PatRobertson.com - (Virginia Beach, VA, December 5, 2001) -- Pat Robertson, the President and Founder of the Christian Coalition and a 1988 candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, resigned today from the Presidency and the Board of Directors of the Christian Coalition, the organization which he founded in 1989 after his presidential run.  

Citing his renewed call to the Christian ministry, Robertson wrote, “We are seeing an outpouring of revival power in the United States that exceeds anything that I have known in my lifetime…With the few years left to me of active service, I must focus on those things that will bring forth the greatest spiritual benefit.” In stating his decision to resign from Coalition duties he emphasized, “…it is now time for the Lord to raise up someone to take my place and to mobilize a whole new cohort of patriotic Americans to swell the ranks of those who have faithfully supported us in the past.”

In a letter delivered to the Board of the Coalition in which he strongly encouraged continued work within the Coalition “to bring forward the pro-family, pro-life values that we all cherish,” Robertson said, “Although there are many things yet to be done in the public policy sphere, there is no question that we have fulfilled all of the ten-year political goals that we set for the Coalition in 1990. Without a doubt, this organization has played a pivotal role in the election of Christian conservatives to important public offices across our land and in mobilizing the evangelical churches and our pro-family Roman Catholic allies to bring our agenda to the forefront of American political thought.

“Without us, I do not believe that George Bush would be sitting in The White House or that Republicans would be in control of the United States House of Representatives.”

Robertson’s energies will be re-focused on his responsibilities as Chairman and CEO of The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), founded in 1960 and one of the world’s largest television ministries producing programming seen in over 90 nations and heard in over 65 languages around the world.  CBN’s broadcast of its flagship program, The 700 Club (hosted by Robertson), remains one of the longest running religious television shows, reaching an average of one million American viewers daily.  Robertson will also devote a considerable amount of time to Regent University, the graduate school that he founded in 1978, and for which he currently serves as Chancellor and Interim President.  With over 2,600 students currently enrolled, Regent offers fully accredited doctoral and master's degrees in forty-seven programs in eight separate graduate schools.