Jimmy Swaggart Biography
Jimmy Swaggart is a renowned American Pentecostal evangelist and a gospel music performer. Currently, Jimmy owns and operates the SonLife Broadcasting Network. However, he was deprived of powers by the Assemblies of God in 1988 after a sex scandal that involved him with a local prostitute.
Jimmy was born to a sharecropper father. Later on, his dad became a Pentecostal preacher in the Assemblies of God Church in the 1950s. Jimmy got the chance to learn the religion at a young age.
His cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, a rock and roll pioneer, and Mickey Gilley, a country music musician inspired him to venture into music. However, after trying music, he went back to help his parents in the Apostolic ministry.
In 1958, Jimmy became a full-time evangelist having his own ministry. Later in 1961, he was ordained by the Assemblies of God. In 1969, Swaggart started The Camp Meeting Hour, a radio show featuring gospel music and sermon. The program soon started broadcasting nationally.
In 1975, Jimmy launched a local television ministry having a weekly broadcast program. He soon caught the attention of many across the country. By the mid-1980s, Swaggart’s weekly telecasts shot to approximately 2 million households in the United States of America. This made him among the most successful televangelists of the time.
In 1987, Jimmy publicly accused fellow televangelist Jim Bakker of committing sexual immoralities. This event drew attention to Swaggart’s own life as it raised mixed reactions. Some people saw it as a move by Jimmy to take over Bakker’s empire.
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In return, it was revealed that Swaggart had a sex scandal with a female prostitute. This was after another televangelist, Marvin Gorman whom Jimmy had also falsely accused of extramarital affairs provided evidence with photos of Jimmy at a Baton Rouge motel with a local prostitute.
Despite his tearful apology on-air in 1988, he was defrocked by the Assemblies of God in April and later continued to serve as an independent Pentecostal preacher. In October 1991, police in Indio, California, busted Swaggart in the company of a prostitute after stopping him for a traffic violation.
After those scandals, Jimmy handed over the control of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, Inc. to his son, Donnie Swaggart. He then made a comeback in 1995, launching the SonLife Radio Network on the national radio stations later spreading to the Internet.
In 2009, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries launched the SonLife Broadcasting Network, an International Christian Television Network to cast in prerecorded programs and live broadcasts.
Jimmy Swaggart Age
How old is Jimmy Swaggart? Jimmy is 88 years old as of 2023. He was born on March 15, 1935, in Ferriday, Louisiana, in the United States of America. In addition, Jimmy celebrates his birthday on March 15th every year.
Jimmy Swaggart Wife
Swaggart is married to his wife, Frances Anderson since 1952. At that time, Jimmy was only 17 while Frances was 15 years old. The duo has a son, Donnie Swaggart who currently runs the Jimmy Swaggart Ministry.
Jimmy Swaggart Family | Children
Jimmy was born to his father, a renowned evangelist back then. He also has cousins, Jerry Lee Lewis, a rock’n’roll pioneer, and Mickey Gilley, a country music star. Her sister, Jeanette Ensminger passed in 1999 at the age of 57.
He has only one son, Donnie Swaggart.
Jimmy Swaggart Net Worth
Swaggart has an estimated net worth of $10 million. His income is mainly attributed to his successful career as a televangelist and author.