The new episode of the “Hour of Power,” taped March 18, features interim leading pastor Dr. Lawrence Wilkes and “a return to traditional music with hymns, a choir and an orchestra,” the church said in a statement

The “Hour of Power,” Crystal Cathedral’s landmark television program, will air its first new episode Sunday under new leadership, after the church’s founding family, the Schullers, quit the ministry. However, in some markets, the long-running program will be cut to just half an hour.

“You can sense a growing excitement in our congregation,” John Charles, CEO and President of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, said in a statement emailed to The Christian Post. “Attendance has been up since we returned to the traditional worship style on which the ministry was founded.”

The popular televised ministry program, which has been on the air since 1970, will also air a shortened, 30-minute version, for the first time on the Discovery Channel, church officials said. The traditional 60-minute version will continue to air on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The version aired on Lifetime will shift from 60 to 30 minutes on May 13. The shorter version will include the entire sermon and a few minutes of worship through music, church leaders said.

“We’ve been considering this move for years,” Charles said. “The market has changed, with more demands on people’s time and more options for the viewers. Most ministries that televise their services use a 30-minute format. This will give us the capacity to expand our weekly viewership without expanding the budget. Research indicates that our audience could increase by more than 25 percent with this change.”

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