Spreading God's Word From TV Land -- Lured By The Lifestyle, Celebrities And Technology, Many Religious Broadcasters Are Delivering Their Sermons On The Airwaves From Southern California

COSTA MESA, Calif. - Lighted up at night, the new world headquarters of Trinity Broadcasting Network looks like a cross between Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty castle and a Middle Eastern palace.

Inside, a sweeping brass-and-marble staircase leads to a 15-foot

statue of Michael the Archangel stomping the head of Satan. Behind is a high-definition video theater with a 48-channel sound system and a state-of-the-art television studio.

The Orange County building, which will be formally dedicated in May, is a monument to the modern reach of television ministries. It combines studios and offices with tour attractions worthy of a theme park. More importantly, it loudly signals the ascension of Southern California as the international capital of televangelism.

Some of the biggest stars in religious broadcasting have been lured here by the access to entertainment technology and a friendly environment, where religious fervor is embraced and the privacy of public figures is protected.

They're an eclectic bunch, with varying styles and doctrines, and with their share of critics. But they are all bound by the belief that their divine mission is to use the electronic media to promote Christianity.

"We are the communications capital of the world," said entertainer Pat Boone, whose gospel music show formerly appeared on TBN.

"It makes sense that if Christians are going to be in the communications business it would emanate from here."

Consider:

-- Trinity Broadcasting Network is the world's largest Christian television network, a nerve center for more than 700 broadcast, cable and satellite affiliates spanning the globe. Paul Crouch, who runs TBN with his wife, Jan, is viewed as the most powerful figure in televangelism - a Christian equivalent of media moguls Rupert Murdoch and Michael Eisner. Robert Schuller

-- The Rev. Robert Schuller's hugely successful "Hour of Power" telecasts of his services at the Crystal Cathedral in nearby Garden Grove are beamed around the world on TBN. A minister of the mainstream Reform Church of America, Schuller started out preaching from the roof of an Orange County drive-in, drawing a following with his focus on the power of positive thinking.

-- Gene Scott, pastor of the Los Angeles University Cathedral, is a favorite on the tube with his combative sermons and prize show horses. The white-haired, cigar-chomping Stanford Ph.D. is known as a sort of shock jock of televangelism - a religious TV host who doesn't shy away from taking provocative stands on issues. Benny Hinn

-- Benny Hinn, a charismatic whom boxing champ Evander Holyfield credits with healing his defective heart, plans to open the Hinn World Media Center in Aliso Viejo, in Orange County, as the hub of his global TV ministry.

A fast-rising star who will also maintain his ministry in Florida, he built his following by appearing on TBN.

-- And there are others, including the All American Network, a smaller version of TBN based in Los Angeles County's San Dimas, and the popular Los Angeles-based pastors Frederick K.C. Price and E.V. Hill, both of whom are considered among the nation's most prominent black televangelists.

Easy access to experts

Southern California isn't the only place religious broadcasters call home. There are an estimated 2,500 television and radio evangelists in the United States, who collectively take in more than $3 billion annually from followers. One of the biggest names in televangelism, Pat Robertson, is based in Virginia.

But few places have such a high concentration of religious media might as Los Angeles and Orange counties.

For televangelists, the advantages to being in Southern California can be as straightforward as access to production equipment and expertise.

"When we get ready to produce, we can go to this vast media pool in Southern California and draw on the best people in the industry," said Don Matthews, executive director of Faith for Today Television in Ventura County's Simi Valley, an offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Perhaps even more important than access to studios and production gear, Boone said, is that "there's just something about the climate and the creative community here that attracts the creative mind."

Drawing on star power

Being in the media capital also puts televangelists within easy reach of many of the celebrities who help to drum up support.

TBN carries shows featuring Dale Evans, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Carol Lawrence and former "Love Boat" captain Gavin MacLeod.

Schuller, whose gleaming 12-story glass-and-steel sanctuary is equipped with a giant video screen, in the past year has been host to such celebrities as Naomi Judd, poet Maya Angelou, musician John Tesh and former Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda.

The region's strong base of religious conservatism makes Southern California a "friendly environment" for televangelists, said Mike Regele, president of Percept, a Costa Mesa religion-research firm.

Crouch, a missionary's son from the Midwest, came to California in the 1960s to manage the Assemblies of God TV and film-production center in Burbank.

Praise for success, opulence

Southern California is also a place where success is flaunted, and where an unbridled display of opulence, like the new TBN headquarters, seems to fit right in.

The Crouches preach a "success" theology in which they contend Christ and the Apostles were actually wealthy merchants. Viewers are told that if they give money, God will reward them with health and wealth.

Their regular "praise-a-thons" and other fund-raisers produce tens of millions of dollars, according to tax returns. The Crouches declined to be interviewed.

The new Costa Mesa facility, acquired two years ago for $6 million, is a "kind of church triumphant thing," said Benjamin Hubbard, chairman of the department of comparative religion at California State University, Fullerton.

"It's very California. It symbolizes to the world that `we've made it.' "

The building contains the network's administrative offices, a large gift shop, and a studio where the Crouches' flagship "Praise the Lord" and other shows will be produced. The facility also has a virtual-reality re-creation of Jerusalem's Via Doloroso, where Jesus is believed to have taken his final walk, and high-definition video presentations of stories from the lives of Christ and Apostle Paul.

Though the building is only partially open, TBN started giving free tours in November.

Richard and Marion Alf, Minnesota snowbirds who winter in Newport Beach, took in the tour and gave it a ringing endorsement. "This is just lovely," said Marion, 72. "I'm sure the Lord will be pleased with it."

Added their son, Dan, 36, of Long Beach: "It's very Versace."