Pat Robertson taken during his February 12, 2006 Operation Blessing visit to Victory Fellowship Church in Metairie, Louisiana. (Image Credit: Paparazzo Presents via Wikimedia Commons)
It was June 8, 2023, when Christian television stood still at the news of Pat Robertson’s death following an embolic stroke. Although he was 93, Robertson’s passing left ripples across the Body of Christ. Headlines extolled his impact upon U.S. religion and politics, but a year later, does his legacy stand up to his memory?
Son to a Democratic Senator from Virginia (Absalom Willis Robertson, 1887-1971), Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson served our nation as a USMC First Lieutenant during the Korean War. His love for call and country followed that service as he went to Yale Law, gave his life to the Lord following a chance encounter in Philadelphia, forsake the business world, and went straight to the Biblical Seminary in New York.
Throughout Pat Robertson’s life, that type of decisive action molded him and forged a path to what would become one of the most influential faith-based empires in history, beginning with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).
Remembering the Man
On the surface, Pat Robertson seemed a soft-spoken but determined man. Watching him on TV describe the move of God or the Body of Christ, he is usually seen smiling and heard gently encouraging others as a pastor to act according to the Scriptures. Yet, deep beneath those moments was the heart of an evangelist striving to wake people up and make this a better nation.
He knew the best way to reach a nation with a vast net, but Robertson wasn’t sure how to do it, following his conversion to Christianity and later becoming an ardent Southern Baptist minister in 1961. Pat is said to have heard the voice of God encouraging him to move to Virginia and purchase a television station in Portsmouth, near Virginia Beach.
With $70 and a clarion call, he established WYAH-TV (short for “Yahweh”) with its first broadcast on October 1, 1961. That day, he marked the beginning of what would later become the first-ever Christian TV network in America.
Speaking about his day of “small beginnings,” Robertson said, “I wanted to be part of God’s plan, and his plan was, and is, for world evangelization and to bring millions to the Kingdom. Thankfully he has let me be part of it.”
Image Credit: CBN.org
Two years later, WYAH-TV nearly closed because of increased costs and dwindling support for a not-for-profit media outlet. Robertson held a telethon to request viewer support—700 of them, to be exact, sending in $10 each month. This was the genesis for an annual fundraiser, and three years later, in 1966, he created a flagship news program called “The 700 Club.”
It was from that news desk Pat Robertson would change the face of Christianity. His determination gave the Body of Christ a national media outlet and a reason to galvanize behind a righteous cause. Despite a calm demeanor and even-tempered way of delivering the Gospel, Robertson was fearless, embodied an uncommon nationalistic point of view, and rarely shunned controversial statements because his focus honored God first.
He helped to frame the “Religious Right” with a pro-faith, pro-family firebrand evangelism. In 1987, he established the Christian Coalition of America, a political advocacy group determined to influence the country for Biblical ethics and values. Pat Robertson felt a higher calling to office as he swayed in a more partisan focus. A year later, he unsuccessfully campaigned to become the Republican nominee for President.
Following that defeat, Robertson chose never again to hold a church office, but he was far from done campaigning and confronting what he considered to be anti-Biblical views.
Recalling his Vision
A year after his death, Pat Robertson’s unmistakable impact lives on. Today, CBN is still one of the world’s most substantial television ministries, broadcasting in 200 nations and 70 languages globally, as well as 97% of TV markets nationwide.
Christian television and the wake of religious conservatism is only one part of his legacy.
Always motivated to mold the minds of America’s new leaders, he established CBN University in 1977. The higher learning institution, later named Regent University, boasts 30,000 alumni today.
That same year, Robertson desired to establish a source of wholesome mainstream entertainment for Christians. He created International Family Entertainment Inc. (IFE). Its flagship channel was The Family Channel, which had 60 million subscribers at its peak.
Following the Christian Coalition’s sway in U.S. politics, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) was established in 1990 as a Christian and conservative response to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
He was a best-selling author, serial entrepreneur, and American media mogul. Yet, aside from all his accomplishments and accolades, Pat Robertson wanted to honor and serve God.
I didn’t think of myself as much of a pioneer. I just knew that whatever the prejudices of the day, we were not going to submit to any of them. . .I believe the Bible had instructed that whether rich or poor, male or female, African American or white, we all were one in Christ Jesus.
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