Televangelist Jim Bakker, who rose to fame with the "The PTL Club" TV show before admitting to a sexual encounter with a church clerk and being convicted of financial crimes, has died at the age of 86.Bakker's second wife Lori said Jim passed away on Monday.His cause of death is unclear, and it comes after Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020."It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening," Lori Bakker said in a statement.
"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."Jim loved people deeply.
He loved this ministry, and he loved the friends and partners who stood with him throughout the years.Even in his final days, his heart was still for the work of God and for the Gospel to continue reaching the world," she added.NOAH'S ARK MYSTERY ENTERS NEW PHASE AS RESEARCHERS PROBE DEEP BENEATH SITEJim and Tammy Faye Bakker speak to their television audience on Aug.
20, 1986, at their PTL Ministry in Fort Mill, S.C.(Lou Krasky/AP)Bakker was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, where he met his first wife, Tammy Faye.
They married in 1961 and dropped out of college to start their own traveling ministry.He preached, while she sang and played the accordion as they crossed the country visiting churches and tent revivals."In the 1960s, he joined the Christian Broadcasting Network under the direction of Pat Robertson.
Jim developed one of the first daily, one-hour, kids’ shows for Christians called 'Come On Over,'" read a biography of Bakker on his website."He also later became the first host of a ground-breaking talk show called 'The 700 Club,' featuring many of the top ministers and singers of the day."Bakker then left CBN in 1972 and two years later formed t...