Dr. M.G. “Pat” Robertson Addresses Annual Founder’s Chapel

One camera. One cardboard cross hung on a grey, dry-rotted curtain with duct tape. And cash reserves of roughly $70.

This was the humble beginning of the Christian Broadcasting Network. And, eventually, Regent University.

“Don’t despise the day of small beginnings,” said Regent founder, chancellor and CEO Dr. M.G. “Pat” Robertson at the annual Founders Chapel on Wednesday, August 26. “That’s about as small as it gets.”

Each year, Robertson carries on the tradition of re-living Regent’s story of small beginnings to a new generation of students and staff members at University Chapel, starting with the fateful day in 1961 when the flip switched for the Christian Broadcasting Network.

“I didn’t even own a television set, let alone know about television,” said Robertson. “But then, over the years, God made something incredible.”

That network, now known as the Christian Broadcasting Network, grew from that small, one-camera station in Portsmouth, Virginia, into an organization that needed a headquarters and property to build it on.

It was at that point – in the midst of saying grace over a meal of cantaloupe and cottage cheese – that Robertson heard a distinct voice prompting him to build a school “for His glory.”

“I have three degrees – it’s not that I was lacking in education,” said Robertson with a laugh. “But, I’d never built a school before.”

Robertson, however, was no stranger to following God’s calling. He answered “yes, sir,” to the call, and founded CBN University with seven faculty members and 77 students. Now, some 37 years later, the university has a worldwide reach, and more than 7,000 students learning online and on campus.

Through the years of having a front seat to this growth, Robertson claimed that God has a “bias for action.”

“There’s a future here, a destiny beyond anything we can see,” said Robertson. “God will bring it to pass, look to Him for miracles.”

Learn more about Regent University’s Campus Ministries.