Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association

The Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (OREA) is a Pentecostal Christian ministry established by evangelist and faith healer Oral Roberts. It developed from Roberts's postwar healing-revival work into a broad religious communications and outreach organization involving revival meetings, prayer services, printed materials, television and radio programs, and international evangelistic activity. The ministry is associated with Oral Roberts's message of divine healing and with a charismatic style of Christian broadcasting designed to reach audiences beyond traditional church congregations. Roberts identified the beginning of his public healing ministry with a service held in Enid, Oklahoma, in 1947. He subsequently conducted large tent meetings, particularly in Oklahoma and other parts of the United States, where preaching, prayer, and claims of physical healing formed the central elements of the ministry. During the 1950s, the organization expanded its reach through religious literature and television, allowing Roberts's sermons and healing services to circulate nationally and internationally. In 1958, the ministry established the Abundant Life Prayer Group, creating a structured channel for people seeking prayer by telephone and other means. The association's institutional activities also contributed to the creation of Oral Roberts University. Groundbreaking for the university took place in 1962, and the institution was founded in 1963. Although the university and the evangelistic association were closely linked historically and shared the Roberts family name and religious heritage, they became financially and administratively separated after litigation and scrutiny concerning the relationship between the organizations in 2007. Leadership passed increasingly to Oral Roberts's son Richard Roberts. Richard began conducting his own healing ministry in 1980 and later became president of Oral Roberts Ministries and a principal public representative of the association. His broadcasting work has included the television program The Place for Miracles and healing rallies in the United States and other countries. Lindsay Roberts, Richard's wife, has also held a prominent ministry and broadcasting role, including work directed particularly toward women through the program Make Your Day Count. OREA's operating model has centered on donor-supported religious outreach rather than the sale of conventional consumer products. Its offerings have consisted primarily of prayer and pastoral ministry, evangelistic broadcasts, religious publications, fundraising and donor communications, healing meetings, and related media programming. The association has historically described its programs as an effort to spread the Christian Gospel and provide prayer ministry to audiences in the United States and around the world. It remains a distinct ministry associated with the Roberts family, while Oral Roberts University operates as a separate educational institution.

The history of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association is closely connected with the career of Oral Roberts, an American Pentecostal preacher whose public ministry emphasized divine healing and evangelistic broadcasting. Roberts said that his own experiences of illness, recovery, and religious calling led him into ministry. The association's public work is generally traced to 1947, when Roberts held an early healing service in downtown Enid, Oklahoma. He soon expanded into tent revivals, a format that enabled him to travel among communities and attract large audiences for preaching, prayer, and healing services. During the 1950s, Roberts's ministry grew beyond in-person meetings. It distributed printed religious materials and developed a television ministry, making its message available to people who could not attend revival meetings. This period established the communication model that remained important to OREA: combining public evangelism with media distribution, prayer requests, fundraising, and direct contact with supporters. In 1958, the ministry founded the Abundant Life Prayer Group. The group received prayer requests by telephone and became an important mechanism for extending the ministry's reach to people in the United States and abroad. The Roberts organization also pursued institution-building. Groundbreaking for Oral Roberts University occurred in 1962, and the university was founded in 1963. The university was part of the broader Roberts religious project but was not simply a product line of the evangelistic association. Over time, the university developed as a separate educational institution, while OREA continued to operate as a ministry focused on evangelism, healing, prayer, and broadcasting. A second generation of Roberts family leadership became increasingly visible in the late twentieth century. In 1980, Richard Roberts began a separate healing ministry and later assumed senior leadership responsibilities within Oral Roberts Ministries. He continued the association's public emphasis on healing rallies and Christian television. Richard's television program, The Place for Miracles, and his international ministry activities extended the Roberts broadcasting and revival tradition. Lindsay Roberts also became a prominent ministry personality and broadcaster, including through Make Your Day Count, a daily program directed especially toward women. The relationship among the evangelistic association, the university, and the Roberts family came under public and legal scrutiny in the 2000s. In 2007, following litigation involving Richard Roberts, the university and OREA separated their finances. This marked an important institutional boundary between the educational organization and the evangelistic ministry. The association continued to be identified with Richard Roberts and with religious media and prayer outreach. OREA's activities have historically included weekly television and radio programming, daily television content, printed materials, prayer services, healing rallies, and Gospel-oriented communications. Its reach has been described as both domestic and international. Unlike a commercial consumer brand, the association's principal outputs are religious services, broadcasts, publications, and ministry experiences supported by donations and affiliated outreach. Its identity remains rooted in Pentecostal Christianity, faith healing, the Roberts family legacy, and the use of mass media for evangelism.

• 2007

  Financial separation from Oral Roberts University

  [1]Oral Roberts Evangelistic Associationen.wikipedia.org

  After litigation involving Richard Roberts, OREA and Oral Roberts University separated their finances and organizational relationships.

• 1980

  Richard Roberts begins his healing ministry

  [1]Oral Roberts Evangelistic Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Richard Roberts began conducting his own healing ministry and later became a senior leader and public representative of the Roberts ministries.

• 1963

  Oral Roberts University founded

  [1]Oral Roberts Evangelistic Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Oral Roberts University was founded by the ministry, although it later developed as a distinct organization.

• 1962

  Oral Roberts University groundbreaking

  [1]Oral Roberts Evangelistic Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Ground was broken for Oral Roberts University as part of the wider institutional work associated with Roberts's ministry.

• 1958

  Abundant Life Prayer Group established

  [1]Oral Roberts Evangelistic Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The ministry created the Abundant Life Prayer Group, which received prayer requests from people in the United States and other countries.

• 1950

  Expansion through literature and broadcasting

  [1]Oral Roberts Evangelistic Associationen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1950s, the ministry broadened its reach through printed religious materials and the launch of television programming.

• 1947

  First reported healing service

  [1]Oral Roberts Evangelistic Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Oral Roberts held an early healing service in Enid, Oklahoma, marking the beginning of the public ministry associated with the later evangelistic association.

A Pentecostal evangelistic ministry positioned around faith healing, prayer, Christian broadcasting, revival meetings, and international Gospel outreach.

• Television ministry

  The Place for Miracles

  A Christian television program hosted by Richard Roberts. It continues the ministry's emphasis on faith, prayer, healing testimony, Bible teaching, and appeals for viewers to engage with the Roberts ministry.

• Television ministry

  Make Your Day Count

  A daily half-hour Christian television program associated with Lindsay Roberts. The program has been presented as serving women in particular while providing devotional, inspirational, and ministry-oriented content.

• Prayer service · 1958

  Abundant Life Prayer Group

  A prayer outreach established in 1958 to receive prayer requests by telephone and other communications. It extended the ministry beyond revival venues and connected the association with supporters seeking prayer from different countries.

• Christian publishing

  Religious publications

  Printed evangelistic and devotional materials distributed by the ministry, particularly during its expansion in the 1950s. These publications helped carry Oral Roberts's preaching, healing message, and prayer ministry beyond live meetings and broadcasts.

• Religious events · 1947

  Healing rallies and revival meetings

  Public ministry events built around Pentecostal preaching, prayer, healing claims, and evangelistic appeals. Oral Roberts established the association's reputation through traveling tent meetings, while Richard Roberts later continued similar rallies in the United States and internationally.

• 2007

  Litigation and separation of OREA and Oral Roberts University finances

  A lawsuit involving Richard Roberts brought public attention to the relationship between the evangelistic association and Oral Roberts University. In the aftermath, the two organizations separated their finances and organizational arrangements.

  Source

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• 2007

  Separate the ministry's finances from Oral Roberts UniversityStrategy

  Background

  Litigation involving Richard Roberts led to scrutiny of the relationship between OREA and Oral Roberts University.

  Action taken

  The evangelistic association and the university separated their finances and clarified their organizational independence.

  Aftermath

  OREA continued as a distinct Roberts-family evangelistic ministry, while Oral Roberts University operated as a separate educational institution.

  Source

1. 1Oral Roberts Evangelistic Associationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association official websiteoralroberts.com