For more than five decades, CBN’s The 700 Club has been more than a television program. The show has also been a witness to history.
On April 30, 1975, the world witnessed the Fall of Saigon when the North Vietnamese army captured South Vietnam’s capital – effectively ending the war. The following day, CBN’s Pat Robertson referenced the historic event during a salvation message on the show.
“Some of you right now have been very concerned about the future. You’ve been wondering what’s going to happen in America. You’ve been disquieted about Vietnam…God has a message for you,” Robertson said during the broadcast.
Flash forward to 1979 and the Iran Hostage Crisis when, on November 4, militants stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and seized 66 Americans. The hostages were held for 444 days. CBN broadcast breaking news of their release on January 20, 1981.
“I have an urgent bulletin from the United Press International – this will grab you. From London, the official Iranian Fars News Agency says the American hostages have gone to the Tehran airport and their departure for Algiers is quote imminent – close quote,” Robertson shared.
On March 30, 1981, gunfire erupted in Washington, DC during an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
700 Club co-host Ben Kinchlow, along with CBN’s Bob Slosser and Bill Freeman, knelt in prayer for the president, the others who were also shot, and a shaken country.
“Lord, we ask that you would stretch out the healing hand and touch those who have been wounded in this critical area, and not only our president and upon his staff, Lord, but there have been many right now who have been wounded or ill and who suffer at this moment,” Kinchlow prayed.
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall, which separated West Berlin from East Berlin and communist East Germany, came down.
Pat Robertson visited the Brandenburg Gate shortly after the wall’s fall, where he interviewed Rev. Billy Graham about the spiritual significance of the collapse. Both men viewed the historic event as a divinely orchestrated miracle that opened doors for the global advancement of the gospel.
“Billy, you knew this was going to happen, but were you amazed when the wall finally came down?” Robertson asked Graham. “Yes, I knew it would happen someday, but I had no idea it would happen so quickly,” said Graham.
Months later, on August 2, 1990, the Gulf War began after Iraq invaded Kuwait. CBN News took 700 Club viewers to the frontlines of the conflict.
Robertson introduced a segment on the show. “The allied ground forces have stunned Iraq’s defenses with a devastating attack, but the real battle may now be underway. Here’s our first report from CBN News,” he said.
“Swift, smooth and highly successful may be the most accurate adjectives to describe the utter dominance displayed thus far by allied forces in their first day and a half of a ground assault against the Iraqi army,” a reporter said.
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Then came September 11, 2001.
With The 700 Club’s regular format discarded, Pat Robertson and CBN News anchor Lee Webb delivered Live two-hour coverage of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA, and the Pentagon, pivoting between updates and desperate prayer.
“This happened sometime between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Eastern time,” Webb reported during the broadcast. “You would think that most people had not arrived to their office at that time, but again there’s no way of knowing. This is more video…we’re getting more information…”
That’s when a producer’s voice was heard off camera announcing, “A second plane has crashed into the World Trade Tower.”
“Father, we pray for America now,” Robertson prayed. “Lord, as great as we are, this act of this monstrous terror shows us how vulnerable we are, how weak we are in the midst of all of our strength, and Lord only in Your power can we survive. Lord, for the families of those who’ve perished in this terrible tragedy, we ask for Your comfort in this moment for them, and we ask, Lord, for wisdom for our president and the leaders who will be taking action in regard to this. Lord, give wisdom to those who lead this nation that Your name might be honored in our midst. We hold this whole thing before You and ask for Your divine intervention; in Jesus’ name we ask it.”
Those terrorists’ actions would eventually lead to March 20, 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom.
CBN News ran extensive coverage of the war as senior reporter Paul Strand served as an embedded journalist on the frontlines.
“One thing about a mobile division is everything has to be mobile, including the command post and the communications. So what do you do out in the desert? You take some armored carriers like these, you back ’em up, you open their back doors, you put a tent in the middle, you plug in a generator so that you’ve got power, instantaneous command post out in the middle of nowhere,” Strand reported.
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On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast of the United States, killing more than 1,800 and submerging the city of New Orleans. CBN’s Wendy Griffith reported from the storm zone.
“New Orleans is known as more of a partying town, but those who’ve stayed behind to brave Hurricane Katrina have been doing a lot more praying than partying. The mayor called this the storm they have all feared – the big one – a direct hit from a Category 5 hurricane that can literally put this city that’s already below sea level under water,” Griffith reported.
CBN’s Operation Blessing was also on the scene after the storm, bringing tangible help, healing, and hope to storm survivors.
In January 2020, when the global pandemic shut down the world, the 700 Club adapted, broadcasting critical medical updates on the Covid-19 virus.
Pat Robertson asked CBN News Medical Reporter Lorie Johnson, “Why do you think people have gotten so panicked about this particular coronavirus?”
Johnson answered, “Well because it’s new primarily and they don’t know what it’s going to do? Is it going to mutate? They want to get a handle on it, and they also want to develop a vaccine.”
On October 7, 2023, horror struck Israel in the form of a massive Hamas terrorist attack.
Twelve hundred innocent lives were taken in a coordinated sneak attack. Hundreds were held hostage. Day after day, CBN reported on the atrocities of that date while providing humanitarian relief and a biblical perspective on the conflict.
“It’s been called Israel’s 9/11,” Gordon Robertson said.
“The images horrifying – armed terrorists roaming Israeli communities at will and murdering anyone on sight. Elderly women and men dead on the street,” reported CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell.
Gordon Robertson also encouraged prayer for the Jewish nation, for October 7th and beyond. “May God arise and have mercy on Zion…as the sons of Abraham… amen and amen. May it be so.”
On July 13, 2024, gunfire pierced a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt. Bleeding, he pumped his fist to the crowd.
CBN News’ Tara Mergener interviewed people who attended the event.
“We thought they had killed him,” said one man.
Another said, “Jesus had His, um, He poured His precious blood over him, over Trump, protected him.”
From wars to political uprisings and natural disasters to a global pandemic, for over half a century, The 700 Club and CBN News have been the definitive intersection of breaking news and undeniable faith, keeping viewers inspired, informed, and anchored.
