Stuart Epperson, an evangelical Christian who co-founded the conservative-leaning Salem Media Group in the 1980s, has died at the age of 86, according to Just the News.

The company disclosed his passing on Monday but as of yet no cause of death has been revealed.

"Receiving his reward for a life well-lived"

In a Monday press release, Salem Media Group announced "with a heavy heart" that its beloved co-founder Epperson had passed away.

Epperson, along with brother-in-law and co-founder Edward Atsinger, first launched Salem Communications in 1986 and, over the decades, grew to become a dominant force nationwide in Christian conservative and talk news radio.

In a statement, Atsinger said, "Stuart will be greatly missed by many. I will miss him, but I take comfort in realizing that he is already receiving his reward for a life well-lived."

"A life that personifies the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7-8: 'I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.'"

Met his business partner and his wife in college

The press release noted that Epperson received a bachelor's degree in radio-television broadcasting and a master's degree in communications from Bob Jones University in South Carolina.

According to Pittsburgh's PBRTV, it was during his time at Bob Jones University that Epperson, a native of Virginia, met and befriended Atsinger, which led to his marriage to Atsinger's sister Nancy.

He is survived by a sister and his wife Nancy and their four children -- daughters Kristy, Karen, and Kathy, plus son Stuart Jr, who serves on Salem's board of directors -- along with 21 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Created a "major media powerhouse" based on conservative Christian values

The press release further noted that Epperson was not shy about his Christian faith and was a longtime member of the board of the National Religious Broadcasters Association as well as other Christian conservative organizations, including the Council for National Policy, and ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in North Carolina in the mid-1980s.

Starting with a charter station in Pittsburgh in 1987, per PBRTV, Epperson and Atsinger grew Salem Media Group into a "major media powerhouse" in the 1990s with nationwide expansion.

Salem further diversified to include digital media and book publishing and eventually transformed the privately-held company into a publicly-traded corporation, and Epperson himself was named one of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals by Time magazine in 2005.

Company now struggling financially

Yet, according to The Desk.net, even as it came to dominate Christian conservative and news talk radio across the country, Salem, like all other broadcasters, has felt the financial crunch over the past decade or so of the loss of listeners and ad revenue due to competition from cable news, digital media, podcast streaming, and social media.

In fact, just this year, Salem's stock value has dropped by 15 percent to just 89 cents per share, and is in danger of being removed from the NASDAQ exchange if it is unable to get that value back above $1 per share.