Jimmy Swaggart, the fiery American televangelist who commanded the global Christian media before scandals dramatically cut his popularity, died on July 1, 2025, at the age of 90.
Swaggart passed away weeks after suffering a heart attack on June 15 at his home in Baton Rouge. He had been placed in intensive care shortly afterward. His death was announced by his ministry, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, which he led until his final days.
In Nigeria and across Africa, Swaggart’s SonLife Broadcasting remained a fixture in many Christian households. Speaking to a TNC correspondent, a Christian woman in Abuja reflected:
“He lived a glorious life regardless of the scandals he faced. We always watched him on TV, and I particularly enjoyed his hymns, although many young people now might find them old-school. I know he is in heaven.”
Who was Jimmy Swaggart?
Born March 15, 1935, in the small town of Ferriday, Louisiana, Jimmy Lee Swaggart emerged from modest roots. He was the cousin of rock ‘n’ roll icon Jerry Lee Lewis and country singer Mickey Gilley.
Swaggart married Frances Anderson in 1952 when he was just 17 and they remained married for over 70 years. Together, they had one son, Donnie Swaggart, who continues in the family’s preaching tradition.
Swaggart’s Ministry
Swaggart began humbly with him often preaching in rural churches and sleeping in borrowed basements. By the 1970s, his ministry grew larger. His Family Worship Center, founded in the late 1960s in Baton Rouge, seated 7,000 people and became the headquarter of his operations.
He founded Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, which included SonLife Broadcasting Network, World Evangelism Bible College, and a large publishing and music arm that sold Bibles, gospel albums, and teaching materials.
In the 1980s, his broadcast sermons aired in over 140 countries, and his ministry reportedly generated up to $500,000 daily from donations and sales.
Swaggart’s ministry, however, faced devastating setbacks from sex scandals in 1988 and again in 1991. The first scandal erupted when he was photographed with a sex worker in New Orleans. In a tearful televised confession before 7,000 worshippers, he sobbed:
“I have sinned against you, my Lord, and I would ask that your precious blood would wash and cleanse every stain.”
He had previously denounced fellow evangelists involved in sexual misconduct, including Jim Bakker and Marvin Gorman, causing intensified public backlash when his own transgressions emerged. Mr. Gorman later sued Swaggart for defamation, winning a $10 million verdict, though the case was settled for less.
In 1991, Swaggart was caught again, this time with a prostitute in California. His response was more defiant:
“The Lord told me it’s flat none of your business,” he told his congregation.
These incidents led to his defrocking by the Assemblies of God, lost TV contracts, and declining revenue. Despite the fallout, Swaggart never stopped preaching.
Jimmy Swaggart remained an influential figure. To critics, he was a symbol of religious hypocrisy and to supporters, a man who never stopped proclaiming the Gospel despite personal failings.
Swaggart is survived by his wife, Frances Swaggart, his son, Donnie Swaggart, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He preached until his final years, his message unchanged: “God is patient with us. Thank God for that,” he said in a 2014 broadcast.
Swaggart’s ministry may never have returned to its former global glory, but his voice, songs, and sermons continued to impact many Pentecostal circles around the world.
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