ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
One of the most well-known televangelists of the 1980s has died. Jimmy Swaggart was 90 years old. A heart attack last month had left him in critical condition. Here's his son, Donnie Swaggart, announcing his father's death earlier today.
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DONNIE SWAGGART: Needless to say, our hearts are broken, but at the same time, we know where he is. We know he's in heaven. We know he's with the Lord. We know that his race is run.
SHAPIRO: Although Swaggart led a life of faith and prosperity in public, his personal life was full of controversy. NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose is here to remember the Pentecostal preacher brought down by scandal. Hi, Jason.
JASON DEROSE, BYLINE: Hello.
SHAPIRO: Tell us about the details of that scandal.
DEROSE: Well, Ari, by early 1988, Jimmy Swaggart's television ministry was airing on hundreds of television stations around the country and reached about 2 million viewers. And in February of that year, Swaggart took to his pulpit and said this.
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JIMMY SWAGGART: (Crying) I have sinned against you, my Lord.
DEROSE: He had tears streaming down his cheeks, and he asked for forgiveness from his wife, his son and from Jesus.
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J SWAGGART: And I would ask that your precious blood would (crying) wash and cleanse every stain until it is in the seas of God's forgetfulness.
DEROSE: But, Ari, Swaggart never said what his sin was. Still, his confession alone made a lot of news at the time. Remember, it was just a year after another scandal involving televangelist Jim Bakker.
SHAPIRO: So what eventually came out about his confession?
DEROSE: Well, it turns out that Swaggart had been photographed at a motel with a sex worker. A photographer actually had been hired by another competing Pentecostal minister. Swaggart's denomination, the Assemblies of God, first suspended him from ministry. It later defrocked him. Still, that wasn't the end of the story. He persisted in preaching both on air and in person at his Baton Rouge congregation, called the Family Worship Center. But a few years later, Swaggart was found with another sex worker. Though, that time he told his congregation, quote, "none of your business."
SHAPIRO: How did this affect his ministry?
DEROSE: Well, it shrank considerably. Revenues dropped from a peak of $150 million annually to about $11 million each year. That's according to our partner, Religion News Service. But eventually, it did rebound, and it's pretty vibrant today. You know, he has online ministries. He has Bible studies. Jimmy Swaggart's son, Donnie, and grandson, Gabriel, followed in his footsteps, both becoming preachers. And they say they'll continue the ministry on air, online and through Swaggart's namesake Bible college, Jimmy Swaggart Bible College.
SHAPIRO: Worth remembering how influential those televangelists were in their time. Nothing really like it today.
DEROSE: No, not really. In fact, you know, now there are a million televangelists, mostly online rather than on TV, but it really is the passing of an era.
SHAPIRO: That's NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose. Thank you.
DEROSE: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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