Disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker has pleaded for viewers to send him $1 million, saying his ministry will be shut down if he doesn’t get the funds.
Bakker, who was at the heart of a notorious religious financial scandal in the 1980s, said he needs cash now to keep running Praise the Lord (PTL) Network, and his program, The Jim Bakker Show.
Baker was convicto in 1989 for eight counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy. Through an appeal, he ended up serving just under five years in prison. In 2003, Bakker returned to ministry and launched his show.
On May 6, Bakker asked for at least 1,000 viewers to donate $1,000, otherwise “We are at the end,” he announced.
“If everyone that watches this program will give $1,000, we’ll be able to pay our bills and stay on the air,” he said. “Otherwise, we got about another, maybe a month.”
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That episode has since been removed from Bakker’s sitio web y YouTube page, but other media outlets have reposted the video.
“If they foreclose on this ministry, they will take my house too, so I’ll be on the street,” he said in the video. “But I don’t care. I mean, I’ve never been on the street, but I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or His seed out begging for bread,” quoting from Psalm 37:25.
Joined by co-hosts Mondo De La Vega and his son Ricky Bakker, the senior Bakker said the show has a “big debt.” He added that an unnamed “they” have “taken millions of dollars from us.”
The 85-year-old televangelist claimed that for the past four decades, he has not made a salary from his ministry. Instead, he said he has lived off income from his second wife Lori or from Social Security.
“That’s why it’s important that you obey God. I need about a thousand people who will give right now,” he said. “Some may not be able to give $1,000, but you can give $100. That’s right, the seed. I want you to mail it in right now.”
He contended that those who give him money will reap other benefits.
“I guarantee you God’s going to do something,” he said. “God’s going to bless you as you give, because when you give, you’re going to receive.”
It is hard to prove or disprove Bakker’s assertions, as his organization operates under Morningside Church in Branson, Missouri. Churches do not need to declare their financials or file a 990 tax form.
Bakker has continued to re-emphasize his call for money in later vídeos.
Bakker has faced decades of scandals
Bakker was one of the most prominent televangelists of the 20th century. His $125 million media empire was comprised of the PTL Network, which he ran with his then-spouse Tammy Faye Bakker, and the Christian theme park Heritage USA.
The 2,200-acre Heritage USA was the third most-visited theme park in 1986 with six million visitors, according to the History TV network. It followed behind Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in terms of attendance.
His empire came crashing down amidst a sex scandal and the fraud convictions.
During his 1980s trial, government prosecutors argued that Bakker cheated followers of his PTL Network out of $150 million, according to Los New York Times. He promised viewers lifetime vacations that he could not provide.
Officials also accused Bakker of diverting around $3.7 million to support his lavish lifestyle, which included an air-conditioned doghouse and a fleet of luxury vehicles.
Bakker and Tammy divorced in 1992. The couple’s rise and fall from stardom was captured in a 2021 blockbuster film starring Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain, called “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”
However, Bakker has continued to make headlines as he rebranded his espectáculo to focus on preparing for the end times and selling “prepper items” such as long-term food buckets.
Then in 2020, Bakker sold a health supplement dubbed “Silver Solution” that he said could supposedly cure Covid-19. A year later, the Missouri attorney general ordered Bakker to pay restitution of $156,000 to settle a false advertising lawsuit.
Bakker also asked viewers for money to avoid bancarrota en 2020
Bakker has struggled with health issues, including a series of strokes five years ago and a hospitalization last year.
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.
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34 Responses
At least he isn’t claiming that God will kill him (Oral Roberts).
Did he get his million dollars in the past couple months
Goodness me, these characters have more front than a town hall clock. 😳
Aware that grifters in one form or another have always been with us. Nevertheless, what’s within US culture that makes them so prevalent and shameless? 🤔
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. He plays the same game year after year and people believe him. I’m gobsmacked!
He’s like a mattress store, always going out of business.
Good one Deb! But sad isn’t?
There has been nothing disgraceful about Jim and Lori Bakker’s ministry at Morningside USA. They have done an awesome job sharing the Lord and bringing in excellent pastors, evangelists, Christian doctors and workers from every walk of life to give their stories and testimonies on their TV show.
Their TV show and ministry have been a total blessing to so many!! It seems they aren’t as well known and connected to bring in the tremendous amount of funds needed for all they do.
But they have done a wonderful job there.. nothing to be ashamed of at all!
Thanks to Jim, Lori, and their amazing family for their faithful years of service at Morningside USA and the excellent work for Christ they have done!!
I hope you take note of the fact that the pastor of the church overseeing PTL is accused of raping multiple women over decades: https://julieroys.com/pastor-of-jim-bakkers-morningside-church-raped-multiple-children-over-decades-women-allege/
Wow. He sells stupid food kits, preaches some false doctrine, and platforms some false teachers. He’s about money.
It seems to me that an honest man with his record would have left the ministry long ago.
The Bakkers did an awesome job at Morningside USA!! Nothing but excellent.. interviewing Christians from all walks of life.
Thanks to Jim, Lori, and family for a wonderful TV show and ministry!
The Roys Report must make money from running Christian ministries down. Time for them to get their facts straight and use love rather than constant condemnation.
I could proof-text on this until the cows come home but what would be the point?. I hope you careful;y read the link to the Roys Report story on Morningside church that Julie provided you above.
The church must protect its own especially when those within the church are not.
I believe the Roys Report IS acting in love. They are reporting facts that warn others about the dangers of some religious leaders. Certainly this is not irreconcilable with love, since Jesus and Paul did the same thing. In fact, if love is seeking the best for the other person(s) in the eternal sense, then they are showing love not only to the potential victims of religious abuse and fraud, but also the perpetuators of that abuse and fraud, by possibly keeping them from victimizing more people.
Also, they are are showing honor to the name of Jesus by warning us of people who misuse that name for sinful purposes.
May their tribe increase.
If you have money to give please do not give to those who will use it to ask for more money. Like a gambling addiction, his nonsense has needed to stop a long time ago.
Might just be God “shutting down” a irrelevant and worn out TV show.
Reading this, I feel like I’m caught in a time warp.
Second the motion! Same song, second verse, almost forty years later and maybe worse. Plenty of substitutions available today for Bakker’s former supporting actors Jimmy Swaggart and Oral Roberts.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Stop the grifting, Jim!!
At some point, one has to ask whether the financial straits some ministries find themselves in may be a sign from God to the leaders that it’s time to shut down. The kingdom of God doesn’t depend on the survival of any one particular local church, denomination, or media ministry.
Couldn’t happen to a better guy! His swindling has run out, but sadly, what awaits him in the future is far worse.
The Roys report is making an issue of this simply by covering it, yet right in the middle of the the story TRR is asking for money to keep it going. Thats rich.
Unlike Bakker and PTL, we are completely transparent about our finances. (See our Donate Page where we post our financials.) Obviously, ministries need money. But what sets ministries apart is integrity and transparency.
Grifters never retire, they always seem to have one more scam in them.
Have to wonder what Bakker will put on his tombstone.
“Reader, I need $1000 from you right now…”
Julie isn’t begging endlessly for money or promising a hundred fold return if you donate or trying to sell some magic beans.
It’s just a straight forward request.
What Bakker needs to know is that the work of God will continue to go on with or without him.
Not a fan of Baker, but the repeated mention of colloidal silver in reporta on him is silly, and makes everyone look ignorant. You could buy it at Wal-Mart at the same time Baker was selling it, it’s an old remedy, and since it’s good for many infections, there no reason people shouldn’t have tried it for covid too, and nothing sinister about him selling it, other than he probably was charging more for it instead of telling people to buy it at Walmart. This was at the same time that the news was attacking Dr Zelenko and his protocol, and ivermectin, that ended up saving millions of lives around the world, since other countries were too smart to listen to the nonsense here. There’s plenty of things to criticize Baker for, besides the one thing that might have been helpful.
He should try selling more collodial silver.
“Oral Roberts made a controversial fundraising appeal in 1987, linking his survival to receiving $8 million, which he claimed was necessary to keep a medical center afloat. He stated that if donations fell short, God would take his life. Despite the controversy, Roberts received more than $9 million from followers.”
Who was tricked by Bakker to loan him $1m? Or that could be another lie.
Roberts was the architect of the seed giving heresy, AFAIK, back in the day. Bakker and all the others copied him.
Instead of donating I might pray for God to end his “ministry.”
I went to ORU decades ago. Many good professors there who loved God. Richard was clearly never meant to be prez there, and when I left I had to get clean from the sow a seed prosperity doctrine. Yet the Lord had sent me there, I’m sure, and met some people who changed my life for the good. Also met a ton of mean Christians who persecuted me for reading the Bible too much. Go figure.
Yes, he’s more crass than most. But essentially he’s doing the same thing all religions do. Selling something to be delivered in the future and getting you to believe you’re going to get it.
My guess is he saw some potential child abuse lawsuits coming and hid a bunch of assets. Now he’s pleading poverty to make it sound more convincing when he files for bankruptcy protection
Part of JB’s punishment from the PTL fiasco should have been that he could never, ever raise money in a “non profit” ministry. He told PTL followers the place was going under and raised so much money he had to increase his own salary substantially in order not to show a profit. The prosperity gospel works for people that believe they will receive a blessing in return but it is not scriptural and it benefits the hulkster only. While I firmly believe in giving to support ministries, GOD is asking for our hearts and souls. When begging for money overrides the beautiful, overwhelming, extravagant story of salvation, something is seriously amiss.
I’m very sorry to hear this. I thought he repented. Didn’t he publish a book titled “I was Wrong”? And was being a humble pastor in a small town congregation somewhere? As Deb posted, “Fool me once…”🙄