Jim Bakker

James Orsen Bakker was born on January 2, 1940, in Muskegon, Michigan. He attended North Central University in Minneapolis where he met Tammy Faye LaValley, whom he married in 1961. The couple became itinerant evangelists and in 1974 launched The PTL Club, a Christian television network that grew into a $125 million empire encompassing a theme park, resort complex, and satellite broadcast network.

In the late 1980s the PTL empire collapsed under the weight of a sex scandal — Bakker had paid hush money to church secretary Jessica Hahn following an alleged rape — and a massive financial fraud. Bakker had sold 'lifetime membership' hotel packages far in excess of the hotel's capacity, raising funds that were diverted to operating expenses and personal enrichment. A jury found him guilty on all 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy in 1989, and he was sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $500,000. After appeals, his sentence was reduced to eight years and he was paroled in 1994 after serving nearly five years.

Following his release, Bakker rebuilt his ministry, eventually settling in Branson, Missouri, where he launched a new daily television programme, The Jim Bakker Show, in 2003. The show evolved to heavily feature sales of food storage buckets, survival gear, and supplements marketed to his elderly religious audience.

In February 2020, a guest on Bakker's show claimed that a colloidal silver product sold by the ministry, branded as 'Silver Solution,' could kill COVID-19 within 12 hours. The FDA and FTC issued simultaneous warning letters. Missouri's attorney general sued Bakker. After a period of legal dispute, Bakker's ministry agreed to pay $156,000 in restitution to purchasers of the product. Bakker continued broadcasting after the settlement.

“Silver Solution colloidal silver product can kill and deactivate the COVID-19 coronavirus within 12 hours”

No scientific evidence supports colloidal silver as a treatment for COVID-19 or any other viral infection. The FDA and FTC explicitly warned Bakker that these claims were fraudulent. The FDA has stated that there are no approved uses of colloidal silver as a drug and it is not safe or effective for treating any disease.

“Colloidal silver is a safe health supplement with broad antimicrobial benefits”

Silver taken orally poses a documented risk of argyria — a permanent blue-grey discolouration of the skin — and can interfere with antibiotic absorption. The FDA has stated that colloidal silver is not generally recognised as safe and effective for any condition and banned its sale as an over-the-counter drug in 1999.

“Bakker's food and survival buckets are religiously guided preparation for end times and represent legitimate emergency preparedness”

Bakker sells expensive food bucket packages to elderly viewers on his religious television programme, often framing purchases as spiritually guided preparation for apocalyptic events. Consumer advocates have raised concerns about the targeting of vulnerable elderly religious viewers with high-pressure spiritual marketing for overpriced products.