BusinessTN

Though it might be overstatement to call Paul and Jan Crouch modern-day apostles, judging from their success in getting their message out, it might not be too farfetched, either. The couple has built the small gospel TV channel they started in Southern California in 1973 into the world’s preeminent Christian broadcaster, pushing the Nashville and Tennessee brands along the way.

Who doesn’t like free publicity? Every time Nashville gets mentioned as a country or gospel music destination on the Great American Country, CMT or Gospel Music channels, a million pairs of eyes take note, and millions more tourism dollars come closer to Tennessee. But that’s not all the press the state gets. Every few weeks, Trinity Broadcasting Network beams its colorful Praise the Lord church service from Hendersonville, where it owns and operates the large entertainment complex, Trinity Music City USA. The show is broadcast across the globe, which, as of February, also includes the Asia-Pacific region (Mongolia, Thailand, Eastern Europe and Japan) via an exclusive arrangement struck with Asia Broadcast Satellite. According to Broadcasting & Cable magazine, TBN now ranks as the world’s eighth largest television network, between Spanish-language Univision and media giant Gannett, and ahead of CNN, the Vatican channel and Al Jazeera.

The usual TBN fare includes promises of fire and brimstone for non-believers, tearful testimonials, occasional speaking in tongues, and, of course, requests for money. It beams into homes clad in the gaudy tradition of Pentecostal prosperity gospel—a setting best defined as Christian Rococo, or Versace Unleashed, featuring gilded chairs and lush, dark-blue carpeting and drapes, under regal TBN insignia.

While ordering a chicken salad sandwich at the Solid Rock Bistro on a recent Sunday afternoon in Hendersonville before the 2 p.m. service at the TBN auditorium, one could see the fountains of country legend Conway Twitty’s estate flicker through the window, as a TBN anchor of the moment denounced America’s public schools as “the factories of atheism” from a wall-mounted TV set. At the Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh Gift Shop, a weary pilgrim may find all the spirit-lifting potions, and trod across the street to the theater to “See Jesus Walk on Water,” as advertised in the parking lot. After church and shopping (“It’s Sweet to Buy and Buy”), one can visit the home of Conway Twitty, which the Crouches bought in the mid-1990s for $11 million. The estate is used to broadcast various Bible and cooking shows on TBN, and the Crouches drop in for a visit from time to time.

What does all this publicity mean for the state and its capital? No one is quite sure. Nashville’s two perennial promoters, Janet Miller of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Butch Spyridon of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, remain mum on the subject. Colby May, TBN’s attorney, says it best. “Nashville is loved everywhere. Its music and its traditions are captivating wherever you are,” which he says helps TBN spread its gospel. One thing’s for certain: having reached every continent except Antarctica with their gospel, Paul and Jan Crouch’s satellite-enhanced ability to reach all corners of the globe would be the envy of many a sandal-clad apostle of yore.