Celebrating 64 Years of CBN!
When you turn on The 700 Club, you are watching a program that has been on the air continuously since 1966. It’s one of the longest running daily programs in television history.
Pat Robertson said, “We’ve probably seen more people come to the Lord through CBN than any other organization in the world. But it wasn’t me, it was God.”
It was an unbelievable leap of faith for a man who didn’t own a TV set to jump into telecommunications.
Pat explained, “I didn’t have any money, but I had a lot of faith, I suppose, so I got an appointment with David Sarnoff, who was then Chairman of the Board of RCA, and told him that we needed some help and that we wanted to buy some equipment from him. Well, he looked at me and said, ‘You don’t sound much like a buyer to me,’” Pat said as he laughed.
Undaunted by skepticism, Pat bought the equipment he needed from RCA to get the transmitter and camera working. He switched on the transmitter, framed up the camera, and went on the air with his bible in hand. The inaugural broadcast of The Christian Broadcasting Network made it to end of the block, and from there it never stopped.
Over the decades, millions have responded to Christ as Pat spoke directly to viewers.
As Pat prayed on the 700 Club, he said, “Lord Jesus. That’s right, pray with me. Lord Jesus, you know what I’ve been through.”
Last year, CBN programming was seen in more than 168 countries and territories around the world. Areas once completely closed to the Gospel are now new frontiers. What began in Tidewater Virginia is spanning the globe. All the best human strategies in the world couldn’t accomplish that feat.
Gordon Robertson said, “CBN was the first to ever start a Christian television show in their own language. And that has profound implications for the culture. When you show people what Jesus is doing today for people that look like them, talk like them, it’s not some far-off story that happened 2,000 years ago.”
Pat said, “I wanted to be part of God’s plan. And I think that His plan is for world evangelization and to bring millions to the Kingdom and He’s let me be part of it.”
As of 2025, CBN has 18 media centers around the globe that not only produce content in their native languages but also employ their own innovative strategies.
Gordon explained, “Back in 1996, I can safely say 90% of our audience was in the United States. Now, 90% of our audience is international, and 10% of our audience is in the United States. And we're seeing audience levels we couldn't have dreamed of, where 350 million people are watching CBN programs around the world.”
While CBN is reaching millions through broadcast, it has also focused on an even larger audience platform - the internet.
Gordon said, “We're at a point in time, I think, in media where we have to look at Internet broadcasting as being the dominant form of the future. We're just dipping our toes in it now. But already we're seeing the fruit from it, where you total up all of the salvation reports that we get from the US version of The 700 Club, and they're already being exceeded by our Internet totals.”
Last year, CBN worked in 90 languages and dialects through varios media outlets and social media platforms like Youtube, Meta, and X, along with apps for CBN News, SuperBook, and CBN Family.
Cally Robertson Everett said, “When we first started, we were in TV, that's where people were. So many miracle stories happened because somebody happened to turn on the TV, they happened to hear Pat pray for them, they happened to get healed. So, we want to continue that, even as fewer people turn on TVs, we want people to happen to find us where they are, on YouTube or wherever it might be.”
During a Week of Prayer event, Gordon prayed, “By His stripes all my diseases are carried away. In Jesus name, Amen. Now faith is an act. Do what you couldn’t do before.”
It was October 1st, 1961, when CBN first began with a mission to reach every person with the Gospel. Now, sixty-four years later, CBN continues with that same mission using new technology, innovative strategies, and most importantly, the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Through it all, the story of CBN carries a message for all Christians.
Pat said, “Expect big things from God and He will give you big things. It's no harder for God to give you a dollar than it is to give you 10 million dollars. No harder to give you a thousand souls, or ten million souls. It's just God. So why not ask largely?”
Gordon said, “Well, I'll say the same thing that Dad said to me. ‘If God has spoken to you and asked you to do something, then why haven't you?’ Take Him at His word, take Him at it. Whatever He tells you to do, say ‘Amen’ to it and do it with all of your heart, all of your strength. He will not disappoint you.”
