A televangelist is an evangelist who conducts religious programs on television. These programs often include services and donation requests and are hosted by a fundamentalist Protestant minister. Many televangelists are proponents of the prosperity gospel, teaching that faith brings wealth and health.
Jim Bakker began his career in the 1960s with Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). He later launched the PTL (“People That Love” or “Praise the Lord”) network and The PTL Club, which was later called The Jim and Tammy Show. At its peak, the show reached approximately 13 million households and became the highest-rated religious show in the United States.