Jim Bakker, Televangelist Who Built and Lost a Christian Empire, Dies at 86

A Fall From Grace That Captivated a Nation

Jim Bakker, the charismatic evangelical preacher who built a Christian television empire, only to see it collapse in scandal, recrimination, and prison, died Monday, October 5. He was 86. His second wife, Lori Bakker, announced his passing on the Facebook page of his most recent TV show, "The Jim Bakker Show," but did not disclose a cause of death.

Bakker and his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, became household names through "The PTL Club," a Christian television program that at its peak drew as many as 13 million viewers a night. The show eventually reached 14 million American homes, with international broadcasts in 40 nations. It was one of the most remarkable media success stories of the 1970s and '80s — and one of the most spectacular collapses.

An Empire Built on Faith — and Financial Ruin

Bakker used the television resources to build a 2,300-acre Christian theme park and ministry center, Heritage USA, near Fort Mill, South Carolina. The park had six million visitors at its peak in 1986, behind only Disneyland and Disney World. PTL became a multimillion-dollar enterprise, taking in an estimated $129 million annually by 1987.

Federal prosecutors charged that Bakker had sold vastly more $1,000 "lifetime partnerships" in Heritage USA than the resort could accommodate, promising purchasers annual lodging that could not realistically be provided. According to federal investigators, nearly 160,000 partnerships were ultimately sold. Further reporting disclosed lavish spending on the Bakkers' behalf, including an air-conditioned doghouse at their lakefront home and gold-plated bathroom fixtures. The opulence was staggering — and it was funded by the faithful.

Sex, Scandal, and Prison

In 1987, the Charlotte Observer exposed a sexual encounter Bakker had had years earlier with Jessica Hahn, a church secretary. PTL officials had made a substantial payment to Hahn as part of an effort to keep the episode secret. Bakker admitted to the encounter and resigned from the ministry in March 1987, ending his reign over the empire he had built.

Bakker was indicted in 1988 for mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy after an investigation of PTL's finances. He was convicted the following year and sentenced to 45 years in federal prison. The sentence was later reduced to eight years. He served just less than five years before he was paroled. Tammy Faye resolutely stood by him for several years, but in 1992 she filed for divorce.

A Complicated Return — and One Last Controversy

Bakker married Lori in 1998 and returned to television in 2003 with "The Jim Bakker Show." His later broadcasts emphasized end-times prophecies and promoted survival supplies. His message was far different this time — apocalyptic and dismissive of the prosperity theology that brought him to fame. The show focused on a survivalist message, and Bakker built a new business based on promoting unregulated supplements.

In June 2021, Bakker and his Morningside Church Productions Inc. settled a lawsuit accusing him of falsely claiming the health supplement Silver Solution could cure COVID-19. The settlement called for $156,000 in refunds to people who paid money or gave contributions to obtain the product in the early days of the pandemic. It was a reminder that even decades after his conviction, controversy continued to follow him.

Bakker's son, Jay Bakker, who became a prominent evangelist in his own right with a much more liberal view of Christianity than his father's, confirmed the death in his own Facebook post. "We had a very complicated relationship and he was also my father and a grandfather and I need to mourn in my own time," he wrote. Jim Bakker's story — from Michigan boy to television titan to convicted felon to late-night punchline to late-stage preacher — remains one of the most layered and morally complex in the history of American religious broadcasting. His legacy will likely be debated for years to come by those who saw a genuine man of faith and those who saw something far more troubling.