My dad moved our entire family (w/ 3 kids) from Orange County/LA to Charlotte to work for Jim. I think it was mid 1970s. Jim recruited my dad, a trained radio/TV professional, because he needed help starting his own TV ministry (PTL). Jim was jealous of Pat Robinson and always wanted to be the star. I spent a lot of time as a little boy running around that construction site. I used to ride my go-cart there. Several years later, my dad left PTL abruptly when he saw them bussing in little old folks and pressuring them to sign over their estates to the ministry (of course their children were not there to stop the unethical behavior). Dad said the money was rolling in fast and furious, and they even had a machine to help cut open the mail to dump out the cash from envelopes. He was disgusted with the greedy activity as it did not align with his Christian values. After dad left the scandals began to hit. My parents always said Jim was a cold and calculating snake. Tammy was aloof, and what you saw of her on TV was *exactly* what she was like in person. After all of these years I resent Jim Bakker for disrupting my life. I could have been very happy (and probably a wealthy property owner) in Orange Country. Jim Bakker served 5 years of a 45 year sentence. He is back on TV got fined for trying to sell a health supplement he implied could cure COVID. What a jerk! He's a true snake oil salesman, charlatan and all around awful man, in my opinion.
DID you dad move back to OC California? It doesn’t look the same today as circa 1980. All the white folk left & Vietnamese or Chinese moved in. Property values in those areas are pretty low
@@electrictroy2010 no. A different state. My best friend is Vietnamese and his family is warm and fantastic. I would have no issues living amongst non white people. Perhaps you should study your Bible more closely.
So Tammy was pretty much naive and genuine. She seemed so sweet. She seemed like yeah she went along with a good portion of it but you could tell what her hard really lied like the love she had for people truly showed. She's home with the Lord now. The love of money is what's the sin not money itself the Love of Money. It's sad that he's still pursuing that and you could tell the difference I don't even know how they were married as long as they were but then again she was just so naive and loving
Did they have like John the Baptist pontius pilot and cane and Abel walking around greeting people like the Hanna Barbera characters at king’s island and Mickey Mouse and goofy and other ones at Disneyland I’m just saying
Jason you’re mother was she a godly woman in your eyes? If yes then don’t question her motives I watched them from time to time and they liked to show how much they were doing for children in the name of Jesus your mother could have been moved by her love for children. It was clear to me they lived a extravagant lifestyle and never gave them a dime. Many such preachers are being exposed thanks to investigative reporting and social networking today thank God.
@@LetsTalk649 the guy was in prison for years and when released went right back on TV scamming people and condemning how other people live. DO NOT defend jim Bakker. You are not doing christianity any favors
@@gregoryscott3711 Trump supporters don't come from evangelicals but nice try anyway! Trump supporters come from conservatives who believe in America, believe in our Republic and not the Socialist Democratic regime that pushes ignorance and hate! So you may return to your a Cupcake little whole and b3 safe!
My grandmother was 80 something and sending them hundreds of dollars at a time. She really didn’t have much money to spare. She began having memory problems and my mom intervened and stopped the money going to PTL. But she probably sent them several thousand
When the six times bankrupted fraudster, gutless draft dodger, felonious tax evader, depraved creep, compulsive liar and Russian collaborator Donald John Trump finally came out of the closet as a 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭, he instantly repulsed and disgusted every single 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐭. Republican and Democrat alike.
I quote the distinguished veteran, 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐭 and Republican Senator John Sidney McCain III: "Trump fired up the crazies." Prophetic words that are proven true every single day of the week: >>Chris Harwood also she’s not asking people to send her money.>These people can go straight to hell in a rocket>Chris Harwood yeah great point>Yes you are correct...>Rick Aka Rachel Maddow is still on TV after lying for years to the #American People!
My parents used to send this clown money , and my Mom loved to watch Tammy sing on ptl all the time , I had her record . We even went to Heritage USA when I was kid ! Weird looking back I don't necessarily believe what they did , but I have to admit it was a fun vacation , for me it's the memory that counts , my mom has since passed away , and my Dad is 86 and not well . While there we went to the water park. I've been in the grande hotel , and walked the streets there , my Dad and I actually saw Jim Baker pass us in the hotel my Mother was so upset she missed seeing him .My Mother spent some time in the upper room alone when she came out she was crying , our family Bible is the maroon hard cover ptl Bible which still sits on my Dads coffee table to this day !
It’s quite amazing and very sad to see just how gullible most people really are. A critical thinking skills class needs to be mandatory from about the age of 7-8 yrs old, that way, the majority of people will not fall for those conmen.
I went there with my family in the 80s. Stayed at the Heritage Grand Hotel. It was a very nice place. Plus we sat in his studio audience. It was exciting back then.
I remember the Bakker saga being the talk of the 80’s. And this guy has once again managed to gain another following of people with money rolling in. Unbelievable!
I thought it was "water slide," but whatever...it was hilarious. I remember Sam Kinison was particularly ruthless when he went after the televangelists that were blowing up in the '80s; kinda ironic, seeing as how his stage personae was adapted from his days as as an Evangelical "holy-roller" with a tent ministry.
@@gregrock7451 he was hilarious but too bad he died from a couple of stupid ass drunken kids running into them and they never prosecuted them for killing Sam and hurting others
@@lisajoyce6803 Indeed. Though while it's always true that everyone dies of **something,** if Sam had dodged that particular bullet and gone on to die of something else, that "something else" would almost assuredly have **NOT** been "old age" or "natural causes." I don't who it was, but one famous, top-tier standup comedian once said that comics almost always exist on one of two poles: either they're teetotalers and health nuts, or total kamikaze libertines who over-indulge themselves in **EVERYTHING,** as if they're worried they might die having missed something. Sam was without question in the latter camp. One of the best reminisces about Sam Kinison I ever saw was a section devoted to him in Howard Stern's "Private Parts." Is it ever an engrossing read. Stern mentions that Sam's philosophy of life (and/or excuse for his excesses) was *"If you're gonna miss getting into Heaven, don't miss by two inches. Miss it BIG."* I've been a major comediphile as long as I can recall; when I was in high school, I used to listen to guys like George Carlin, Sam Kinision, and Bob Goldthwait while going to sleep at night. What I noticed about so many of the greats is that they have a common penchant for reckless, self-destructive behavior. Some, like Carlin, and Pryor, got past their demons and hung around; others like Patrice Neal, Bill Hicks, and Mitch Hedberg...not so much. Some, like Robin Williams and Richard Jeni, suffered from crippling bouts of depression. I think a lot of comics have a very dark, despondent, even nihilistic side. I suspect humor was their way of coping, and masking it to the outside world; I've done as much myself. Some do it so well that people are like "Hey...you're so funny, you should do stand-up!" The whole thing with comedy clubs blowing up in the late '70s through the '80s provided fertile ground for guys like that to make a buck at it.
I still smile when I remember how he cried and blew snot-bubles when they drug his sorry ass out of the building on his way to prison! Guess what, He's back! LMAO I fully expect him to end up back in prison anytime now.
I remember watching an episode with Jim defending himself against the increasing scrutiny from the SC press. Tammy was of course bawling her eyes out and Jim opened the curtain to "prove" the high level of their ministry of distributing free bibles. In front of a huge wall of cardboard boxes allegedly loaded with free bibles on their way to third world countries was a couple of cafeteria tables with half a dozen staffers placing bookmarks in bibles then into boxes in a ridiculously drawn out "production line." As Jim was pleading with his audience his innocence against accusations of skimming millions and begging for even more contributions, one of the "workers" loaded the last box onto a pallet and a forklift driver started to drive it to the back of the stage when he accidentally bumped into the gigantic stack of supposedly loaded boxes of bibles, and they all collapsed, exposing the fact that it was only one box deep and the boxes were empty. The production crew standing behind the now collapsed wall of lies were exposed and the stage director was gesturing frantically for the cameras to cut to something else as Jim prattled on unaware that PTLs scam was exposed on live TV. Something tells me I'll never see THAT episode uploaded to RU-vid.
HE STILL SCAMS : “Today, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against Jim Bakker and Morningside Church Productions, Inc. for misrepresentations about the effectiveness of “Silver Solution” as a treatment for 2019 novel coronavirus.”
I live about 15 miles from there for 17 years now and I know of some people who use to go there and they said it was a great place to go. I bought a bunch of records and it had about 7 records from PTL and Heritage USA. The tall hotel is still there but its in bad shape. I still wish there was a christian theme park somewhere in usa.
I used to watch Jim Bakker back in the early 1980's. However, when I saw the Frontline documentary on the PTL scandal back in 1988, I didn't know that Jim and Tammy Bakker were stealing donations to the ministry to fund their lavish lifestyles (ex. an air-conditioned doghouse for their pets), and talking about projects that they didn't have the money to fund. It really opened up my eyes to see what was going there at PTL.
For everyone complaining about the bakers. Your worst then them. I wish i could see into peoples lives and post videos. Of all crap and sin they have done in their lives.
The waste in the Church is incredibly troubling. They collect our money, and spend it on building projects, music departments, drama, production budgets, and ministerial mansions. All the while half of the congregation is living paycheck to paycheck, giving their 10% and more. Its disgusting, and as a Christian I've been struggling with the hypocrisy of it for years. The first church was a true commune. evryone helped and cared for eachother. We shared one anothers burdens, fed the hungry and clothed the poor. Just think of all the lives that could be changed with the money your average church wastes on keeping the lights on, and the heater running. Examples like this are why Christianity is reviled in America today. God Forgive us, we know not what we do.
Never understood how so called representatives of God walk around throwing their ostentatious lifestyles in plain view! They're all false prophets who empty the pockets of gullible people seeking guidance and religious comfort. That their followers don't question such vulgar displays of wealth is beyond me...
Troubadour I think you rock but he’s not going to live long enough for that I wonder if he would sell his soul to get it back no wait I think they already did that
my ex mother in law was sending this jerk my father in laws money for cancer meds because she believed this guys lies that if she sent them money they would pray extra hard for him and heal him. she even had us take a vacation there and paid an extra $3000 for Jim and Tammy's upper echelon to lay hands on my father in law and pray. Freaking ridiculous.
He was sentenced 45 years in prison. 3 years later they reduced it to 8 years. After only 5 years (total) in prison he was able to go back home. Now he is scamming us again. RIDICULOUS!
He wasn’t with the “general population” in prison either, he got his own room where he got to study the Bible which is nice to study but he didn’t have the stress of being around other inmates
@@AuntNessie-u2e anyway the end times are coming so get your order in fast xD xD you will need the food during the Rapture I guess?? i thought the food would be free in heaven :(
I grew up in the neighborhood directly next to the ruins. I’d go jogging around the abandoned buildings and I learned to drive in the large empty parking lot. All of the school kids said the big brick building was haunted. Not many of us kids knew the history so we just made up stories. I just learned the details myself at 30 years old. It gives me a strange feeling
we are all fallen short of the Lord..there truly is redemption and ALL of us need to be redeemed. Wonder where you fit...do a study of the 12 disciples.....while there truly are scammers all around us,I truly believe Jim has asked the Lord for forgiveness and I see a different man today and the Lord is with him...the next question is where do each of us stand before the Lord
Yeah, cuz serving GOD is all about entertainment and accomodation, right? Looks like every other 'televanglist' trying to live with a foot in both worlds.
April Garcia You obviously have not met some awesome christians. Trust me I gave my life to Jesus in 1990 and have known some incredible people like myself that truly are in love with our heavenly father. I feel sorry for people like this that have not had a personal touch by the holy spirit.
April Garcia pray for them to repent and to fear God. Also let’s pray for the government to forbid such wickedness some day. “man cannot serve both God and money.”
therockkkkher Jesus said, “a man cannot serve both money and God.” And, “the love of money is the root of many evils.” This man loved and loves money more than Jesus, and he does not know Jesus. Have you heard that scripture says, “whoever says I know Him but does not keep His commands is a liar.“ Jim Bakker must repent and you too for calling evil good. May Jesus cleanse you of impurity and lead you down a good path for His name sake. Amen.
I disagree. The theme park doesnt make it ungodly. A broadcast is not ungodly. Its the greed behind it. There were and are godly people who wanted to be entertained by and thru Christianity. I mean for goodness sake look at our entertainment today. I think that most of these ministers that get caught start out with a righteous heart but then turn in to Solomon and other leaders that give in to sin just like any other human.
It's fascinating when a place that used to exist and all the memories there are just gone now. And like here, there's old rotting buildings that if someone didn't know they would just wonder. Any place can have a history and when there's no physical evidence we don't even know was was there before us. So many people who were right there in that place creating their lives, and now the feeling/purpose of that place is gone. Some buildings are gone forever, and new buildings like that new neighborhood have taken over. I like to think of how wherever we are now there used to be a forest or just raw land, before all the human population has taken up all the space. There used to be wild animals in undisturbed spaces, and more of that feeling and sounds of nature. People used to be more spread out. And maybe if we're lucky, someone had a, by today's standards, poorly built home with forests around, and they had a genuine love for the land and space. When the earth is going to be around forever, we are just taking our turn.
I do think it's possible that Jim and Tammy started out with good intentions, but PTL got away from them and I think Jim went overboard with his plans for Heritage Park - it wasn't a terrible concept, to have a theme park, but he oversold shares that he couldn't fill - the money has to come from SOMEWHERE and if people wanted to donate, that's fine (I guess) but it's not right to deceive people -
What a waste of property y'all. We have homeless people, our youth's needing safe places to play and grow. The list going on for community outreach. Instead let's turn it into a theme park. Godly people don't ask for selfish prayers. Think about it a moment.
I worked for PTL from 1975 1981. I recently drove through the entire heritage USA recently. The folks that down the grand Hotel and the things around it must be broke. Everything needs work and looks to be in continuous decline. Looks terrible. And as for the upper room, it is falling apart and growing up in weeds and looks completely abandoned.
This use to be the most beautiful place during Christmas. Miles and miles of lights and decorations. I’ve never seen anything like it! Every year my dad would pile us up in the station wagon and there we would go. My dad use to say that Jim Baker thinks he has more money than God but I hate to tell him but money won’t get you in the pearly gates and mumble something under his breath that sounded like “that SOB”😂 and my mom would say Jim and Tammy give me the creeps! My parents we on to them even before the scandals!!! Lol! But we had the best of times there!
Pastor Jim Bakker is the modern day Jim Jones. He has the exact same thing as Jim Jones. A place were people live and worship God and he gives them places to live and sleep and eat. The thing that I would be worried about tho is. If Jim Bakker starts to pass out the Kool aid I would be careful and not drink it. Because it might have something bad in it. Lol
I went to ministry school there. I left almost as quickly as I went! In class they were telling us to speak in tongues... still to this day, I have never had that chance... when I said I didn’t know how or didn’t feel the spirit moving me they told me to make It up no one would know the difference 😢🤦🏻♀️ I stopped going to church for years after that.
The first time I visited heritage USA I was six years old with my parents, sister and grandparents. We went again two years later. These were some of the most fond memories of my childhood. The entire staff was so hospitable to us. They took pictures with us and some of the on air personalities walked us around and showed us behind the scenes. Every need we had met by a very attentive staff. We sat in the audience for the show and Tammye was so beautiful. The rooms we stayed in were off "Main Street" when you looked out of your window, there were enclosed indoor shoppes below that were set up to look like a Main Street in a town. There was a fake sky which was so beautiful, it looked like a blue sky during the day, it turned to dusk in the evening and displayed a moon and stars that twinkled at night, mind you, this was like 1985/86 and the technology was on point for such a time.I had never seen something so beautiful. We watched stories in the ampitheatre, took the train across the property, splashed in the water park and got goodies from the general store on the property. So many people felt defrauded by these two but to me, they lived up to the experience they promised families at PTL and beyond. I've been to Disney 3 times, twice as a kid and it certainly rivaled the Disney experience.
In 1978 or there abouts, I sent the PTL a few pieces of nice jewelry. That's what happens to the un-decerning, (me), when they get convicted and try to buy their way in!
God did write the bible. Go to a real church. You will be the happiest you have ever been ❣ I am living proof of that❣❣ Grace Just not one of these televangelists, of course! They are evil!
I remember when Jim Baker started his ministry in a small room in a small mall in Pineville road (Charlotte) and someone invited me to attend the meeting as I was shopping in the mall. I was one of 5 or 6 people in the meeting. Then after heritage USA was shut down I rented one of the condos there from 1990 to 1992. It really was a beautiful Serene place to live. I would say there lived about 10 families who were owners of condos.
I gave money to Jim and Tammy AND I [we] had many prayers answered while they were praying for us. I almost died and my husband called and they put me on the prayer list and prayed for me. I was in the hospital and I knew when. I knew someone was praying for me besides me. Thank GOD even the drs did not believe it but I did Then and Now... DO not speak against the anointed. I know sometimes we feel they failed us and they probably did. But GOD will handle anything and everything Us too. So be careful...
Isn't Disney wholesome enough for these Christian crazies? They need a MORE wholesome place to go? If Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Snow White are not pure enough for you then you have a problem.
The upper room had a massive painting of Jesus preaching to children and included the Baker kids. We always took visitors to PTL. The hotel had a ceiling with moving clouds. Rumors started years before with Tammy Faye being banned from Belk at South Park. She would wear clothes on the show and return them. My sister worked at a drug store and Tammy asked the woman in front of her buying cards when was Easter that year. The waterpark was a lot of fun and much better than Carowind’s water park down the road.
That's so incredibly funny Tammy got banned from Belk. Years ago a friend of mine was banned from JC Penny for exactly the same thing. He was an enormous clothes hog, and was there nearly every other day returning things he'd bought the week prior. Well, finally they'd had enough and put the kibosh on his little clothing sprees. He was furious. I'm sure Tammy was absolutely crestfallen when Belk did the same to her (I can just imagine the look on her face when they broke the news to her!😆). Much as I have always *adored* Tammy Faye (always will), it doesn't blind me to her narcissism! 😂. Oh these people were too much.
I was raised in a Bible-thumping household and was dragged to PTL Land one Summer. I was also "lucky" enough to see those scumbags, Jim & Tammy Faye, in their church. And that p.o.s. Jimmy Swaggart, too. What a miserable Summer THAT was; the rotten cherry on top of the rancid ice cream sundae that was my upbringing.
Hahahaha, that loser is scamming people to buy food because the "end of times" is coming. He's brainwashing people to think the "end of times" is coming soon so they have to be prepared. Someone has to be really stupid to even waste their hard earned money on that pathetic human being.
Last time I saw him (prolly 2 years ago) he was playing an ANGRY COWBOY, LOVING GUNS. His little outfit was adorable, his rhetoric was insane, and... suprise, pandering to angry white people (I'm white too, just not that flavor). What a whore
@@geoffdearth7360 No, actually, Lori Bakker is a lot more hilarious than Tammy Faye ever was! "Oh, that's good!" "Oh, that is SOOOO good!" "It's the flavors!" All said in that scratchy voice of hers when she's pitching the food!
As deceitful and greedy as the Bakkers were, you have to give them credit. They pulled off a pretty good scam and had a lot of people fooled. Remember millennials- all the money that was given to Jim and Tammy Faye could have been your college education!
With jim Bakker buckets of food you can eat your food then poop in the buckets... Jim's got you covered for only $200 you can get a bucket of food ( that tastes of nasty sawdust )
I drove through this place a couple times when it was on the way up and never even got out to go to the attractions, it seemed so contrived. An idea that spiraled out of control.
Its interesting that all of these years later people still don't understand what happened. Yes, they lived well but no better than others who still have ministries today. Theres a book called A Miscarriage of Justice? that explains everything and lays out how things played out when PTL fell. There are many details that the msm never reveals. Tammy Faye was also an incredible Christian woman. I don't agree with everything that they stood for, but she was the real deal and I think most people that met her would agree with that.
an "incredible" Christian woman would not paste so much horribly gaudy makeup on her face and be so poor an example in that regard, ( Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes."(1 peter 3:3) I worked in fort mill helping to build that place when I was early 20's and never once heard of Jesus there. the whole thing was completely shameful and sad.
I agree with you and do does God I think! It was his plan to begin with anc so many hot blessed. Especially , the children! Many testimonies today of that! Thanks! I love Tammy and Jim! Hate the evil that took it down
