Paul Crouch, founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, dies

Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Paul Crouch, the televangelist who founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network died Sunday in California, the network's website said. He was 79.

Crouch had fallen ill with "heart and related health issues" while visiting the TBN facility in Colleyville, Texas, and was taken to a Dallas-area hospital in October. He was later taken to Calfornia for treatment.

In the 1970s, operating under what he said was a message from God, Crouch bought television station, cable channels and satellites to develop enough Christian-related programming to sustain the 24-hour TBN.

By the mid-1980s, the network was "the country's most-watched religious network," according to the book "Prime-Time Religioun: An Encyclopedia of Religious Broadcasting."

Crouch and his wife Jan co-anchored the network's flagship program, "Praise the Lord," a two-hour, nightly talk show.

[Los Angeles Times] [Trinity Broadcasting Network]