Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart hospitalized after heart attack

Pentecostal televangelist and gospel singer Jimmy Swaggart remained in critical condition Monday without showing improvement more than a day after his collapse, according to his Facebook page. The longtime pastor of Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, La., was in intensive care following a heart attack, his son Donnie said at a Sunday evening service. Donnie, who serves as a pastor at his father’s church, said that Swaggart suffered cardiac arrest around 8 a.m. Sunday. First responders were able to restore a heartbeat but his father had not regained consciousness since that time, Donnie said.

Without a miracle, Swaggart’s time would be short, his son said on Sunday. But whether Swaggart was healed on earth or in heaven, God was still God, he said. The family chose to go ahead with Jimmy Swaggart Ministries’ monthly Share-a-thon giving drive this week to support his ministry, Donnie added.

Who is Jimmy Swaggart? Born in Ferriday, La., in 1935, Swaggart began preaching in 1955 and released his first gospel music album in 1958, according to his ministry’s website. In later years, Swaggart founded radio and television programs and began televising his church services. He was one of the first Christian broadcasters to translate programming for international audiences, according to his website.

Swaggart’s ministry peaked in the 1980s with his television program reaching more than 3,000 stations. He held crusade services in packed stadiums around the United States and in more than 40 other countries, according to his website. Swaggart also founded his church, Family Worship Center, and a Bible college in 1984, according to his ministry’s website.

In 1988, following an investigation by his denomination, Swaggart confessed to committing adultery with a prostitute. Swaggart ultimately resigned from the Assemblies of God before the denomination cut his pastoral credentials. He spent some time out of the pulpit, especially after a second prostitute scandal in 1991. But he continued a ministry as an independent Pentecostal pastor.

Swaggart founded the Sonlife Broadcasting Network in 2010. He also authored many books, sold more than 17 million recordings, and received several Dove awards for his music, according to his ministry’s website.