Former televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86
Jim Bakker, the once-prominent televangelist who built the PTL ministry and later returned to broadcasting, died at age 86. His wife Lori announced his death without providing a cause.
Jim Bakker, the founder of the PTL (Praise the Lord) ministry and a pioneer of Christian television, died at the age of 86, his family announced on social media. His wife, Lori Bakker, said the longtime preacher had "gone home to be with the Lord" and praised his lifelong dedication to the gospel.
Bakker first rose to national attention in the 1970s and 1980s alongside his then-wife Tammy Faye Messner, hosting "The PTL Club" and operating the Heritage USA theme park in South Carolina. At its peak, PTL generated more than $128 million annually and reached 12 million cable subscribers.
In 1987 Bakker resigned after a scandal involving a payment to a former secretary, Jessica Hahn, to conceal an affair. He was later indicted on fraud charges, convicted on 24 counts, and sentenced to 45 years in prison, serving just under five years before being released on parole in 1994.
After his release, Bakker remarried Lori Graham and relaunched "The Jim Bakker Show" from Branson, Missouri. In 2020 he and his production company faced a lawsuit from the Missouri attorney general for promoting an unproven product claimed to cure COVID-19.
Bakker’s death was reported without details on the cause. He had previously suffered a stroke in 2020, prompting a temporary hiatus from his television program.
"I wanted people to believe in my dream, and my dream became more important than the people," Bakker told CNN’s Larry King in 2000.
"God’s forgiveness is the only thing. And, you know, I take full responsibility for the adultery. It was my fault," he said in a later interview.
Bakker’s legacy remains mixed, reflecting both his early influence on Christian broadcasting and the controversies that later defined his career.