Famed televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86
by Gabs · MyNewsGh.comFamed televangelist Jim Bakker, who built a Christian broadcasting empire with his first wife Tammy Faye Bakker before a financial scandal sent him to prison, has died at 86.
Bakker died on Monday, October 5. His death was announced on Instagram by his widow, Lori Bakker, through The Jim Bakker Show. His cause of death was not disclosed.
“It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening,” Lori wrote.
She described Bakker as her husband and best friend and said he had spent 66 years preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“He was a pioneer of Christian television,” she wrote, adding that Bakker continued to care about his ministry and the spread of the Gospel even in his final days.
Bakker rose to fame in the 1970s after he and Tammy Faye founded The PTL Club, short for Praise The Lord, in 1974.
The Christian television programme grew into a major religious broadcasting operation, with the couple becoming prominent figures in American evangelical circles. Their ministry also expanded into Heritage USA, a Christian theme park and resort in South Carolina.
The empire later collapsed after Bakker was accused of misusing ministry funds.
He had sold thousands of $1,000 “lifetime memberships” for a luxury hotel, although only one 500-room hotel was completed. Investigators found that much of the money went toward his company’s operating expenses, while Bakker personally kept $3.4 million, according to The New York Times.
Bakker was also accused of using $279,000 in ministry funds to pay church secretary Jessica Hahn to remain silent over allegations that she had been drugged and raped by Bakker and PTL co-host John Wesley Fletcher. Bakker maintained that the sexual encounter was consensual.
On October 4, 1988, Bakker was indicted on 24 federal counts of mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the public.
He was found guilty on all 24 counts after a five-week trial in 1989 and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Bakker ultimately served five years before his release. Despite the scandal that ended his first television empire, he later returned to Christian broadcasting and continued preaching for decades.
In her statement following his death, Lori asked for prayers and privacy for the family. “Jim finished his race with faith,” she wrote. “His voice, his vision, and his legacy will never be forgotten.”
Source: MyNewsGh.com
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