewer called it, “A new ‘Christian’ film that leaves God’s Word in the lobby.” The review further stated that the film “strays even farther from Scripture in its attempt to entertain with the truth. The unfortunate reality is that viewers unfamiliar with the actual teaching of Scripture regarding end-time events will come away with a grossly inaccurate impression of God’s plan for the end of the age.”

—MKG

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