Jim Bakker

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Lore & Background

Jim Bakker was born in Muskegon, Michigan, the son of Raleigh Bakker and Furnia Lynette "Furn" Irwin. He attended North Central University, a Minneapolis Bible college affiliated with the Assemblies of God, where he met fellow student Tammy Faye LaValley in 1960. The two married on April 1, 1961, and left college to become itinerant evangelists. In 1966, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker began working at Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in Portsmouth, Virginia, which had an audience in the low thousands at the time. The Bakkers contributed to the network's growth, hosting a children's variety show called Come On Over that employed comic routines with puppets. Due to the success of Come On Over, Robertson made Bakker the host of a new prime-time talk show, The 700 Club, which gradually became CBN's flagship program. The Bakkers left CBN in 1973 and, soon after, joined with Paul and Jan Crouch to help co-found the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in California. However, this partnership lasted only eight months until a falling-out between Jim Bakker and Paul Crouch caused the Bakkers to eventually leave the new network. While under TBN, the Bakkers moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where in May 1973 they launched an east coast version of Praise The Lord under TBN's umbrella. Less than a year later the Bakkers formed their own non profit organization, registered the PTL trademark, left the umbrella of TBN and the Crouches, and continued their show on 36 WRET Charlotte, 16 WGGS Greenville, South Carolina, and a few other stations. In 1975, they nationally debuted their own late night-style talk show, known as The PTL Club. Bakker founded the PTL Satellite Network in 1974, which aired The PTL Club and other religious television programs through local affiliates across the U.S. Throughout the 1970s, Bakker built a headquarters for PTL in the Carolinas called Heritage Village. Over time, the Bakkers expanded the ministry to include the Heritage USA theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina, which became the third most successful theme park in the U.S. at the time. Viewer contributions were estimated to exceed $1 million a week, with proceeds to expand the theme park and The PTL Club's mission. Bakker responded to inquiries about his use of mass media by saying: "I believe that if Jesus were alive today, he would be on TV". Two scandals brought down PTL in 1987: Bakker was accused of sexual misconduct by church secretary Jessica Hahn, which led to his resignation, and his alleged illegal misuse of ministry funds eventually led to his imprisonment. Bakker was dismissed as an Assemblies of God minister on May 6, 1987. A $279,000 payoff for the silence of Jessica Hahn, who alleged that Bakker and former PTL Club co-host John Wesley Fletcher drugged and raped her, was paid with PTL funds through Bakker's associate Roe Messner. On March 19, 1987, after the disclosure of a payoff to Hahn, Bakker resigned from PTL. Although he acknowledged that he had a sexual encounter with Hahn at a hotel room in Clearwater, Florida, he denied raping her. Bakker was succeeded as PTL head by the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Bakker believed that Falwell would temporarily lead the ministry until the scandal died down, but on April 28, 1987, Falwell barred Bakker from returning to PTL. In response to the scandal, Falwell called Bakker a liar, an embezzler, a sexual deviant, and "the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in 2,000 years of church history". On CNN, Swaggart stated that Bakker was a "cancer in the body of Christ". Convicted of fraud and conspiracy in 1989, he served nearly five years in prison before being paroled in 1994. After being divorced by Tammy Faye in 1992, Bakker married Lori Beth Graham in 1998, and together they adopted five children. Returning to televangelism in 2003, Bakker now hosts The Jim Bakker Show with a focus on apocalyptic themes and survivalist products, while distancing himself from his earlier prosperity gospel teachings. His later years have included controversial claims, such as predicting major events and promoting unproven supplements, which drew legal action and criticism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bakker has written several books, including I Was Wrong and Time Has Come: How to Prepare Now for Epic Events Ahead.

Reader's Guide

Jim Bakker's significance lies in his pioneering use of television and satellite technology to build a vast religious media empire, only to see it destroyed by scandal. His rise and fall exemplify the vulnerabilities of televangelism to financial and sexual misconduct, and the legal consequences that can follow. The PTL scandal prompted greater scrutiny of religious broadcasting and contributed to a broader public skepticism toward televangelists. After his release from prison, Bakker returned to televangelism with a focus on apocalyptic themes and survivalist products, distancing himself from his earlier prosperity gospel teachings. His later years included controversial claims and legal actions, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bakker's legacy is thus a cautionary tale of ambition, faith, and downfall in the world of American religious media.

Did You Know?

• Bakker responded to inquiries about his use of mass media by saying: 'I believe that if Jesus were alive today, he would be on TV'.
• Heritage USA became the third most successful theme park in the U.S. at the time, with viewer contributions estimated to exceed $1 million a week.
• A $279,000 payoff for the silence of Jessica Hahn was paid with PTL funds through Bakker's associate Roe Messner.
• Bakker was dismissed as an Assemblies of God minister on May 6, 1987.
• After being paroled in 1994, Bakker returned to televangelism in 2003, hosting The Jim Bakker Show with a focus on apocalyptic themes and survivalist products.