Styles change in television, and stars come and go. The electronic church can
hardly be exempt from this fact of TV life, but since the programs are not so
directly dependent on audience size as secular entertainment programs, the stars
who fade away probably will do so in the Lawrence Welk style of gradual
attrition. But for all who may be in decline or nearing retirement, there are
others waiting in the wings for their period of stardom. There are three
televangelists who are positioned to make a run for the big time. To succeed,
they have to raise the money to pay for their telecasts, and they have to find
time that can be purchased on an already crowded schedule. Since the way they
pay for time is to get on the air and raise the money, this could prove to be a
real
Catch-22; at least it is not likely to be easy unless one of the majors stubs
a toe. The alternative, which Kenneth Copeland and Jack Van Impe are pioneering,
is to buy time outside the normal slots for religious telecasts—Sunday
evenings, Saturdays, even weeknights after prime time.
