PTL founder helped make the Carolinas a center of religious broadcasting before a scandal reshaped televangelism nationwide.
Jim Bakker, the televangelist who built the PTL ministry into one of the nation’s most influential religious broadcasting organizations, has died at age 86. His death was announced by his wife, Lori Bakker.
Alongside his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, Bakker rose to prominence through The PTL Club, a nationally syndicated Christian television program that attracted millions of viewers during the 1970s and 1980s.
His strongest connection to the Carolinas came through Heritage USA, the Christian resort and ministry complex near Charlotte that helped make the region a hub for religious broadcasting and evangelical media.
Bakker’s ministry collapsed in 1987 amid a highly publicized scandal and financial investigations that led to criminal convictions and prison time.
The controversy drew criticism from many evangelical leaders and became a turning point for Christian broadcasting in America.
Despite the downfall of PTL, Bakker later returned to television ministry and continued broadcasting for decades.
For many across North and South Carolina, Bakker’s legacy remains intertwined with the rise of modern televangelism and a period when the Charlotte region stood at the center of religious media in the United States.
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