Televangelist, humanitarian James Robison dies at 82

James Robison, known for his Life Today televangelism program, died at age 82, according to a Sunday social media post from LIFE Outreach International. The ministry’s board of directors did not share the exact date or cause of his death. Millions of people attended over 600 in-person evangelistic crusades that he held over the years, and his TV program was estimated to reach millions more, according to LIFE Outreach. He also authored many books, including Living Amazed, The Stream, and Indivisible.

Robison became a Christian as a teenager after a dysfunctional childhood, raised partly by his mother and partly by a Christian couple. He had been conceived in rape, and while his mother wanted to abort him, a doctor refused to conduct the procedure, according to his website. Robison began preaching soon after his conversion, believing that God called him into ministry. With the Rev. Billy Graham’s help, he began preaching on television in 1968. Robison launched the Life Today TV program in 1995 alongside his wife. He continued to host the program until his death.

Robison was part of the Moral Majority movement in the early 1980s and helped rally evangelical support for Ronald Reagan. Originally aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention, he shifted gears in the late 1980s, leaning toward charismatic teaching. He then also began humanitarian initiatives under the umbrella of LIFE Outreach International. Those efforts grew to more than 86 countries and included projects such as drilling water wells, providing food and healthcare assistance, and starting antitrafficking programs, according to the Fort Worth-based ministry. LIFE Outreach’s board said it would share updates in the coming days on its future leadership, since Robison was both its founder and president.

Robison reportedly had an extramarital affair in the 1980s. Pastors who knew of the situation said he repented and received Christian counsel.

Robison also faced criticism in 2024 over his past connections to Robert Morris, a Texas megachurch pastor convicted of child sexual abuse. The two worked and preached together in the 1980s, around the time that the abuse occurred. Robison later said he did not know that Morris’ moral failing involved a child until details emerged in 2024. He called Morris’ actions completely unacceptable.

What are people saying about his legacy? A range of well-known ministry figures and televangelists, including Franklin Graham, Richard Roberts, Robert Jeffress, and Benny Hinn paid tribute to Robison, praising him for powerful preaching and gospel impact. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he worked as Robison’s director of communications in the 1970s and saw Robison as a key mentor of his.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s obituary for Daystar TV co-founder Joni Lamb.