Schuller son to be next Crystal Cathedral pastor

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — Robert H. Schuller, the longtime pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in Southern California, has announced that his son, Robert A. Schuller, will become the church’s new senior pastor Jan. 22. The younger Schuller, 51, will assume leadership of the megachurch in Garden Grove, Calif., the church said. His father, 79, will remain as chairman of the board of Crystal Cathedral Ministries and will hold the title of founding pastor.

The consistory, or church board, of the Crystal Cathedral called Robert A. Schuller to be the next pastor. The transition was expected. In 1996, Robert A. Schuller was publicly named as his father’s eventual successor and vice chairman of Crystal Cathedral Ministries.

Robert H. Schuller marked 50 years of ministry in Orange County, Calif., last year. Affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, he began with a drive-in church that grew into a much larger ministry with a congregation of more than 10,000 members.