American televangelist Jim Bakker, who rose from humble beginnings to build one of the United States’ most influential Christian television ministries before becoming one of the most controversial figures in American evangelicalism, has died at the age of 86.
Bakker died on Monday, according to his wife, Lori Bakker, who announced his death in a statement shared on social media.
The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
“For 66 years, Jim gave his life to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 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 said.
She described her late husband as someone who loved people, his ministry and the supporters who stood by him throughout his career.
“Even in his final days, his heart was still for the work of God and for the gospel to continue reaching the world,” she added.
But Bakker’s story was never simply one of faith and television success.
It was a story of extraordinary influence, spectacular wealth, personal scandal, a criminal conviction, prison, public disgrace and, eventually, an attempt at rebuilding a ministry.
From Christian Television To National Fame
Bakker became widely known in the 1970s alongside his then-wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, when the couple launched The PTL Club, a Christian television programme that eventually developed into a major religious broadcasting operation.
What began as a television ministry grew into something far larger.
The Bakkers built a vast religious media empire and established Heritage USA, a Christian theme park and resort in South Carolina. Their programmes reached millions of viewers, while their ministry raised substantial amounts of money from supporters across the United States.
For a period, Jim and Tammy Faye represented the power of American Christian television.
Their influence extended beyond the pulpit and television studio. They had built a religious brand capable of attracting viewers, donors and enormous public attention.
But the same empire that elevated Bakker to national prominence would eventually become the centre of his downfall.
The Scandal That Changed Everything
By the late 1980s, Bakker’s carefully built public image began to collapse.
In 1987, he resigned from the PTL ministry following revelations concerning a payment made to church secretary Jessica Hahn, who accused him of sexual assault.
The scandal quickly expanded beyond questions about Bakker’s personal conduct.
Investigators also examined the finances of the PTL ministry, leading to criminal charges against the televangelist.
In 1989, Bakker was convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
He ultimately served about five years before being released on parole in 1994.
The conviction marked a dramatic fall for a man who had once occupied a powerful position in American Christian broadcasting.
His first marriage also ended during the aftermath of the scandal. Tammy Faye divorced him and later continued her career in television before her death in 2007.
Prison Was Not The End
For many public figures, a scandal of that magnitude might have marked the end of their public life.
For Bakker, it did not.
After his release from prison, he eventually returned to Christian broadcasting and established another ministry in Missouri.
He later hosted The Jim Bakker Show, where his programming increasingly focused on biblical prophecy, end-times teachings and preparation for crises.
It was a remarkable second act for a televangelist whose first career had ended in prison.
Bakker was no longer the same television figure who had once presided over the PTL empire, but he remained a visible presence within sections of American evangelical media.
Another Controversy
His return to television did not mean an end to controversy.
In 2020, Missouri authorities sued Bakker after he promoted a product as a treatment for COVID-19 during the pandemic.
The case was eventually settled, with Bakker and his ministry agreeing to pay restitution.
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The episode became another chapter in a career that had repeatedly placed faith, commerce, television and controversy in the same conversation.
A Complicated Legacy
Jim Bakker leaves behind a legacy that is difficult to reduce to a single description.
He was a pioneering figure in Christian television who demonstrated how religious broadcasting could grow into a powerful mass-media enterprise.
He was also a convicted fraudster whose ministry collapsed under the weight of financial and personal scandals.
And after prison, he became an example of another phenomenon familiar in American religious life: the ability of a disgraced public figure to rebuild a platform and return to the public eye.
His life therefore tells a larger story about fame, faith and the machinery that can grow around religious influence.
At the height of his success, Bakker had millions of viewers and an enormous ministry behind him. At his lowest point, he was a convicted criminal serving a lengthy prison sentence.
Yet he returned to television and continued preaching for decades.
That arc — from Christian television pioneer to disgraced televangelist, prisoner and eventually a returning religious broadcaster — is what makes Bakker’s death more than the passing of an 86-year-old preacher.
It closes the final chapter of one of the most extraordinary and controversial careers in the history of American Christian broadcasting.