James Robison was the founder and president of LIFE Outreach International.
On October 9, 1943, James was born in the charity ward of a Houston hospital. Due to the circumstances of his conception and feeling she could not properly provide for him, his 41-year-old mother placed a newspaper ad for a Christian couple to take care of him.
Rev. and Mrs. H.D. Hale answered that ad and raised James for the first five years of his life. Then, unexpectedly, when he was 5 years old, his mother came to get him, and they lived in Austin for the next 10 years. During this time, while visiting the Hales, James, a shy 14-year-old, had a life-changing encounter with Christ. Not long after, James was given the opportunity to live with the Hales during his last two years of high school.
Two significant milestones happened while James was living with them in Pasadena, Texas. First, he was called by God to be an evangelist and began to preach as a teenager. Second, he met Betty Freeman, the love of his life, whom he married in 1963.
Since 1968, James presented the Gospel on television. In 1995, he and Betty launched the daily television program LIFE TODAY. Over the course of six decades, James preached in over 600 citywide evangelistic crusades attended by more than 20 million people and personally inspired religious, political and social leaders.
Although James set attendance records at coliseums and introduced countless people to Christ through his powerful sermons, sharing God’s love via the airwaves has a far greater reach. The LIFE TODAY TV program has millions of potential viewers worldwide, resulting in over 20,000 monthly calls to LIFE’s prayer center.
James’ childhood experiences undoubtedly gave him a heart for the downtrodden. LIFE Outreach has a wide range of mission outreaches to those in need, both in the United States and in more than 86 countries impacted worldwide. One of the ministry’s longest-running programs, Mission Feeding, has helped save the lives of more than 24 million children across Africa. More than 350,000 children are provided with a daily nutritious meal.
Mission:RescueLIFE seeks to reach, rescue and restore girls and young children from the horrors of human trafficking. 22 million+ at-risk children and families have been reached through education outreaches. 10,000+ trafficking victims have been rescued, and 7000+ restored.
Since its launch in 2000, Water for LIFE has provided more than 9500 wells in 48 nations, thanks to the help of LIFE’s supporters. LIFE’s Medical Missions has completed over 6000 surgeries in 8 different countries. LIFE Centers are now in 17 different locations worldwide. And a favorite seasonal outreach, LIFE’s Christmas Shoe Project, begun in 2008, has provided more than 3 million pairs of shoes for children in need.
James also authored many books, including Living Amazed, The Stream, the New York Times bestseller Indivisible (with Jay W. Richards), God of All Creation (with James Randall Robison), Living in Love (with Betty Robison), The Absolutes, True Prosperity, A Dad’s Blessing, Fight the Good Fight (with Jay W. Richards) and The Father’s Heart devotional. His final book, A Life Proclaiming Freedom, is scheduled to release this fall.
James passed peacefully on May 16, 2026. He impacted millions of lives in ways that will echo for generations. His legacy is both generational and eternal. James is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Betty, his children Randy and Rhonda, 11 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. He is reunited in heaven with his youngest child, Robin.
