Jimmy Swaggert - # 345

Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart dead at 90, family says

Swaggart had been hospitalized since mid-June

 He was number 345 on the list.

The Rev. Jimmy Swaggart, America's longest-serving TV evangelist and founder of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, has died at 90, his family shared on Tuesday.

During a Sunday service in mid-June, Swaggart's son, the Rev. Donnie Swaggart, asked his congregation to keep his father in their prayers, saying that only a "miracle" could extend his father’s life.

"Today, our hearts are heavy as we share that Brother Swaggart has finished his earthly race and entered into the presence of His Savior, Jesus Christ. Today was the day he has sung about for decades. He met his beloved Savior and entered the portals of glory. At the same time, we rejoice knowing that we will see him again one day," Swaggart's family wrote Tuesday.

"He was not just a preacher—he was a worshiper, a warrior, and a witness to the grace and mercy of God. He was a man whose faith was steadfast and always entered whatever door the Lord opened. And the Lord honored that faith," the statement continued.

Swaggart preached the gospel of Jesus Christ on television longer than any other American evangelist in history, according to his ministry website.

Swaggart, who was born on March 15, 1935, in Ferriday, Louisiana, launched into full-time ministry in 1955. He served as the pastor of the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and founded Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.

At his peak in the mid-1980s, Swaggart was the country’s top-rated TV preacher. His services were broadcast to over 2 million households.

However, his image was bruised after he was linked to a 1987 scandal involving a prostitute that he met in a seedy New Orleans motel. Swaggart never confessed to anything more than an unspecified sin during a televised apology in which he tearfully delivered his "I have sinned speech." A few years later, he was stopped by police while driving in California with a suspected prostitute in his car.

Swaggart also made headlines for saying in a televised worship service that he would kill any gay man who looked at him romantically. Swaggart said he made the comment jokingly and did not mean any harm.

During the 1980s, his crusades were a major part of his ministry—drawing large crowds and receiving significant media attention. Swaggart held many crusades in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, and South Africa.

Swaggert founded Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, which owns and operates the SonLife Broadcasting Network (SBN). He also founded the Jimmy Swaggart Bible College. Swaggart was the senior pastor of the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Swaggart wrote about 50 Christian books offered through his ministry. He sold over 15 million records worldwide as a gospel artist and he also received one Grammy Awards nomination.

Jimmy Lee Swaggart was born on March 15, 1935, in Ferriday, Louisiana, to Willie Leon (known as "Sun" or "Son") Swaggart (1915–1998), a local sharecropper who was a fiddle player and Pentecostal preacher, and Minnie Bell (née Herron) (1917–1960), who was a housewife and the daughter of sharecropper, William Herron (1869–1955). Swaggart's parents were related by marriage, as Son Swaggart's maternal uncle, Elmo Lewis, was married to Minnie Herron's sister, Mamie. The extended family had a complex network of interrelationships: "cousins and in-laws and other relatives married each other until the clan was entwined like a big, tight ball of rubber bands".

Swaggart was the cousin of rockabilly pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis and country music star Mickey Gilley. He had a younger sister, Jeanette Ensminger (1941–1999). With his parents, Swaggart attended small Assemblies of God churches in Ferriday and Wisner, Louisiana.

Swaggart started SonLife Radio on the noncommercial FM band. Unlike his previous stations, SonLife was commercial-free and it did not sell time to outside ministries; the preaching and teaching were all produced in-house. The music which it played was primarily Southern gospel. SonLife Radio is streamed on the internet.

Jimmy Swaggart was married to Frances Swaggart (née Anderson, born August 9, 1937) from October 10, 1952, until his death. They have one son, Donnie (born October 18, 1954), named after Jimmy Swaggart's brother who died in infancy. He has three grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. Donnie Swaggart and his son, Gabriel Swaggart, are also preachers, making four generations of the Swaggart family to have become involved in ministerial work.