the rev. robert h. schuller died early thursday at a care facility in artesia , daughter carol schuller milner said .
he and his late wife started a ministry in 1955 with $ 500 when he began preaching from the roof of a concession stand at a drive-in movie theater southeast of los angeles .
by 1961 , the church had a brick-and-mortar home -- a ` walk-in/drive-in church ' -- and schuller began broadcasting the ` hour of power ' in 1970 .
in 1980 , he built the towering glass-and-steel crystal cathedral to house his booming tv ministry .
at its peak , in the 1990s , the program had 20 million viewers in about 180 countries .