Jim Bakker, the controversial televangelist who built a major 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 faith after he had spent 66 years preaching the gospel.
Bakker rose to prominence as the host of The PTL Club, a popular Christian television program that aired from the 1970s through the late 1980s. The title stood for “Praise the Lord.” He also developed Heritage USA, a now-defunct Christian theme park.
He launched the program with his first wife, Tammy Faye, before their ministry empire was engulfed by scandal.
Bakker resigned from the ministry in 1987 after allegedly paying $200,000 in hush money to church secretary Jessica Hahn, who said Bakker had sexually assaulted her.
Bakker disputed Hahn’s account of sexual assault. In his book I Was Wrong, he later claimed the sex had been consensual.
Two years later, Bakker faced another scandal. In 1989, he was convicted on 24 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy after raising and misusing $400 million in ministry funds.
Jim Bakker, who built a Christian television empire, died Monday at the age of 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 was best known for hosting The PTL Club, which he launched with his ex-wife, Tammy Faye (Pictured)
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He received a 45-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine.
Bakker appealed his 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 incarcerated.
Bakker later married Roe Messner, the contractor who built Heritage USA. Messner, however, was sentenced to more than two years in prison 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 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 the “end of the world.”
“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.
“Our family is grieving and we ask for your prayers and privacy during this time.”
Hahn went on to pose for Playboy magazine several times and made regular appearances on The Howard Stern Show for years afterward.
