Jim Bakker, Televangelist Who Built and Lost a 13-Million-Viewer Empire, Dies at 86

Jim Bakker, the televangelist who turned PTL into one of the biggest Christian broadcasting empires of the 1980s, died Monday at 86. His wife Lori shared the news, saying he“went home to be with the Lord this evening.”At its peak, PTL reached 13 million viewers and made Bakker and his first wife, Tammy Faye, into household names.

The fall came fast and loud. In 1987, Bakker admitted a sexual encounter with church secretary Jessica Hahn and handed control of PTL to Jerry Falwell. The scandal turned into a criminal case, and in 1989 he was convicted of fraud and conspiracy, receiving a 45-year sentence that was later reduced to eight years. Through it all, Tammy Faye’s tearful news conference and singing became one of the decade’s most iconic, and most parodied, moments.

Bakker never fully stepped away. He kept preaching, remained politically vocal as a Trump supporter, and stayed a fixture in conversations about faith, money, and scandal on television. Tammy Faye died in 2007. His death closes a chapter of televangelism history that still shapes how audiences view religious media today.

What do you remember most about the Bakker era? Sound off in the comments.