TBN’s Smile of a Child Provides Friendship via Friend Ships: $100,000 for Haiti’s Earthquake Survivors

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TBN's Acquisition Of 'Holy Land Experience' Theme Park Seeks To Change More Lives

June 9, 2007 ORLANDO -- Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the world's largest religious broadcaster and America's most-watched faith channel, hopes to change more lives through its addition of the "Holy Land Experience" theme park in Orlando, Fl., to the TBN family. Through the acquisition, TBN will bring an integration of the powerful living recreation of ancient Jerusalem with a cutting edge facility that will be used for television production, dramas, musical concerts, special events and movies.

"This marriage will bring an unprecedented synergy to both ministries and the production that is done there will be seen by a worldwide audience. TBN's involvement made sense, because both ministries are about changing and effecting people's lives. We've been doing that for 34 years," said Paul Crouch, Jr., TBN Vice President of Administration. "We believe this opportunity was heaven sent because it bought TBN an Orlando-based facility to fulfill it's local programming obligations for WGTL CH-52 and it will provide "The Holy Land Experience" with much needed promotion to bring more people to the theme park and Orlando as a whole."

The Holy Land Experience could well be considered Orlando's most inspiring destination as visitors experience a full day of discovery that takes them 2,000 years back in time to the world of the Bible. It brings to life ancient Israel as a unique, thriving world filled with fascinating exhibits and venues. Visitors learn about the Wilderness Tabernacle and the Great Temple; discover the amazing history of the Bible; explore the city of Jerusalem in miniature; see re-enactments of Jesus' ministry, His life, death, and resurrection; and feel the power and passion of our original musical productions.

WGTL TV, Channel 52, has a reach of over four million viewers in the Orlando and Cocoa Beach metropolitan areas with TBN's wide range of innovative faith-based programming. In October of 2006, TBN celebrated the inaugural broadcast of WGTL Ch-52 in Orlando with a dedicatory service attended by TBN founders Paul and Jan Crouch, Pastor Benny Hinn, Singer and Preacher Judy Jacobs hosted by Pastor George Cope and Calvary Assembly in Winter Park, Fl.

The combination of the production facilities and the Holy Land Experience offers Orlando visitors a powerful and unique faith based experience that can be promoted worldwide through the TBN network. The promotional capability can drive visitors to the complex.

"Some of the staff was asking what is going to be the immediate effect here at the park and my answer was 'I'm planning on you having more people coming through the turnstiles this summer,'" said Crouch. "Universal Studios does the same thing. We want the 'Holy Land Experience' to be a faith-based version of that."

About TBN
TBN is the world's largest religious network and America's most watched faith network. Each day TBN offers 24 hours of commercial-free inspirational programming that appeals to people in a wide variety of denominations. Beginning in 1973 as a single UHF station in southern California, TBN now reaches every major continent via 65 satellites and more than 12,500 television and cable affiliates worldwide. In the United States, TBN is available to 92 percent of the total households. Its website receives more than 27 million visitors monthly. For more information on TBN, visit www.tbn.org

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TBN’s Smile of a Child Provides Friendship via Friend Ships: $100,000 for Haiti’s Earthquake Survivors

2010-02-04 -- WDC Media News -- (HAITI NEWS UPDATE) -- Less than ten days after the catastrophic January 12th earthquake that devastated Haiti, the Friend Ship Integrity will depart Lake Charles, Louisiana. Expected to dock near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, around the 29th of January, the humanitarian agency’s vessel is stocked with food, water, water purification systems, doctors, X-ray equipment, medicine, sleeping bags, cots, generators, trucks, a helicopter—and lots of spiritual encouragement.

Decades of experience, the support of the local Friend Ships’ Lake Charles community, and generous donations from Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN)—including $100,000 from the Smile of a Child Ministry—enabled the rapid organization of the Integrity ’s upcoming mission.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with TBN and Smile in this response to help Haiti,” says Sondra Tipton, president of Friend Ships. “Working with Smile is a wonderful help to our efforts, and will enable us to go into Haiti for the long haul, providing much more assistance than we ever would be able to on our own.”

Smile of a Child Ministry was founded by TBN co-founder Jan Crouch as a vehicle to reach out to children the world over. In 2005, her ministry began by providing dolls to poverty-stricken kids in Haiti, and today supplies food, medical care, and disaster relief to people in need everywhere. Crouch has over twenty years of personal involvement with the island country, having established a children’s hospital, an orphanage, and a school in Haiti.

“Our entire family is reeling from last week’s devastation in Haiti, so far away, but so near to my heart,” says Crouch. “I’m so grateful to be in a position to provide help, and will continue to do so until the Haitians are back on their feet again.”

The massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake damaged Haiti’s main Port-au-Prince port, making docking a serious challenge.

“Friend Ships is uniquely positioned to help because the Integrity can be backed up, and its contents offloaded from the back, just as a ferry does,” says Tipton. “That gives us the option to port at smaller docks, ones that are really just cement slabs.”

Due to the severity of the situation in Haiti, Friend Ships will be embarking on multiple trips to provide assistance, but all subsequent missions will depart from Miami. Friend Ships has received tremendous support in collecting top quality supplies, and will keep returning to Haiti “as long as the Lord continues to provide,” says Tipton.

“Friend Ships has been partnering with TBN and Smile since 1992, and is very grateful to be doing so again,” says Tipton. “It has always been a great partnership, and has grown into a very productive one for building the Kingdom. We work extensively in Haiti together, and Jan Crouch has always been there for us.”

TBN has also lent stand-alone support to Friend Ship missions over the years. Paul Crouch senior—founder of TBN—personally donated a Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter to the humanitarian organization.

Along with the JetRanger and several rough and tumble military-style trucks, the Integrity is shipping tons of heavy-duty material to Haiti for building temporary shelters, and tilt-up housing will be delivered on a subsequent trip. Eight super clinics—also sponsored by Smile of a Child Ministry and TBN—will be delivered next week. Twenty-foot shipping containers that have been converted into medical clinics, once driven off the Integrity they are hooked up to a generator and water source, becoming completely functional medical clinics.

Other organizations involved in this mission are Jentezen Franklin Media Ministries and Samaritan’s Purse.

The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is a family of quality Christian television networks. TBN reaches every major continent via 70 satellites and over 15,000 television and cable affiliates worldwide. In the U.S.A., TBN is available to 92 percent of households. For information about TBN, visit www.tbn.org. For the Smile of a Child Ministry, go to www.smileofachild.org. For Friend Ships, visit www.friendships.org, or call 1-337-433-5022.

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