Televangelist Jim Bakker’s son says he skipped father’s funeral because he got to chat to him just before his death

DAILYMAIL.COM • 1h ago

By ANANYA SWAROOP, US NEWS REPORTER 19:50 14 Oct 2026, updated 19:52 14 Oct 2026

The son of controversial televangelist Jim Bakker shared an emotional video talking about why he missed his father’s funeral on Monday.

James Charles ‘Jay’ Bakker, who is a pastor himself, recorded a small video explaining his absence from the October 12 memorial service for his father, who died at the age of 86.

‘A few weeks ago I was able to come out and see my pops, see Dad, and we were able to have some great conversations,’ Jay said in the video.

‘I was able to say goodbye, and I mean that’s why I’m not there today, because I feel like I got to say goodbye to him in person and that’s kind of the way I hope it would happen and it did,’ he added.

Bakker was best known for hosting a Christian television show in the 1970s and 1980s before he resigned his ministry in 1987 amid allegations he paid hush money to silence sexual assault claims from a 21-year-old church secretary.

The younger Bakker, 50, had announced his father’s death through a touching Instagram post and shared a photo of the two when he was a child.

He limited comments on the Instagram video explaining his absence, saying he would talk more about his decision on the next episode of his podcast.

‘It’s a very difficult perspective for some to grasp and I understand the struggle to sympathize, much less give a damn,’ the pastor wrote in the caption.

The pastor said he needs to mourn in his own time and make peace with it.

‘I need the freedom to feel anger and feel loss and not have other people add their two cents. Please respect this time for me and my family,’ he wrote.

A day later, Jay said that he would be taking some time off social media platforms. The podcaster added that he did not want to be tagged in anything related to his father.

The son returned to social media to address the ‘liberal Christians’ who were allegedly celebrating the televangelist’s death.

‘When you attack someone after they die, you’re not attacking them. You’re really going after their loved ones who probably had complicated relationships,’ Jay said.

‘I know some of you aren’t going to give a damn about this, say, “that’s the price you pay for fame” and all that b****t. But I just want to make it clear and give you something to think about. It does hurt,’ he added, along with a photo of him hugging Jim in what looked like a hospital bed.

He then said his final goodbyes to his father with another photo of them together.

Jim, known for his massive Christian television empire, died on October 5 at the age of 86.

His funeral was hosted at his church, Morningside Church in Blue Eye, Missouri. The service was livestreamed on the Jim Bakker Show YouTube channel, Facebook page and broadcast on the Praise the Lord Club (PTL) Television.

He spent his final days in hospice care, TMZ reported.

Jay was born in 1975 to Jim Bakker and his ex-wife Tammy Faye Messner. He was 12 years old when his father was indicted for multiple counts of fraud.

The trauma of parting with his father and the following ostracism by people in the church and religious community led Jay to engage in substance abuse, the Broadview Magazine reported.

He later adopted a liberal form of Christianity and became a co-founder of Revolution Church in 1994, the outlet said.

His father, Jim, was best known for hosting The PTL Club, a popular Christian television show that aired from the 1970s through the late 1980s, as well as developing Heritage USA, the now-defunct Christian theme park.

The show had as many as 13 million views every day while generating an annual revenue of as much as $129 million, before his empire became riddled with scandal.

His church secretary, Jessica Hahn, claimed that she had been sexually assaulted by Bakker in 1980 while she was 21 years old and was paid $265,000 to ‘keep her mouth shut’ in 1987 right before Jim handed in his resignation to the ministry.

The televangelist also allegedly spent a $100 million on a ministry center he dubbed the Crystal Palace in 1987.

Two years later, he was involved in the infamous scandal where he was convicted on 24 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy after raising and misusing $158 million in ministry funds.

He was sentenced to 45 years in prison and ordered to pay a $500,000 fine. Messner divorced him while he was detained.

Jim is survived by his wife Lori, seven children and grandchildren.

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