(Clemmons to Charlotte 1 hour and 16 minutes away)
Profiling the most twisted criminal case in North Carolina
Trigger warning: Content contains subjects such as sexual assault and religious trauma
“Why should I apologize because God throws in crystal chandeliers, mahogany floors and the best construction in the world,” televangelist James (Jim) Bakker said.
In the seventies, Jim Bakker was a household name, as he was known as one of the original televangelists; otherwise known as a preacher on television. Bakker’s religion was Christianity with The Assembly of God beliefs, which included beliefs of salvation, baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, divine healing and the Second Coming of Christ. Bakker didn’t start out as a television star, he first started as a typical preacher in the sixties in Minnesota. Bakker soon met Tammy Faye in bible college and the two got married and dropped out to take their ministry to the “bible belt” of the South. Together, the couple developed and hosted the children’s show, “Come On Over.” With the show’s growth, it opened the door for Bakker to become the host of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) show, “The 700 Club.” In the book of Kings, the number 700 has some notable meaning, which could foreshadow later events.
“And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. ‘Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father, David,’” According to The Holy Bible King James Version (The version Bakker believed in).
The 700 Club was intended to be a Christian version of “The Tonight Show.” During this show, Bakker allegedly schemed up ways to “fundraise” for the show and later left the ministry due to accusations of using funds for personal use. The family took a step back for a few years, and had two children, and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1974. Ultimately, the family returned to the spotlight and created a new TV show, this is the start of the trouble. The show was called the “PTL Club,” which stood for “people that love” or “praise the lord.” The show reportedly reached a high of 13 million views and became the highest-rated religious show on TV, however, a lot was going on behind closed doors. Though loved by their viewers, the Bakker family’s followers raised some concerns about their spending. The Bakkers had multiple houses with expensive decorations, luxury cars and took many vacations that included fully prepared houses equipped with everything they needed including, new clothes, food and furniture. How did they get all of this money? During the show, the Bakker family, along with guest stars and singers, urged the audience to send the show money for their operations. Viewers sent money, checks, the deeds to their houses and would even empty their whole bank accounts to send the Bakkers money. The Bakkers told the audience if they sent money it would go to prayers, blessings and the possibility of achieving a perfect Christian lifestyle. Maybe their idea of a Christian lifestyle was a theme park, because that’s where the 100 million dollars (300 million in today’s money) went.
The theme park was called Heritage USA and was located in Fort Mill South Carolina. The park was labeled as a “Christian Disneyworld,” The park itself was 2,300 acres and was bigger than Disneyland by 1,800 acres. This park included hotels, a campground and live-action crucifixions. Even though the park made a million dollars weekly, the Bakkers still wanted more. The family was soon going to run out of money for their lavish belongings, which resulted in the idea of creating a lifetime membership for a thousand dollars, which included a three-night annual stay. Over 66,000 people bought the membership, however, there were only 500 rooms that members could stay in. The money was supposed to be for further development of the park, but that never happened either.
The PTL network and park remain labeled non-profit organizations, even though they made an enormous profit. Bakker had given himself a 3.4 million dollar bonus, even though the missionary needed it to continue production efforts. As questions were raised as to where the millions of dollars went, reporters from the Charlotte Observer made a discovery. 21-year-old Jessica Hahn, a secretary of the church at the time, was paid $279,000 in PIL funds. Soon the televangelist’s secrets would come to light.
Hahn revealed she and Bakker had an affair and he had drugged and raped her, and the money was hush money. There were claims Bakker was in multiple relationships with men, however, there was never evidence proving it to be true. Around the same time, Tammy revealed her drug addiction to the viewers in an episode, and announced she was getting treatment, and claimed she didn’t realize she could not mix over-the-counter drugs. In March of 1987, Bakker was forced to resign from PTL and in May he was disbanded from preaching in The Assembly of God and televangelists were quick to come forward to denounce Bakker. What was shocking was that Bakkers had already been investigated by the Federal Communications Commission in 1979 for misappropriation of viewer donations which was against the law, although no action was taken against the Bakkers. In 1985 the Bakkers were investigated again, this time by the IRS for using missionary funds for personal expenses, but were again let go. Bakker had avoided jail for decades. Finally, in 1989 Bakker was convicted by a grand jury of 24 counts of fraud and was estimated to have robbed views of around 158 million dollars. Bakker was never charged with drugging and raping of Hahn. Hahn later detailed her story in PlayBoy Magazine, which later would contribute to her fame and the start of her acting career. Bakker was originally sentenced to 45 years in prison, but his sentence was dropped to only eight years and he only spent less than five years in prison. Tammy Bakker was never charged with any crime and the couple divorced soon after he was sentenced to prison. Tammy Bakker passed away in 2007. A documentary film “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” detailed her life and the events that unfolded.
Four years after his release, Bakker married Lori Graham, a Pentecostal minister. The couple then started a new television ministry out of Branson, Missouri, and created “The Jim Bakker Show,” He abandoned the prosperity gospel. He began preaching about the apocalypse he believes is coming. He has also made claims of prophecy in recent years. Then in 2020, he was sued by the state of Missouri for pushing Silver Solution dietary supplements as a cure for COVID-19. Bakker still asks viewers for money on his new show, and reportedly still owes the IRS six million dollars.