Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Lee Swaggart (born March 15, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana) is a Pentecostal preacher and a leader in media ministry who reached the height of his popularity in the 1980s.
Pastor Swaggart is a member of a famous family that includes many secular musicians including cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl McVoy, and Mickey Gilley. All four of them played the piano.
Pastor Swaggart has been married since 1952 to Frances Anderson. The couple has raised one child, Donnie, who followed his father into the ministry.
Jimmy Swaggart Ministries
Pastor Swaggart's passion for the Lord and gift for saving souls was apparent at an early age. He drew attention at age 8 when he received the gift of tongues and uttered prophecies at a church revival. He began an itinerant ministry as a teen and young man, where he used his commanding stage presence to emphasize submission to Jesus as the only way to escape human bondage to sin and Satan. Pastor Swaggart is currently leader of the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Media
Pastor Swaggart appears weekly in the Jimmy Swaggart Telecast. His ministry focuses on working with the African-American community, and airs on Black Entertainment Television. He also participates in a daily radio program, A Study in the Word which is broadcast on SonLife Radio.
Scandal
Swaggart's T.V. audience and influence declined sharply in early 1988, when reports surfaced that he had "consorted" with a prostitute (i.e., watched her undress).[1] He resigned his ministry, was put on probation by his church, and apologized to his wife. Two years later, he resumed televangelism on BET. However, in 1991 he was pulled over for traffic violations and found, once again, to be in the company of a prostitute.[2]
