Jim Bakker’s Son Recounts Emotional Conversation with Jimmy Swaggart

Jay Bakker, the son of televangelist Jim Bakker, recently recounted an emotional and heartfelt story of when Jimmy Swaggart reached out his hand to his family in a time when no one else in the body of Christ would.

“Wanted to share something with you,” Bakker says in a video posted to social media. “Growing up, my parents had a very complicated relationship with him. [Swaggart] was not a fan of my parents, and they were both part of a very large denomination, the Assemblies of God. When my parents had their falling, he called my dad a ‘cancer in the body of Christ,'” Bakker recounts.

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However, Bakker notes that as a teenager, things shifted dramatically.

“When I was about 16-years-old, I was trying to help my dad get his sentence reduced from 45 years to anything shorter than 45 years. And I was asking pastors all over the country, I was calling them to ask to help my dad write letters and get their congregations to write letters to shorten his sentence.

“And what I found out was a lot of these preachers didn’t care about my parents, nor wanted to talk to me,” he continues. “I remember calling Paul and Jan [Crouch] wouldn’t take my phone call. Oral Roberts wouldn’t, Pat Robertson wouldn’t take phone calls, all these people wouldn’t talk to me. These people who were considered my parents’ equals and friends at the time.”

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Feeling hopeless, Bakker says Swaggart unexpectedly did what no one else dared to do.

“I remember calling Jimmy Swaggart and it was just like a hail Mary. And all of a sudden, I’m on the phone with Jimmy Swaggart, it was so bizarre. And I told him what we needed, and he goes, ‘Well son, I’ve done all my I can hear you’re desperate. You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to film something right now asking folks to help your dad and write letters. I’ll put the address on I’m going to put it at the end of all my sermons for the next month.'”

Bakker says that for a 16-year-old who had lost hope in religion, this was a phenomenal win. Noting that Swaggart had gone through his own trials, this was a moment of truly shared grace.

“I know most of you might just think, ‘Oh, there’s two televangelists helping each other.’ Maybe you want to dance on his grave, but I’m tired of dancing on people’s graves. I’m especially tired of seeing Christians dance on each other’s graves. Doesn’t seem very becoming. Doesn’t seem very Christ-like.”

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In a world where grace is often preached but rarely practiced, Jay Bakker’s story is a piercing reminder of what it truly means to embody the heart of Christ. Jimmy Swaggart’s unexpected act of compassion—reaching out to a broken family when others turned their backs—was more than a gesture; it was a redemptive moment that transcended rivalry and reputation. It showed that even in the ashes of public failure, the Gospel’s call to mercy still speaks. And perhaps in that moment, the body of Christ looked a little more like Jesus.

Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.