Former televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86

Jim Bakker, who built a nationwide evangelical television ministry with his first wife Tammy Faye, died on Monday at his home near Branson, Missouri, his second wife Lori Bakker said. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

Bakker, 86, suffered a stroke in 2020 and had continued to host "The Jim Bakker Show" from Branson since its launch in 2003. > "He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry," Lori Bakker said in a statement. > "Jim loved people deeply. He loved this ministry, and he loved the friends and partners who stood with him throughout the years. Even in his final days, his heart was still for the work of God and for the Gospel to continue reaching the world."

Bakker and Tammy Faye rose to prominence in the 1980s with "The PTL Club," a program that attracted up to 13 million nightly viewers and supported the Heritage USA theme park and hotel in South Carolina. Their ministry collapsed after Bakker admitted to a sexual encounter with a church employee in 1987 and was later convicted of mail and wire fraud, receiving a reduced prison sentence of eight years.

After his release on parole in 1994, Bakker remarried in 1998 and revived his broadcasting career. In 2021, his production company settled a lawsuit alleging false claims that a health supplement could cure COVID-19, agreeing to refund $156,000 to purchasers.

Bakker is survived by his wife Lori, five adopted children, and two children from his first marriage. Tammy Faye Bakker died in 2007.