US televangelist Jim Bakker has died at the age of 86. Bakker became famous after building a large Christian television and media empire before his career collapsed following a sex scandal and a fraud conviction.
The PTL Club became hugely popular in the US. The programme helped cement Bakker and Tammy Faye’s fame and became the foundation of their wider media empire. Bakker and Tammy Faye also became known for living a very wealthy lifestyle. Their possessions included a private jet, several homes, luxury cars and expensive jewellery. The PTL empire began to collapse in the late 1980s after Bakker became involved in a sex scandal. Tammy Faye remained with Bakker during his trial, but their marriage eventually ended. Tammy Faye was never charged in connection with Bakker’s criminal case. This gave Bakker a new platform for his Christian ministry years after the collapse of the original PTL empire.
Bakker’s biggest success was The PTL Club, a Christian television programme he started with his then-wife Tammy Faye in 1974. At its peak, the programme attracted about 13 million viewers every day, making Bakker one of the best-known televangelists in the country. The controversy centred on a 1980 sexual encounter with Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary. Bakker resigned from the PTL ministry in 1987 after the revelations about Hahn became public. She divorced him in 1992 while he was still in prison. She later died from cancer in 2007, according to the BBC.
Because the couple had built their wealth through their Christian ministry and television operation, their lavish lifestyle became especially controversial.
The show became the centre of the couple’s growing religious media business, according to BBC. PTL stood for “Praise the Lord” and was also known as “People That Love” . One unusual luxury associated with the family was an air-conditioned dog house, according to the BBC. Hahn accused Bakker of sexual assault, but he denied the accusation and said their encounter had been consensual. In 2008, the couple began taping “ The Jim Bakker Show” . She described him as “a pioneer of Christian television” and said he had been her best friend and someone she was honoured to walk beside through many years of life and ministry, according to the BBC.
Bakker’s death was announced on Monday by Lori Bakker.
