Anyway, then he did it all again three years later and lost everything. He played a major role in the spread of Pentecostalism to various parts of America. (You remember Jesus. Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. Televangelist and religious leader Jerry Falwell Sr. was also a co-founder of the Moral Majority, a political platform for the promotion of conservative Christian ideals. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary, following which he worked with Campus Crusade for Christ. For 15 years, Richard Roberts served as the president of the private evangelical university Oral Roberts University (ORU). A. Allen, was a minister with a Pentecostal evangelistic healing and deliverance ministry. All content Tim Challies, 2002-2023. His whole life was all about spreading the news. William J. Seymour was an African-American holiness preacher. 17. Charles Stanley The founder and president of In Touch Ministries and senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, of the Southern Baptist Convention for more than 40 years, Stanley has written more than 60 books, some of them best-sellers. He's the guy that eschewed material wealth and said it waseasier to thread a needle with a whole camel than it was for a rich dude to get into heaven.) The personification of this phenomenon might well be Peter Popoff. Joel Osteen is an American pastor, author, and televangelist. He began the "Two-by-Two Campaign" in 1978, touring the world as a Christian missionary. Kay Arthur An international Bible teacher and award-winning author, Arthur has helped thousands of people study the Bible in a systematic way through the Inductive Bible Study Method with Precept Ministries International. If the list represents bad news, it represents good news as well. He has produced and appeared in films such as Jumping the Broom and Not Easily Broken, the latter being based one of his novels. Let's get to know some of the richest pastors in America. His show Wisdom Keys with Mike Murdock has been a hit. Vote in National Survey Here. Johnnie Moore A speaker, communications expert, and frequent guest at the White House, Moore has advocated for persecuted Christians and was one of the first to identify ISIS as a threat. Alert:If You Collect Social Security, Please Read This Critical Information . One of the most controversial evangelists of his generation, Angley received several criticisms for his claims and theories. A Singing Faith. He has also been honored twice by Russia for humanitarian work done there over many years. Cameron now appears in Christian films and has commented on political and societal issues as well as participating in several ministries, including his own TV series "The Way of the Master. She is the daughter of Dr. Tony Evans. 49. Mike Pence The former Indiana governor was chosen by Trump to be his vice president in large part for his traditional Christian conservatism. Back in the '70s and '80s, Swaggart was one of the most influential evangelical preachers in America. AAE promotes the Christ-centered gospel and biblical worldview for human flourishing. He began his TV ministry in the early 1970s and soon became a household name in US. They made blood sacrifices. Beth Moore As founder of Living Proof Ministries based in Houston, Texas, Moore's video-based Bible studies and books have helped thousands of women learn how to live by evangelical Christian principles. She later formed the Mourning to Joy Ministry, to help women survive post-abortion trauma. . If Creflo Dollar, why not Benny Hinn? 46. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil The founder of Overflow Ministries, Salter McNeil is devoted to racial and ethnic reconciliation and is a prolific speaker and writer on these topics. It's also extra-strength shady, according to allegations made by Jan and Paul's granddaughter Brittany Koper. Ernest Angley was an American evangelist, television station owner, and author. Larson, who serves as a pastor at the Spiritual Freedom Church in Arizona, has written several books criticizing Satanism and rock music. 39. TIME's list focuses on those whose influence is on the rise or who have carved out a singular role, By David Van Biema, Cathy Booth-Thomas / Dallas, Massimo Calabresi and John F. Dickerson / Washington, John Cloud and Rebecca Winters / New York and Sonja Steptoe / Los Angeles More , TIME takes a look at some of the most influential Evangelicals in America More , A look inside the struggle over the Christian conservative agenda More , A photo-biography of the celebrated evangelist More . 83. While Wise was winning gold in Sochi, he and wife Alexandra caught the attention of the world for becoming parents barely into their 20s and for how they spend their off-time as youth ministers. She's also a former panelist on the daytime talk show The View.. When Susan died in 1982, Tony had her body on display for six months, with his congregants performing a constant vigil over the corpse so it would come back to life. They have also been accused of greed. Joel Osteen is an American pastor, author, and televangelist. Site by Mere. In theory, it's a beautiful way to spread a message of faith to the masses. A loving wife. He was a student of the early Pentecostal minister Charles Parham. 57. His wife stuck with him, even after he was sued for allegedly going all "bad touch" on employees during mandated "quiet time.". Peter Popoff is a German-born American faith healer, debunked clairvoyant, and televangelist. 65. Hal Lindsey is an evangelist and Christian writer. Known for his baritone voice and his signature goatee, T. D. Jakes is a bishop at The Potter's House and a filmmaker, too. Paula White Often called President Trump's spiritual adviser, the multicultural megachurch pastor in Florida hosts the television show Paula White Today. White also chairs the evangelical advisory board for President Donald Trumps administration, and she delivered the invocation at his inauguration, becoming the first clergywoman to ever pray the invocation at a swearing-in. . Keller has built Redeemer on wrestling with the challenges of scripture rather than promising good feelings and fortune. There's plenty of behavior to throw stones at here, but the Bible takes a pretty firm stance on that. Rev. 27. Salem operates more than 100 radio stations around the country in addition to nearly 3,000 radio affiliates. He now hosts "Huckabee" on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Haggard wound up disgraced and ejected from his church. 11. I have already pointed out how some were included who should not be, but there were also some left off who probably should have been on there. Taking the high ground (anything is high ground once you get low enough), Lamb repented, asked his congregation for forgiveness, and naturally went on Doctor Phil. 28. Regular meth-fueled hookups with a male prostitute named Mike Jones. 92. Jeremy Lin An NBA point guard, Lin recently kicked off his second stint with the Brooklyn Nets, but suffered a season-ending knee injury. Richard Roberts is an American author and executive who is currently servingas the chief executive officer and chairman of the popular Pentecostal ministry Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (OREA), which was started by the famous televangelist and faith healer Oral Roberts. Dr. James Dobson A psychologist who founded Focus on the Family in 1977, Dobson has written many books on parenting and family life and hosted radio programs for both Focus on the Family and his later nonprofit Family Talk, which he founded in 2010. He has made controversial remarks about gun rights and endorsed Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention in his support. He now heads both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse. 26. Ralph Reed Best known as the first executive director of the Christian Coalition in the 1990s, he went on to found the Faith and Freedom Coalition a nonprofit that acts as the bridge between the Tea Party movement and evangelical voters. 59. Popoff used a concealed earpiece to receive information about people suffering from ailments during his religious services and claimed that God divulged the information to him. Make Your Life Count, led to the founding of Do Something Church, an organization that helps churches implement outreach strategies. 3. He only needed a small tithing of millions and millions of dollars to buy a sweet new Falcon 7X passenger jet. By Jen Krausz | A. Allen B Henry Babers Susan Hammond Barney Robert Barron Rifqa Bary controversy Elder Charles D. Beck David K. Bernard W. E. Biederwolf Arthur Blessitt Philip Bliss William Boardman F. F. Bosworth Edward McKendree Bounds Brady Boyd Ralph J. Boyd John Warren Branscomb Jerry Bridges Vonette Bright Jamal Harrison Bryant He is also the author of dozens of books, in addition to pastoring the 9,500-member Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. Creflo Dollar A popular African-American pastor and televangelist, Dollar incidentally preaches a gospel of wealth from his megachurches, called World Changers Ministries, from Atlanta and New York. Roma Downey and Robert George are both devout and vocal Roman Catholics and, by any good definition, cannot be evangelicals. Max Lucado The senior minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, Lucado has written 25 best-selling books and has 100 million products in print including 80 million books that have been translated into 54 different languages. Falwell Jr. also invested $5 million of Libertys endowment in Israel in 2016. Oral Roberts Jump directly to the Content . These 100 people undeniably wield tremendous influence over American Christianity. The 78-year-old Sproul also serves as co-pastor at Saint Andrews Chapel in Sanford, Florida. He switched lady friends with Gary Busey. Tamara Faye Messner (ne LaValley, formerly Bakker; March 7, 1942 - July 20, 2007) was an American Christian singer, evangelist, entrepreneur, author, talk show host, and television personality. 23. But he's not the only one to make headlines. Second, the list is terrible. Samuel Rodriguez A popular Assemblies of God pastor, Rodriguez founded of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which is the largest Hispanic evangelical organization in the world, according to The Christian Post, with more than 40,000 members. Report: Google Fiber Heading to Austin as Cities Race to Boost Web Speeds, The Trouble Lurking on Walmart's Empty Shelves, Size Does Matter: Study Shows Women Judge Male Attractiveness by Penis Size, Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day Is Today, April 9 And More Freebies Coming, Quebec's War on English: Language Politics Intensify in Canadian Province, Why Stretching May Not Help Before Exercise, Add Inches!! Candace Cameron Bure Kirk Cameron's sister Candance Cameron Bure is famous in her own right, starring in Full House (and the Netflix reboot Fuller House) as well as many a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. The accusations are numerous and diverse. He said he prayed so hard over the letters that the ink leaked into his bloodstream, and by the way that's why he needed plastic surgery, paid for by aforementioned donations. His latest puckish misadventure: getting sued by the state of Missouri for selling a fake coronavirus cure. Joel Osteen Age: 59 Birthplace: Houston, Texas, USA Joel Scott Osteen (born March 5, 1963) is an American pastor, televangelist, and author, based in Houston, Texas. New Hope is also listed as one of the top ten most innovative churches in America with Outreach Magazine listing them as one of the "top five churches to learn from.". She initially gained notice for her work with The PTL Club, a televangelist program she co-founded with her then-husband Jim Bakker in 1974. 9. In lieu of a comments section, I accept and encourage letters to the editor. The show, which brought in almost $80 million annually, was named America's fastest-growing television ministry. Not his anti-labor union manifestos or the fact that he'd light up a room with his smile when you brought up segregation or his connection to a series of bombings in the 1960s. Dobson advocates appropriate discipline of children and traditional marriage, among other conservative positions. Ralph F. Winter A Hollywood movie producer who has worked on both mainstream movies (X-Men 2, Hocus Pocus, several Star Trek movies) and faith-based films (Three, Hangmans Curse, Captive), he's focused more on the latter over the last several years. As his ministry evolved, Moody found himself . Yet I am convinced that it is among these weak people that the gospel is held in highest esteem. It is good and right to see names like Tim Keller, Trip Lee, John MacArthur, John Piper, R.C. Speaking to the New York Times after being fired from the company, Koper stated that her "job as finance director was to find ways to label extravagant personal spending as ministry expenses.". The story goes like this. As one commentator put it, Pence doesnt simply wear his faith on his sleeve he wears the entire Jesus jersey.". 95. It's quite a list and has generated no small amount of response. Hargis even went so far as to write a speech for Joseph McCarthy, the famous Communist witch hunter. 22. It turns out that some news just gets spread faster when you're being blackmailed for $7.5 million. An ardent propagator of Prosperity Theology, Jan Crouch played a major role in the development of the Trinity Broadcasting Network for which she was honored with the Golden Angel Award for Excellence in Media. Paula White, as quoted by Newsweek, doesn't seem to agree with that, saying, "Anyone who tells you to deny yourself is from Satan." He also founded StoryBrand, a marketing firm that helps businesses build their messages and branding. Oral Roberts was an American televangelist who was ordained in United Methodist churches as well as the Pentecostal Holiness. James Robison is credited with founding a Christian relief organization called Life Outreach International where he also serves as the president. Some people will call it dumb luck. All rights reserved. Tim Tebow The former Heisman Trophy winner, NFL quarterback, and now New York Mets minor league outfielder became popular with Christian sports fans and spectators for his outspoken faith and the way he displayed it during games, like kneeling in prayer in the end zone to celebrate a touchdown. He has been an outspoken defender of President Trump and delivered the sermon at the then-president-elect's private worship service at St. Johns Episcopal Church on Inauguration Day. Rich Stearns The president of World Vision U.S., Stearns runs an aid organization that works with the poor around the world to better their lives and teach them how to be self-sustaining. 25. His primary message is that Jesus Christ has come again to be with his people. Donald Miller A best-selling author and public speaker, Miller wrote Blue Like Jazz and other memoir-style books about his faith journey. He's also an executive producer for the show and produces the CBN childrens animated series Superbook.. Jimmy Swaggart is notable for a number of reasons, but none so important as the fact that his plastic-faced visage is the first thing that pops up if you Google image search "televangelist crying.". 2019 TIME USA, LLC. Joel Osteen is an American pastor, author, and televangelist. 70. Tim Keller Redeemer Presbyterian Church, which Keller founded in 1989, is a bit of anomaly, as no one would expect to find a "megachurch" in the heart of New York City. They are, in reality, evangelical unbelievers or evangelical heretics. Which brings us to our next point. Allen enjoyed a large following and was one of the first evangelists to develop a national television ministry. 7. Mike Murdock had delivered his first sermon at age 8 and begun full-time evangelism at 19. American. Newsmax recently released their picks for the 100 Most Influential Evangelicals in America. He is an advocate of Christian family-friendly Hollywood movies, and has received five Angel Awards from Excellence in Media. And by "lost everything," we mean he's now back on TV and has his own network again. In 2006, he was named in the 10 Most Fascinating People list published by Barbara Walters. The 99-year-old world-renowned evangelist, Billy Graham, topped the list, which was produced on Friday. After these cringey pastors, check out more famous pastors behaving badly, like David Koresh, and the John Frum Cargo Cult. ", 55. A televangelist can have his own congregation and church (sometimes large enough to be referred to as a "megachurch"), or he can work solely through television. He has also authored dozens of books on Christian living. He is still on the YWAM Global Leadership Team. He also led the Meese Commission on pornography and wrote several books about religious liberty issues. Tamara Faye Messner (ne LaValley, formerly Bakker; March 7, 1942 - July 20, 2007) was an American Christian singer, evangelist, entrepreneur, author, talk show host, and television personality. It's so hard to focus your anger sometimes! He found the church at a young age and started preaching as a teenager. If you're looking for a celebrity figure that's going to get hit with a scandal, you'd do alright perusing the ranks of televangelists. Mother Angelica; Ernest Angley; John Ankerberg; Garner Ted Armstrong; Herbert W. Armstrong; Kay Arthur; David Asscherick; B. Jim Bakker; Danny Berrios; 73. He's the founder of the Daystar Television Network, the second-largest Christian TV network on Earth. 13. In the late 1980s, he was accused of a series of unethical and illegal behaviors, including sexual misconduct and accounting frauds. According to Duplantis, God personally told him that He wants him flying in that particular plane, presumably because the Good Lord would never expect his followers to fly Southwest. 82. It all started in 1969 with a small ministry an hour outside Hollywood run by married couple Tony and Susan Alamo (ah-LAH-mo, but who cares). Joyce Meyer A charismatic Christian author, Meyer has written more than 100 books and hosts a popular TV show, Enjoying Everyday Life, that teaches people how to live the Christian life and overcome their problems with faith in Christ and common sense. What did he make you do? Gordon Robertson The CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network and son of founder Pat Robertson, Gordon Robertson often hosts The 700 Club as a fill-in for his father when needed. After his father's demise, Armstrong became the voice of the church's radio program The World Tomorrow, which was aired around the world. 29. Although Herbert W. Armstrong's teachings have remained popular over the years, they have also been criticized by the greater Christian community and former followers. Robert Jeffress The pastor of the 13,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, Jeffress hosts the television and radio program Pathway to Victory, airing on 1,200 television stations and 900 radio stations in 195 countries. Piper is currently the chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. During an undercover investigation, ABC discovered that prayer letters sent to Robert Tilton's television ministry were sent straight to the bank, where their donations were marked and their prayers were thrown in the dumpster. If so, what are your thoughts on it? Remember the Alamos. In a roundabout way, it was true. Eugene H. Peterson A biblical scholar, Peterson has written more than 30 books including The Message Bible paraphrase, which many readers find to be more accessible and contemporary in its language than more traditional Bible translations. Whatever Newsmaxs evangelicalism is, its broad enough to encompass the very best and very worst of Christian teachers. 78. It is these people who protect the true and infinitely powerful gospel against the endless pretenders. 31. Their methods were questionable and their message was a horror show, but otherwise, it was an unspectacular enterprise. ", 64. . Every year, you take the kids shopping for new shoes. He was made the senior pastor in 2006 but resigned from his position in 2008. Lin, who has been outspoken about his faith, runs an online prayer group. Televangelist Jim Bakker gained much prominence for hosting the TV program The PTL Clubwith his then-wife, Tammy Faye in the 1970s and 1980s. She spent time as a commentator for Fox News and is the popular author of several books on faith and politics. There's no way of knowing if this actually happened, but it just feels right to imagine that Jim Bakker responded by saying, "Hold my miracle cure.". 52. He is credited with founding the Jack Van Impe Ministries International, which strives to preach the teachings of Christ around the world. Fans of Robert Tilton know him as the host of Success-N-Life. . Unfortunately for the reverend, that last part broughteverything tumbling down. Cut to the mid-'70s. Its difficult to imagine too many other countries in which so many key evangelicals would also be influencing national politics (or wishing they did). Glennon Doyle Melton is a lesbian who writes books lauded by Oprah Winfrey. Scholars and authors reflect on the significance of African American leaders in the church. 58. Thats not to say I like or respect the people on the list or that I even regard them as evangelicals (or Christians for that). Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899), American evangelist, pastor and educator Twentieth century [ edit] (This list is organized chronologically by birth) Fanny Crosby (1820-1915), blind American writer of many famous hymns including "Blessed Assurance" Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910), Scottish Baptist minister Anne Graham Lotz The daughter of Billy Graham, Lotz is the founder of AnGeL Ministries and the author of 11 books including Just Give Me Jesus, on which she based popular revivals for women that are held in arenas and draw large audiences. The best-selling author of "The Martyr's Oath: Living for the Jesus They're Willing to Die For," Moore also owns The KAIROS Company, which does PR for many Christian organizations and personalities. Robert Tilton is an American televangelist best known for his TV program Success-N-Life, which was aired in 235 American television markets during the peak of his ministry in 1991. Following five abortions, she switched to spirituality and joined the Phoenix First Assembly. Al Gore was by no means the first. In 1989, Bakker was convicted on 29 counts including mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy, and sentenced to 45 years in prison. In 1991, he was made an inductee of the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Yes, Billy James Hargis was steadfast. Vote for Your Favourite American Televangelists 1 Jimmy Swaggart (Televangelist) 97 108 Birthdate: March 15, 1935 Sun Sign: Pisces Birthplace: Ferriday, Louisiana, United States In a broadcast from 2015, Duplantis and fellow preacher Kenneth Copeland said it was because regular airliners are filled with people who would constantly be asking them to pray. Who are the most famous televangelists? Art Rorheim As the co-founder of Awana, Rorheim helped create a weekly Bible club for kids that is now used in 19,000 churches in 100 countries and impacts nearly 1.5 million children each week.