Jim Bakker, the television evangelist who built The Praise the Lord Club with his first wife, Tammy Faye, died October 5, 2026, at 86.
His wife, Lori Bakker, announced his death in a family statement published on PTL’s website. The statement asks for privacy and does not disclose a cause of death.
Bakker’s television work included hosting The 700 Club at the Christian Broadcasting Network before launching his own ministry. The Praise the Lord television operation began in 1974 and grew into a satellite network and the Heritage USA resort in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
That ministry collapsed amid scandal. Bakker was convicted in 1989 of defrauding followers through a resort-vacation scheme and served approximately four and a half years in prison, Reuters reported.
He returned to television with Lori in 2003. The Jim Bakker Show later operated from Morningside near Branson, Missouri, according to his official biography.