'We're at the end': Televangelist Jim Bakker pleads for viewers to send $1 million to save his ministry
'I will be on the street,' Bakker, 85, warns
Jim Bakker, the controversial televangelist best known for his disgraced 1980s Christian media empire, is warning his supporters he could lose his ministry and his home if he doesn’t raise $1 million soon.
The 85-year-old Bakker, joined by co-hosts Mondo De La Vega and Ricky Bakker, framed the plea within a discussion of biblical End Times prophecies on a May 6 episode of “The Jim Bakker Show.”
After warning his viewers that “we’re in the End Times,” Bakker bemoaned the fact that contributions to his ministry have dropped. “A lot of people have not been giving any more because it’s perilous times,” he said.
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He then pointed to his medical challenges in recent years — including multiple strokes — and how, because he lives off of his Social Security check, he needs his viewers to send in $1,000 or “we’re at the end.”
“I believe if everyone who watches this program will give a thousand dollars, we'll be able to pay our bills and stay on the air,” said Bakker. “... Otherwise, we’ve got about another month, I don’t know, to stay on the air. We’re at the end. God doesn’t have an end, He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.”
According to Bakker, he hasn't taken a salary in over four decades of ministry, which includes a 1989 sentence of 45 years in prison, of which he served about five years. He expressed optimism that his viewers would be able to raise $1 million to save his ministry.
"I don’t have money. For 40 years, I have not made a salary,” he said. “... What we need is a miracle, and it’s gonna happen if a thousand people give a thousand dollars.”
Bakker blamed what he called “big debt” for the financial crunch and warned he could lose his home if viewers don’t contribute. "If they foreclose on this ministry, they will take my house too, so I will be on the street,” he said. “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. That’s you. That’s you. God will stand with you if you stand with Him.
“That’s why it’s important that you obey God. I need about a thousand people who will give right now. 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.”
Bakker’s appeal comes against the backdrop of a televangelist career marked by both prominence and controversy. In the 1980s, he built a media empire with the PTL Ministry, including a TV network and the Heritage USA resort. He was indicted in 1988 on eight counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. According to The New York Times, government prosecutors argued that Bakker bilked followers of his PTL Ministry out of $158 million by offering promises of lifetime vacations he could not provide.
He was also accused of diverting about $3.7 million to support a lavish lifestyle, including an air-conditioned dog house and a fleet of luxury vehicles.
He was found guilty on all 24 counts on Oct. 5, 1989, and sentenced to 45 years in prison. He was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine. Bakker later filed an appeal. In 1991, an appellate court upheld his conviction. But he was granted a sentence-reduction hearing, during which his sentence was reduced to eight years. He served almost five years before he received parole in 1994.
Today, Bakker has rebranded as a voice for End Times preparation, selling survival products and preaching about biblical prophecies. On the May 6 episode, he connected current events to Matthew 24, stating, “We’re in the End Times. … Nations and kings of nations are fighting against each other, and there are earthquakes in diverse places.” He urged viewers to “go preach the Gospel in all of the world, then the end will come,” reinforcing the ministry’s mission.
