Jim Bakker
Televangelist Jim Bakker Pleads for $1 Million to Save Ministry and Home
By James Seidel | CC News Network | May 8, 2025
BLUE EYE, Mo. — Jim Bakker, the 85-year-old televangelist whose fall from grace in the 1980s became one of the most infamous scandals in American religious history, is once again asking his followers for financial help—this time claiming he needs $1 million to avoid homelessness and the collapse of his ministry.
“If everyone that watches this program will give $1,000, we’ll be able to pay our bills and stay on the air,” Bakker told viewers during Tuesday’s episode of The Jim Bakker Show. “Otherwise, we’ve got about another, maybe a month.” He went on to say that the ministry’s financial crisis also threatens his personal residence: “If they foreclose on this ministry, they will take my house too, so I’ll be on the street.”
Bakker insisted he hasn’t taken a salary and claimed he has no personal funds to fall back on. “We have a big debt,” he said, accusing unnamed parties of taking “millions of dollars from us,” though he did not provide specifics.
What would the John Paul Miller protesters do if they heard this from him? Will they let Jim Bakker do this and get away with it? Time will tell.
The financial trouble, according to one of the show’s co-hosts, dates back to 2020 when Bakker came under fire for promoting a so-called “Silver Solution” as a potential COVID-19 treatment. The product drew legal scrutiny from multiple authorities, including the Missouri Attorney General, who reached a settlement that required Bakker to pay $156,000 in restitution.
This is not the first time Bakker has used dire warnings of impending bankruptcy to solicit donations. On Tuesday, he told viewers that contributing to the ministry would bring them divine rewards: “I guarantee you God’s going to do something,” he said. “God’s gonna bless you as you give, because when you give, you’re gonna receive.”
Bakker’s current appeal adds another chapter to a long and controversial legacy. He rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s as co-founder of The PTL Club, a popular Christian television program he hosted with his then-wife, Tammy Faye Bakker. The couple also developed Heritage USA, a Christian theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina that at one point drew millions of visitors.
That empire unraveled in 1987 when Bakker resigned amid a sex scandal and mounting financial irregularities. In 1989, he was convicted on 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy for overselling $1,000 “lifetime partnerships” at Heritage USA, defrauding supporters of over $150 million. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison and served nearly five before being paroled in 1994.
Following his release, Bakker gradually returned to television, rebranding himself as a prophetic voice for what he often describes as the “end times.” His programming now blends religious teaching with the sale of survivalist gear, including long-term food storage buckets and emergency supplies.
Bakker’s health has declined in recent years. He suffered multiple strokes in 2020 and was hospitalized again in 2023. Despite that, he has continued to broadcast from his Missouri-based ministry, where he frequently invokes biblical warnings and doomsday themes.
Tammy Faye Bakker, known for her outspoken compassion toward the LGBTQ+ community and AIDS patients—positions that set her apart from many evangelical leaders—divorced Bakker in 1992 while he was in prison. She passed away from cancer in 2007. Her legacy remains deeply intertwined with Bakker’s, though she is often remembered more favorably for her empathy and advocacy.
As of Wednesday, The Jim Bakker Show remains on the air, and donation links are prominently featured on its website. Whether Bakker’s urgent appeal will yield the financial lifeline he seeks remains to be seen.
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The CC News Network is a distinguished media company in the world of South Carolina News, Weather, South Carolina Sports, and True Crime. In the beginning, James Seidel was only known as Crime and Cask and well known for his relentless pursuit of truth and justice in the Alex Murdaugh trial. As a journalist, author, and investigator, he has made significant contributions to uncovering some of the most complex and high-profile criminal cases.
