Donnie Swaggart, an evangelist, has gone through two divorces and three marriages. He remarried his first spouse following his second divorce. Swaggart is a character in the colourful history of evangelists in America.
Donnie Swaggart: Who Is He?
The only child of televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and his wife is Donnie Swaggart. He entered the ministry as his father did, but he hasn’t maintained the same level of prominence. The Family Worship Center’s pastor is Swaggart, who lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He frequently contributes to his father’s camp sessions.
Eight grandchildren total between Swaggart and his wife Debbie’s three children. The Family Worship Center’s youth pastor is his eldest son, Gabriel. Mathew, his second child, is a graphic artist. Jennifer, his daughter, is a wife and mother.
divorces of Swaggart
Debbie was the subject of Donnie Swaggart’s first union. She also gave birth to his three kids. They got divorced in 2003, and later that year, he wed Judy. In 2006, Judy and Donnie were divorced. Later, he wed his first spouse once more.
A Synopsis of American Evangelists’ History
Evangelists have existed in America since the country’s founding. The freedom of religion attracted some of the initial settlers to our nation. With the help of preachers like George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards, the Great Awakening of the 1740s spread throughout the colonies, converting people to Christianity.
Evangelists in the 19th century linked their enthusiasm for religion with societal issues like alcoholism and slavery. Pastors of African descent attracted their audiences by promising both earthly and heavenly fellowship.
American evangelicals of today
The tent revival first appeared in America at the turn of the 20th century. Billy Sunday and Dwight Moody, two travelling evangelists, would set up shop in a town and spread the gospel.
Evangelists like Mary Baker Eddy and Norman Vincent Peale made use of print media. Oral Roberts, Rex Humbard, and Jimmy Swaggart were televangelists who utilised television to preach and solicit donations.
Most Well-Known Evangelist
Billy Graham, a preacher born in North Carolina, was one of the most well-known evangelists in the country. During a 1949 revival in Los Angeles, he made an appearance on a radio show, turning him became a celebrity. Over the course of his career, Graham preached to large crowds in stadiums all over the world.
Graham met with presidents as well as world leaders. He also advocated against abortion and communism. After Graham passed away in 2018, his work has been carried out by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
The Difficult Past of the Swaggart Family
Jimmy Swaggart, the dad of Donnie Swaggart, engaged with problems in the 1980s and 1990s. Two million American households watched Jimmy Swaggart’s television programme at its peak. In 1988, pictures of Swaggart with a prostitute emerged after he called out two other evangelists for cheating on their marriages. He was excommunicated from the Assemblies of God. He continued preaching on his own.
1991’s Jimmy Swaggart was apprehended with a second prostitute following a traffic check in California. Shortly after this second scandal, he gave Donnie control of his ministry.
Various Scandals
There are other pastors who have faced controversy besides Jimmy Swaggart. One of the evangelists Swaggart lambasted, Jim Bakker, also struggled with affairs. In the 1980s, Robert Tilton, a different televangelist, requested that his supporters mail in their prayer requests along with donations. When a news reporter looked into Tilton, he found that the preacher retained the checks but threw the prayer requests away.
Several evangelists were embroiled in scandals involving pornography and improper interactions with children, including Bill Gothard and Dave Reynolds. Other televangelists, including Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar, have drawn criticism for using followers’ donations to support their opulent lifestyles.
