Jim Bakker, the televangelist who rose from a traveling preacher to command one of the most influential Christian broadcasting operations in America before a stunning fall from grace, has died at the age of 86, his family confirmed Monday.
His second wife, Lori Bakker, announced the death in a statement but did not immediately disclose a cause. In her remarks, she remembered him not primarily as a media figure but as a life partner, describing him as a pioneer of Christian television who had been her husband and closest friend through decades of ministry and personal upheaval.
Bakker's story traces an arc that became a defining parable of the 1980s prosperity gospel movement — meteoric success, extravagant living, and a collapse that captivated the nation. Alongside his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, he transformed religious broadcasting into a cultural phenomenon, reaching millions of homes each night while building an empire of theme parks and hotels financed largely by devoted followers.
Born in Muskegon, Michigan, Bakker enrolled at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, where he met Tammy Faye. The couple married in 1961 and abandoned their studies to launch an itinerant ministry, traveling the country as he preached and she sang and played the accordion at churches and tent revivals.
Their efforts eventually drew the notice of Pat Robertson, a central figure in the emerging world of television evangelism. In 1965, the Bakkers launched a children's program on Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, and within a year Jim Bakker was hosting "The 700 Club," a Christian talk show that would become a flagship of the network.
Bakker departed CBN in 1972 and, two years later, established the PTL Satellite Network. Its signature program, "The PTL Club" — with PTL standing for "Praise the Lord" — quickly became a cornerstone of religious broadcasting. At its mid-1980s peak, the program attracted as many as 13 million nightly viewers.
The ministry's reach extended well beyond television. The Bakkers developed Heritage USA, a Christian-themed resort and hotel in Fort Mill, South Carolina, that included attractions such as a water park. The sprawling property symbolized both the ambitions and the excesses of the era's televangelism, drawing pilgrims who saw their donations as investments in a shared spiritual vision.
The couple's fame reached far beyond religious audiences. They became fixtures of pop culture, frequently mocked by late-night comedians and parodied on "Saturday Night Live." Their lives were later dramatized in the theatrical film "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," released in September 2021, which reintroduced their story to a new generation.
Yet the empire proved fragile. A sex scandal and financial crimes brought down the ministry that the Bakkers had spent decades constructing, turning one of American evangelicalism's brightest stars into a cautionary tale about the intersection of faith, money, and celebrity.
In later years, Bakker resettled near Branson, Missouri, a entertainment destination in the Ozarks, where he and Lori Bakker produced "The Jim Bakker Show" beginning in 2003. The program allowed him to maintain a public ministry long after the collapse of his first broadcast empire.
His health declined in his final years. Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020, an event that limited his public appearances and underscored his advancing age. He continued to reside in the Branson area, where he had built a quieter life far removed from the national spotlight he once commanded.
His death prompted reflection on the trajectory of Christian television, a medium he helped legitimize and popularize. Analysts of American religion have long pointed to the Bakker saga as a turning point in how the public viewed televangelists, fueling skepticism about fundraising practices and the blending of ministry with entertainment.
The Heritage USA venture and the PTL network have also been studied as early examples of the merging of media, branding, and religious identity — a model that persists in today's digital and streaming-era ministries. Bakker's innovations in broadcasting helped pave the way for later generations of religious entrepreneurs, even as his failures served as warnings.
Bakker is survived by Lori Bakker and by family members from his first marriage. Tammy Faye Bakker died in 2007. In her statement, Lori Bakker emphasized the personal dimensions of a life often reduced to scandal, describing her husband as a man of faith who walked beside her through many seasons of ministry.
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