Televangelist Jim Bakker Has Died at 86

The controversial religious broadcaster built a national ministry before his 1989 conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges.

Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Religious

Jim Bakker, the televangelist who co-founded The PTL Club in 1974, has died at the age of 86. He became a fixture of religious broadcasting before his career was upended by legal scandals in the late 1980s.

Why it matters

Bakker rose to fame as a prominent religious figure in the 1970s and 80s, but his legacy became defined by the high-profile fraud and conspiracy case that led to his federal imprisonment. His career mirrored the expansion of televised ministry and its subsequent vulnerability to intense public and legal scrutiny.

Bakker served nearly five years in federal prison following a 1989 conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges. He later returned to broadcasting in 2003 with The Jim Bakker Show, operating his ministry out of Morningside, Missouri.

The players

Jim Bakker

He was a televangelist who founded The PTL Club and later faced federal prison time for fraud and conspiracy.

Tammy Faye LaValley

She was a singer and television personality who co-founded The PTL Club with her husband Jim Bakker in 1974.

Lori Graham

She is the wife of Jim Bakker whom he married in 1998.

The details

Bakker, born in Muskegon, Michigan, launched The PTL Club alongside his then-wife Tammy Faye LaValley in 1974. Following his release from prison in 1994, he later remarried Lori Graham and established a new ministry presence in Missouri.

Jim Bakker was born on January 2, 1940.
Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye LaValley were married in 1961.
The PTL Club launched in 1974.
Bakker was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in 1989.
Bakker was released from federal prison in 1994.

Industry Dynamics

The 1989 conviction of Jim Bakker fundamentally altered the landscape of 20th-century American televangelism by introducing heightened federal regulatory scrutiny. This event serves as a historical benchmark for the professionalization and eventual oversight of religious broadcasting networks.

Bakker's death marks the permanent end of a long-running media career that spanned from the golden age of PTL to his modern broadcasting efforts. Viewers of his most recent programs may see shifts in content access as his estate and successors manage his remaining media presence.

The takeaway

Bakker's life provides a case study in the rapid ascent and legal fall of the modern televangelist. His career illustrates how public influence in media can be as volatile as it is expansive.