Mailing Address:	13280 Chapman Ave. Garden Grove, CA 92840-2840
Website:	www.crystalcathedral.org
Phone:	(714) 971-4000, (800) 976-9379
Email:	You need to enable javascript to see the email

Organization Details [ Back to top ]

EIN: 952651592

CEO/President:	Dr. Robert H. Schuller	Tax Deductible:	No
Chairman:	Dr. Robert H. Schuller	Fiscal Year End:
Board Size:		Financial info from:
Founder:	Dr. Robert H. Schuller	Member of ECFA:	No
Year Founded:		Member of ECFA since:

Purpose [ Back to top ]

Crystal Cathedral Ministries was created as a preaching and speaking church platform for Rev. Robert H. Schuller.

In addition to being the home base for broadcasting the church services around the world on "The Hour of Power," the Crystal Cathedral campus is a place where thousands of persons "network" daily to find strength of body, mind and soul. Support groups, Sunday School classes, week day and evening gatherings provide fellowship with other persons of a positive faith.

This ministry has chosen not to be open and transparent with MinistryWatch.com. As such it is difficult to understand all aspects of its ministry.

Prudent donors want to understand what it is they are going to support. Some ministries claim they have no legal obligation to share financial or other information — but they do have a moral obligation to do so. Without access to comprehensive ministry information it is not possible for donors to make optimal giving decisions. Ministries that seek to obscure critical information from scrutiny undermine the faith and trust of donors and damage attitudes that have a long term negative impact. For those few ministries that state it has no legal obligation, it should be noted that donors are even less so obligated with any legalist obligation to give, but they do have a moral obligation to give in a prudent and wise fashion. Transparency is a consensus of practical sound wisdom. Many Christians are willing to live ethically without a governmental entity mandating that they do so. Transparency is the key component to a growing and prosperous donor — ministry relationship and fundamental to long-term ministry success. Information, however, must be timely, relevant, accurate and complete for it to be used effectively.

Christians should have nothing to fear by being open. All will be judged at a future date, and with this thought in mind, how are we to conduct ourselves before God today? Organizations described as “Christian Ministries” are at least giving people an image of God. Is God characterized as closed, impartial and hidden; or, open, personable and knowable? Scripture enjoins Christians to conduct themselves honestly (1 Thes. 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:2), with due candor (Jms. 5:12) and grace (Col. 4:6), without deliberate offense to Jew, Gentile or the Church of God (1 Cor. 10:32), with decency and orderliness (1 Cor. 14:40), blameless, giving no occasion for rebuke (Phil. 2:15), and offering no opportunity for false accusation (1 Pet. 3:16). Responsibility for the resources God has placed in the trust of His saints is called “stewardship” in the Bible (1 Pet. 4:10), the person responsible for the resources is called the “steward” (Lk. 12:42; 16:1-8). Most Christians would not argue with the principle that the chief aim of man is to ...”to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” However, how can a “Christian Ministry” “glorify God” if they are not open? Are not organizations that hide things characterized as cults? Should not Christian ministries lead by example? Besides being characterized as a steward, Christians can be characterized as ambassadors and as light because God is light. Just these few summary ideas indicate that Christian ministries should be open and transparent. In addition, responsibility to God is linked to responsibility to government and mankind.

MinistryWatch.com's hope is that Christian ministries are indeed an example to follow and not otherwise. It is one of our premises that Christians should be light in a world of darkness and as such, Christians should be setting the standard by their conduct.

It is not enough for ministries to live up to the minimum of any written law, or to give all men their due. Ministries ought to give them more than their due. Ministries should be concentrating on the good of others, seeking reward in self-denial and sacrifice, and not of personal advantage. Therefore ministries should treat others as they would want to be treated by them, regardless of unworthiness and ingratitude.

Donors should be seeking information before they give as well as after. Before in order to have an idea where the money is intended, as well as if it corresponds to the donors values. And then after to see if it really happened. Trust but verify, so that they know if they would desire to continue to give.

Mission Statement [ Back to top ]

Need Mission Statement

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

Crystal Cathedral Ministries:

Mature Adults Reaching out to touch the life of a child or young person captures the essence of our inter-generational GranDees volunteer program.

Visitors Center Our Mission is to express God's love to our Crystal Cathedral Campus Visitors!

Travel Ministy As part of its ongoing commitment to Gospel values, the Crystal Cathedral maintains a Travel Ministry designed to serve the community by offering the opportunity of well-planned travel and fellowship in a relaxed environment.

Crystal Cathedral Volunteers Volunteer Ministry at the Crystal Cathedral enjoys the services of 3,500 dedicated volunteers. We have members serving on our campus seven days a week as well as those who serve in a community volunteer capacity.

Men's Ministry Mens ministry events, meetings, pictures and more.

Women's Ministry International Womens Conference, devotionals, special events and more.

Counseling Center The Crystal Cathedral Counseling Center is a a non-profit corporation separate from the church, provides an informal, safe accepting environment for anyone in the community who needs a professionally trained therapist.

Care Ministry Information for the International Conference on Care and Kindness

Robert Schuller School for Preaching The purpose of the Robert Schuller School for Preaching is to recognize, to enhance, and to develop optimal preaching skills.

Help For You Today Crystal Cathedral Ministries is focused on the idea of "finding a need and filling it, finding a hurt and healing it." Read Inspiring messages on many topics.

Rancho Capistrano The purpose of Rancho Capistrano is to provide a "spiritual oasis" where people can find peace and balance of body, mind and spirit, and grow in their understanding of themselves, others and God.

Possibility Living Nestled in the green rolling hills of San Juan Capistrano, California, Rancho Capistrano is the beautiful south campus of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries!

Wedding Ministry Twelve thousand shimmering panes of glass are enclosed within a white web-like steel truss frame forming translucent walls and ceilings that allow the beauty of nature to encompass every gathering and celebration held within.

Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

This profile needs a statement of faith

History [ Back to top ]

Located in Garden Grove, California, the Crystal Cathedral was designed by American Institute of Architects gold medal winner Philip Johnson with his partner John Burgee. It is home base for the international Crystal Cathedral Ministries, including a congregation of over 10,000 members and the internationally televised "Hour of Power."

On September 14, 1980, Dr. Schuller dedicated the Cathedral "To the Glory of Man for the Greater Glory of God."

On the tenth anniversary of the Cathedral, a beautiful Bell Tower was dedicated. The tower is comprised of highly polished stainless steel prisms, and houses a 52 bell carillon named in honor of Arvella Schuller. The steeple has been named the Crean Tower honoring John and Donna Crean.

At the base of the steeple is an intimate prayer chapel named the Mary Hood Chapel. Inscribed above the marble walls of the chapel are the words, "My House Shall Be Called A House of Prayer For All People."

The Cathedral has more than 10,000 windows of tempered silver colored glass that are held in place by a lace-like frame of white steel trusses. In addition, two 90 foot tall doors open electronically behind the pulpit to allow the morning sunlight and warm breezes to enhance the worship services.

The sanctuary seats 2,890 persons and over 1,000 singers and instrumentalists can perform in 185 foot long chancel area. The service can be viewed on a giant indoor Sony "Jumbotron" television screen, or outside on a giant Nit-Star directly adjacent to the Cathedral, for "drive-in" worshipers.

The Cathedral pipe organ, made possible by a gift from the late Hazel Wright of Chicago, is world renowned for its size and quality, and stands among the five largest pipe organs in the world. The chancel area is constructed of Rosso Alicante marble, quarried in Spain and cut and polished in Italy. The altar table and pulpit are made of granite, and the 17 foot tall cross is antiqued with eighteen karat gold leaf. Special facilities simul- taneous translation of the services of worship into five different languages.

The Cathedral's concourse level accommodates the ever expanding Music Ministry, rooms for Christian Education classes, and a technically advanced audio studio and television production studio where all recording of the televised services takes place.

Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

This organization has not offered MinistryWatch.com with specific needs to be posted on the profile. At such a time that MinistryWatch.com receives a response from the ministry, it will be posted immediately.

Research Analysis

Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]

Transparency Grade of : F
Criteria category	Grade	Other Comments
Timeliness:	0
Financial Information:	0
Foundational Clarity:	0
Level of Cooperation:	0

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MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]

This ministry has not been rated

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Donor Alert [ Back to top ]

MinistryWatch.com's 2009 list of 30 Donor Alert Ministries
Non-Transparent Ministries: Are they Faithful in the Small Things?

Supporters Might Say

On Hour of Power:

Sermons have positive emphasis, “very encouraging”
God blesses through the message of the daily devotionals
Fantastic demonstration of the difference one person can make
Heartfelt thanks for the commitment and inspiration of Dr. Schuller and ministry staff “
God loves me and so do I. I needed that today”

On Possibility Living:

“The entire experience allowed me to further implant Jesus in my heart”
“I felt a paradigm shift. I felt peace and refreshment in my body, mind and spirit”
“I truly feel I received an answer to my prayers and I still feel God's peace and the determination that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”
“I am going home with a balance and an integration of the mind-body-spirit connection”
“Thank you for all you have done to make this possible!”

Critics Might Say

Crystal Cathedral’s teachings are aberrational
People are “being led astray by false teaching”
Dr. Schuller “has erred from the truth”
Schuller’s entire ministry “is based upon a defective premise”
Schuller’s emphasis is virtually indistinguishable from the same type of teachings given in secular circles
Dr. Schuller has taken one verse after another out of context
Dr. Schuller frequently distorts “scriptural passages in order to justify his theological positions”
Dr. Schuller “accepts the sayings of Jesus that he agrees with and ignores the rest”
What Dr. Schuller has promoted under the banner of "reformed Christianity" is nothing less than a different gospel, for it is one that seeks to glorify man, not the One who "...came into the world to save sinners"

Theological Considerations

Drs. Robert H. and Robert A. Schuller are both ordained by the Reformed Church in America.
CCM’s Theological positions depart notably from the historical teaching of the Reformed Church in America.
Unusual emphasis upon “positive mental attitude(s)” seems to come at the exclusion of more sobering themes of Scripture such as sin and judgment.
Prominent use of inspiring testimonials from individuals professing “positive mental attitude” and “possibility thinking,” with no pretense of Christianity, can confuse a purportedly Biblical message.
Historical doctrinal themes are frequently redefined in psychological and sociological terms with interpretations and applications confusing to many evangelical Christians.
Published statements suggest that ministers of “possibility thinking” place greater confidence in contemporary behavioral sciences than the Scripture.
Dr. Robert H. Schuller’s book(s) suggest a willingness to accept the authority of Scripture on a subjective and selective basis.
Schuller’s own explanation(s) place his Biblical views in direct conflict with historical Christianity in numerous areas including sin, the nature of man, the nature and saving work of Christ, the authority of Scripture, and the Christian life.

Analyst Comments [ Back to top ]

MinistryWatch.com’s Take
December 2002
By Dan Wray and Rodney Pitzer

Crystal Cathedral Ministries visualizes dreams, beginning with its founder, Dr. Robert Schuller. Crystal Cathedral Ministries demonstrates no financial transparency about the organization, which prevents any assessment of financial efficiency.

An impossible dream
What began as only a dream 41 years ago in the hearts of Robert and Arvella Schuller, is today the campus of Crystal Cathedral, headquarters for the church’s wide-ranging ministries, and broadcast central for the internationally televised “Hour of Power.” With a desire to build “a church that would change and save lives, “a church dedicated to the creed, 'Find a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it',” Dr. Robert H. Schuller is identified the world over with the ministry’s assertion, “God loves you, and so do I.” Situated in Garden Grove, California within 1.5 miles of the intersections of Interstate 5 and Highways 57 and 22, the campus serves as a hub to a full range of traditional church ministries as well as a host of more contemporary Christian Services involving counseling, support groups and cultural fellowships. Self-described as a place where people “network daily to find strength of body, mind and soul,” the ministry is offered as a place with “something for everyone.”

Possibilities
With degrees from Hope College and Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, Dr. Schuller was ordained and began his pastoral ministry in 1950. In 1955, the Schullers traveled to California to start a church under the auspices of the Reformed Church in America. With no building or meeting place, Schuller secured use of a drive-in theater and began preaching to his “drive-in” congregation from a perch atop the theater snack bar. Membership grew steadily and in 1980 work began on the Crystal Cathedral, an architectural marvel of tempered glass and polished stainless steel, with seating for 2,890 and additional room for ministry and music staff of over 1,000. Services are augmented by jumbo sized TV, with additional accommodation outside for “drive-up” worshipers. Music is supplied by an immense pipe organ, among the five largest in the world, also regularly involving choir and instrumentalists numbering over 1,000. The Cathedral’s furnishings represent a mix of Old world antiquity, in European granite and marble, and the contemporary technology of a full broadcast and recording studio, completing what, in Schuller’s words is truly a monument to“the Glory of Man for the Greater Glory of God.”

Reality
Recent estimates place Crystal Cathedral’s international broadcasts among the most widely received religious broadcasts in history. The Cathedral pulpit features a veritable weekly who’s who of motivational and self-help speakers, also offering a platform for the arts in musical, patriotic and cultural pageantry, with artists and performers of national and international renown. Adjunct ministries numbering over three dozen include:

Child care and children’s ministries
A full range of academic curricula, from preschool thru high school
Teen services
College level classes
Adult / Career training
Cultural / ethnic fellowships
Survivor / Recovery Support groups
- Suicide
- Professional ministries
- ADHD clinical treatment and support
- Incest / person to person abuse
- Counseling
Crystal Cathedral Ministries has made good on the goal of having literally “something for everyone,” offering an answer to felt needs ranging from the desire to feel good about self, to a motivation to spend money on one’s Christianity. Whether or not this is a virtue for any Christian Church will continue to be debated “in house.” With professional and volunteer staff certain to number in four figures, with ministry publications and staff-authored books certainly numbering in the hundreds, with international broadcast reach and an annual budget in the millions, what may once have been an impossible dream in the imagination of its builder and maker has become reality.

Financial Support
Funding is important to a ministry the size of Crystal Cathedral and invitations to contribute are numerous and varied. In addition to books, music recordings and assorted knickknacks available through the online store, opportunities for financial support range from seasonal and holiday “gift” purchase offers, to support-club memberships with donation pledges ranging from one time cash gifts to regularly scheduled increments payable by cash or credit card. Among the current “gift” purchase offers is a book of professional color photography in tribute to America priced at $60. For “deeper pockets,” CCM is presently undertaking to change the Crystal Cathedral skyline with a “work of true beauty for God - a place of beauty that will preach one sermon to millions of young people and adults for centuries to come.” Billed as an “International Center for Possibility Thinking,” the envisioned $20 million project will be a four story monument to art in architecture and religious culture, housing a welcome hall, gift store, restaurant, formal and informal meeting places, chapel, museum, and study center, with a fourth floor summit where people will meet“to move from collision to coalition - from conflicting to connecting.” Donors are encouraged to immortalize their financial contributions in a wall of individual glass crystal bricks, to be situated amid lush surroundings projecting historical themes of Christendom with contemporary appeal.

5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings
- Crystal Cathedral Ministries demonstrates no financial transparency regarding itself, which prevents any assessment of financial efficiency.
Financial Quick Take
- MinistryWatch.com is not able to provide a Financial Quick Take based on Crystal Cathedral Ministries’ refusal to be open about its finances.
Transparency
- Crystal Cathedral Ministries has demonstrated no financial transparency regarding the quality and quantity of information provided.
- It is organized as a church and it has no legal obligation to submit financial information to anyone.
- The organization has been contacted by letter, fax and telephone to more than one person. They have pleasantly acknowledged the requests, but they have not provided financial information
Bits & Pieces
An early admirer of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s “positive mental attitude” approach to life, the Schuller message of “possibility thinking” is evident in the more prominent ministry divisions enumerated on the Crystal Cathedral web site.

The Hour of Power, a television broadcast of the weekly Sunday worship service, is also available on the Internet in audio or full video format, with sermons featuring father and son, Drs. Robert H., and Robert A. Schuller, offered in individual text format or numbered booklets. Ministry guest interview archives are available as well. Topical devotional commentary is offered in daily increments with invitations for feedback, moderated in comments posted in 1 Community,the ministry’s electronic forum for interactive response.

New Hope Now offers nationwide church sponsored 24 hour telephone counseling. Begun in 1968 as a suicide preventative, the service expanded in 1997 to offer crisis counseling under the supervision of a clinical psychologist and full-time pastoral staff in the confidentiality of private Internet chat rooms. Trained volunteer counselors answer over 4,000 calls per year from phones at the ministry’s Tower of Hope, and from computers in private homes across America and around the world. Volunteers offer eight hours of involvement a month and are trained to interact with hurting people. Continuing education is offered to qualified volunteers, and introductory training for initial applicants is also available on private Internet sites. Discreet professional referrals are made for a range of potentially ongoing issues, and aftercare. Adjunct teen counseling services are also available through Teen 2 Teen, with similar volunteer and training opportunities.

Possibility Living combines spiritual responsibility with the healthy discipline of body and mind under the watch keeping of Dr. Robert A. Schuller and associated staff. The week long lifestyle seminar hosted at the 170 acre Rancho Capistrano south campus of Crystal Cathedral emphasizes positive mental attitudes and proactive approach to areas ranging from diet and nutrition to exercise and healthcare, all within a framework of Scriptural inspiration and a setting of comfortable surroundings. Among the seminar features is an Internet interview wherein Dr. Robert A. Schuller and a professional staff associate are interviewed on a host of seminar related topics. Additional topical articles and instructive interviews are available from ministry archives, with frequent references to books and literature authored by the Schullers and other ministry staff. Subjects include right choices and quality of life, longevity, and “detoxification” of such things as relationships, habits and religion.

1 Community as noted earlier, is a Crystal Cathedral ministry forum where interactive responses are welcomed on virtually any area of ministry, provided they conform to published standards of decency and propriety as generally referenced in Scripture. Electronic communication and postings are monitored for general compliance.

From modest beginnings, Crystal Cathedral is today an extensive ministry compendium of international scope, attracting ministers and professional staff formally lettered in a wide range of disciplines, with involvement in their local community and beyond, and with a print and media influence extending around the world. Dr. Robert H. Schuller is world renowned as an ordained minister in the Reformed Church of America, author and educator, and serves on numerous honorary and advisory boards worldwide. His only son, Dr. Robert A. Schuller, appears regularly in the pulpit of Crystal Cathedral and in an increasingly prominent administrative role of the ministry at large. Founder and Chief Executive Director of the Possibility Living lifestyle seminars, the younger Schuller is Vice President of Crystal Cathedral Ministries and is slated to take his father’s leadership mantle upon the senior Schuller’s retirement, having proven himself in leadership, and December 2002

Ministry Statement or Response [ Back to top ]

Financial Information:

There is no financial information