When did Jim Bakker step down from ministry? Career explored as he dies at 86

As reported by The Washington Post, Jim Bakker had stepped down from the Praise the Lord ministry on March 19, 1987. This happened after a sexual encounter with church secretary Jessica Hahn became public and payments linked to the matter came to light.

On October 5, 2026, Jim Bakker died at the age of 86. His second wife, Lori Bakker, announced the death that evening on his official Instagram account and on the Facebook page for The Jim Bakker Show. She did not give a cause of death or say where he died.

According to the Associated Press, Bakker had suffered a stroke in 2020. CNN reported that the news came decades after he left the Charlotte-area ministry he built with his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker.

Lori Bakker wrote that her husband had spent 66 years preaching. She put the loss in these words:

"It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening. For 66 years, Jim gave his life to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry."

She added that his attention stayed on the ministry even in his final days. She asked for prayers and privacy as the family grieved.

The New York Times noted that Bakker and Tammy Faye had once drawn large audiences with a message that tied faith to material rewards.

Jim Bakker and the collapse of the PTL Ministry

The Washington Post reported on March 20, 1987, that Jim Bakker resigned as chairman the day before and turned control to Jerry Falwell. UPI accounts from the same period said he called the Charlotte Observer and sent a letter to staff, describing himself as the target of blackmail over a 1980 encounter in a Florida hotel. He was later dismissed from the Assemblies of God.

Federal prosecutors then brought fraud and conspiracy charges tied to fundraising for the Heritage USA complex in South Carolina. NBC News reported that a jury convicted him in 1989. The original 45-year sentence was reduced, and he served less than five years before parole in 1994.

Trending

After his release, Bakker married Lori Graham in 1998. They started The Jim Bakker Show in 2003 and filmed it near Branson, Missouri. CNN reported that the program continued for years. In 2020, he promoted a product called Silver Solution in connection with the coronavirus, which led to a Missouri lawsuit that ended in a settlement requiring refunds. Tammy Faye, whom he divorced in 1992, died in 2007.

As reported by CCM Magazine, their son Jay Bakker wrote about his father that night. He said he needed time to mourn.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback