TBN Founder Paul Crouch Sr. Pays Tribute to Charles Colson

News provided by

Apr 24, 2012, 06:34 ET

LOS ANGELES, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dr. Paul Crouch, founder and president of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, reflected on the passing of Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson. "As the tributes pour in for this esteemed man of God, I am certain that Chuck Colson would most want his life and legacy to be measured through the mercy and grace he found in Jesus Christ," said Dr. Crouch. "In the wake of Watergate, as his life plummeted from serving in the White House to serving time in prison, Chuck Colson discovered in his despair that there was a God who loved him and who had a profound purpose for his life. His work has helped millions around the world see the eternal impact a life wholly surrendered to God has, and we are all better for it."

From founding Prison Fellowship, the most influential outreach and advocacy group for prison inmates, to challenging a generation of Christians to engage and impact their culture through their faith, Chuck Colson took to heart Christ's command in Mark Chapter 12, Dr. Crouch recalled. "Jesus said that we must love God with all we are and all we have, and love others in that same way," Dr. Crouch said. "No one sought to obey those commandments more diligently than Chuck Colson. Countless thousands of inmates and their families have found new life and purpose because of the ministry of Prison Fellowship. And through Chuck's books, columns, radio commentaries, and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, millions of men and women have gained the confidence to share their faith and be salt and light in their communities and beyond."

Dr. Crouch noted that TBN was specifically impacted by Chuck Colson's prison work, which helped inspire the TBN Second Chance program. TBN Second Chance arranges for the free installation of the network's most popular Christian channel offerings in prisons all over America. "Having personally experienced the depths of despair faced by those in prison, Chuck Colson committed his life to modeling Christ's words, 'I was in prison and you visited me,'" said Dr. Crouch. "His active compassion to these men and women in need, and their families, has been an inspiration and model in our own outreach to inmates. Today four of our networks — TBN, the Church Channel, our JCTV youth network, and the Enlace Spanish language channel — are broadcasting life-changing programming 24 hours per day in over 800 prisons throughout the nation. And scores of other facilities are poised to carry our networks in the months ahead. We thank Chuck Colson for the inspiration behind this endeavor."

Only eternity will reveal the lives changed because of Chuck Colson's decision to commit his life to Christ, Dr. Crouch reflected. "All of us want to stand before God on that final day and hear Him say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' I am confident that Chuck Colson will receive that benediction. His was a life well-lived."

Media Contact: Colby May, E-Mail: [email protected]; Tel: 202-544-5171

SOURCE Trinity Broadcasting Network