Jimmy Swaggart (in full Jimmy Lee Swaggart) was an American televangelist, gospel music performer, and American televangelist. He was born March 15, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana. After a scandal involving prostitutes, he was defrocked in 1988 by the Assemblys of God.
Swaggart’s father, a sharecropper, was an Pentecostal preacher at the Assemblies Of God denomination in 1950s. Swaggart was deeply involved in the culture since his youth. He was inspired by his Jerry Lee Lewis cousins, who were pioneers in rock and rolling, and Mickey Gilley country music singing. He continued to help his parents in their ministry and became a full-time minister in 1958. He was ordained in 1961 by the Assemblies of God.
In the 1960s, Swaggart recorded many gospel albums. He started The Camp Meeting Hour in 1969, which featured gospel music and preaching. It was quickly broadcast nationwide. He was a successful gospel musician and launched a local television ministry in 1975. It began with a weekly program. Swaggart quickly gained a large audience throughout the country. His weekly telecasts reached nearly two million households by the mid-1980s, making him one the most successful and popular televangelists in America.
Swaggart in 1987 publicly accused fellow televangelist Jim Bakker for immoral sexual behavior. Some saw this as Swaggart’s attempt to seize Bakker’s empire. However, it led to a closer examination of Swaggart’s life that revealed he had engaged in voyeuristic acts and slept with a prostitute. Swaggart was also accused by Marvin Gorman, a rival televangelist. He was later defrocked. Swaggart was photographed at a Baton Rouge hotel with a local prostitute. Swaggart, despite his on-air apology in February 1988 and tears in April 1988, was defrocked in April by the Assemblies of God but continued to be an independent Pentecostal preacher. After stopping Swaggart for traffic violations in Indio in October 1991, police found him in the company a prostitute. He was later sued for $10 million in defamation for sexual misconduct allegations he made against Gorman. The parties eventually settled out of court for $1.85million. Swaggart handed control of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, Inc. to his son, Donnie.
In 1995, Swaggart returned to the forefront of Christian radio with the launch of the SonLife Radio Network. This network was broadcast on national radio stations across the country and then internationally via the Internet. His ministry continued through a monthly magazine, the Evangelist and an interdenominational church, the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jimmy Swaggart Ministries created the SonLife Broadcasting Network in 2009, an international Christian television network that broadcasts both prerecorded and live programs.
