Robert Harold Schuller (September 16, 1926 – April 2, 2015) was an American Christian televangelist, pastor, motivational speaker, and author.

He made the decision to begin his broadcast of Hour of Power shortly after he had received encouragement from longtime friend Billy Graham during a visit with the popular evangelist.

All of his grandparents were Dutch immigrants,[7] and he was raised on his parents' farm nearby in a small, close-knit community of Dutch-Americans, without running water.

"[9] In 1931, just weeks before his fifth birthday a visiting uncle, Henry Beltman, who was a minister had predicted that the young boy was destined to spread the word of God to many when he grew up.

After his ordination, he first worked at Ivanhoe Reformed Church in Riverdale, Illinois, before moving to Garden Grove, California.

Ground was broken September 10, 1958 for construction of Schuller's second church-home in the area, which was designed by international architect Richard Neutra.

This new purchase of land was to enable the construction of a future much larger Crystal Cathedral on the newly expanded property.

In order to meet the needs of the church's ever expanding congregation, the architectural firm designed a reflective glass building that could seat 2,248 people.

Schuller's Crystal Cathedral Church soon became the iconic backdrop from which he preached his popular Hour of Power broadcasts every Sunday morning for the next 25 years.

He deliberately avoided condemning people for sin, believing that Jesus "met needs before touting creeds".

Once in a relationship with God, Schuller emphasized, someone who is sowing positive faith in his heart and actions will discover that the by-product is a reduction of sin.

"[21] As the Crystal Cathedral's founding pastor, Schuller was seen and heard internationally on Sundays on the world's most widely watched hour-long church service, the Hour of Power, 1,500 of which were recorded.

[4] On June 15, 1950, Schuller married Arvella De Haan (1929–2014), a church organist, who became instrumental in developing the music department at the Crystal Cathedral and was the creator and producer of the Hour of Power for over 40 years.

[2] On October 18, 2010, during the Great Recession in the United States, Sheila Coleman announced that the Crystal Cathedral was seeking bankruptcy protection.

"[31] On March 11, 2012, after months of attempting to change the attitude of the ministry's board, Coleman told the Crystal Cathedral congregation that she was leaving to start a new church because of "a hostile work environment".

A follow-up examination in September 2013 presented Schuller with the possibility of undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy that could extend his life.

Schuller then agreed to receive the cancer treatments, which may have been responsible for extending his life by nearly two more years as had been predicted by his physicians.

[39][40][41][2] Schuller authored over 30 hardcover books, 6 of which made The New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists,[42][43][44] including: