Jim Bakker, the controversial televangelist who built a Christian broadcasting empire, died Monday at 86.
“It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening,” his wife, Lori Bakker, wrote.
Lori said Bakker’s final moments were grounded in his faith after he had devoted 66 years to preaching the gospel.
Bakker rose to prominence as the host of The PTL Club, the popular Christian television program that aired from the 1970s through the late 1980s. The show’s title stood for “Praise the Lord.” He also developed Heritage USA, a Christian theme park that has since closed.
He launched the program with his former wife, Tammy Faye, before their ministry empire was engulfed by scandal.
Bakker resigned from the ministry in 1987 after allegedly giving $200,000 in hush money to church secretary Jessica Hahn, who accused him of sexually assaulting her.
Bakker disputed Hahn’s account of sexual assault. In his book I Was Wrong, he maintained that the sexual encounter was consensual.
Two years later, Bakker faced another scandal when he was convicted on 24 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy for raising and misusing $400 million in ministry funds.
Jim Bakker, the televangelist who built a Christian television empire, died Monday at 86.
“It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening,” his wife, Lori Bakker, pictured, wrote.
Bakker became widely known as the host of The PTL Club, which he launched with his former wife, Tammy Faye, pictured.
He received a 45-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine.
Bakker appealed the sentence and secured a reduction to eight years. He ultimately served about five years before being released.
Tammy Faye, with whom Bakker had two children, divorced him while he was in prison.
Roe Messner, the contractor who built Heritage USA, later married Tammy Faye. He, too, was sentenced to more than two years in prison, in his case for bankruptcy fraud.
Tammy Faye announced in 2005 that she had cancer and made a final series of television appearances before her death in 2007.
After his release, Bakker established a new ministry called Morningside in the Ozarks region of Missouri.
In 2003, he brought his second wife, Lori, onto his daily television program, The Jim Bakker Show. The couple later began selling doomsday products marketed for an “end of the world” scenario.
“Even in his final days, his heart was still for the work of God and for the Gospel to continue reaching the world,” Lori wrote Monday.
Bakker allegedly gave $200,000 in hush money to church secretary Jessica Hahn, pictured, who accused him of sexually assaulting her.
In 1989 Bakker was convicted of 24 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy after raising and misusing $400 million in ministry funds
‘Our family is grieving and we ask for your prayers and privacy during this time.’
Bakker cause of death has not been revealed at the time of this report.
According to the New York Times, he suffered what was described as a mild stroke in 2020.
Hahn went on to pose for Playboy magazine several times and made regular appearances on The Howard Stern Show for years afterward.