Thomas Dexter "T.D." Jakes, Sr.

(born June 9, 1957) is a pastor, author and

filmmaker. He is the bishop of The Potter's House, a Nondenominational American
megachurch. T. D. Jakes' church services and evangelistic sermons are broadcast on
The Potter's Touch, which airs on Lightsource.com, the Trinity Broadcasting Network,
Black Entertainment Television,[1] the Daystar Television Network and The Word
Network.

Other aspects of Jakes' ministry include an annual festival called "MegaFest" that
draws more than 300,000 people, an annual women's conference called "Woman
Thou Art Loosed", and gospel music recordings. He hosted the T.D. Jakes Show, a
nationally syndicated talk show produced by Tegna Media and distributed by NBC,
until the show's cancellation in March 2017.[2]

Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Beliefs
4 Awards and accomplishments
5 Writings
6 Filmography
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links

Early life
Jakes was born in South Charleston, West Virginia and grew up in Vandalia,
attending local Baptist churches. He spent his teenage years caring for his invalid
father and working in local industries. Feeling a call to the ministry, he enrolled in
West Virginia State University and began preaching part-time in local churches, but
he soon dropped out of the university. He took a job at the local Union Carbide and
continued preaching part-time. During this time he met his future wife, Serita Jamison.
The couple married in May 1982. In 1982, Jakes became the pastor of the Greater
Emanuel Temple of Faith, a small, Montgomery, West Virginia independent
Pentecostal church with about ten members. Over the next few years, the church grew,
drawing an integrated congregation that helped increase Jakes' renown as a speaker
and pastor. He moved the church twice - from Montgomery to Smithers and then to
South Charleston, where the congregation grew from about 100 members to over 300.
During this time, he began a radio ministry The Master's Plan that ran from
1982-1985. He also became acquainted with Bishop Sherman Watkins, founder of the
Higher Ground Always Abounding Assembly (an association of over 200 Pentecostal
churches). Watkins ordained Jakes as a minister of the Higher Ground Assembly and
encouraged him to start a church in the Charleston, West Virginia area. Jakes also
used this time to continue his education by studying through correspondence courses
from Friends International Christian University, an unaccredited online university.
Jakes completed a B. A. and M.A. in 1990, and a Doctor of Ministry in Religious
Studies from Friends International Christian University in 1995.

After the 1990 move to Charleston, as his congregation grew, T. D. Jakes began to
focus on the spiritual needs of the women in his church who had been abandoned and
abused in their lives. He began a Sunday School class for them, "Woman, Thou Art
Loosed," in which he encouraged the women to use their past pain as a foundation for
new growth. He later started a similar class for men, which he called "Manpower." In
1993, Jakes self-published his first book, drawing on his experiences working with the
women of his congregation. Woman, Thou Art Loosed would become Jakes' signature
work and a national religious bestseller. He also began a new television ministry, Get
Ready, which aired on Black Entertainment Television and the Trinity Broadcasting
Network. Also in 1993, Jakes moved his church yet again, to Cross Lanes, West
Virginia.[citation needed]

His ministry continued to expand, prompting the founding of the T. D. Jakes

Ministries organization to oversee his work beyond the church itself. He continued to
write and to publish, spreading his message of spiritual healing to new audiences. In
1994 he held the first of what would become a series of conferences for ministers and
their spouses, "When Shepherds Bleed."[citation needed] In May 1996, Jakes moved
his family and his ministry again, as well as fifty other families involved in his work,
to Dallas, Texas. There he purchased the former facilities of Eagle's Nest Church, a
large Dallas church pastored by W.V. Grant (who at the time was facing prison time
for fraud). Renaming the church The Potter's House, Jakes continued his work. The
Potter's House, which was a 5,000-seat auditorium and a 34-acre campus, had grown
to a congregation of 30,000.[citation needed]

Career
In 1980, at age 23, Jakes became the pastor of Greater Emanuel Temple of Faith, a
storefront church in Smithers, West Virginia with ten members. The congregation
grew to encompass 100 members and was notable because it was racially
integrated.[citation needed]

In 1990, Jakes moved to South Charleston, West Virginia, and his congregation grew
again, to 300 members. In 1993 he moved to Cross Lanes, West Virginia, where the
congregation grew to more than 1,100 people, of whom 60 percent were African
American and 40 percent were Caucasian.[citation needed]

In 1994, T.D. Jakes Ministries was established as a non-profit organization that

produced televised sermons and conferences. From 1995 to 1996, Jakes hosted "Get
Ready," a weekly radio and television show with national distribution through
syndication.[citation needed]

In 1996 Jakes, his wife, children, and a staff of 50 employees relocated to Dallas,
Texas, where Jakes founded the Potter's House, a non-denominational megachurch.
Located on a 34-acre hilltop campus, the Potter's House features a 5,000-seat
auditorium, as well as offices for employees and staff. Between 1996 and 1998,
church membership grew from 7,000 congregants to 14,000.[citation needed]

In 2005, Jakes accompanied President George W. Bush on his visit to the areas
devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In his book Decision Points, President Bush
describes Jakes as "a kind of man who puts faith into action."[citation needed]

On January 20, 2009, Jakes led the early morning prayer service for President Barack
Obama at St. John's Church in Washington, D.C., according to NBC News.[citation
needed]

In 2009, Jakes partnered with Dr. Phil McGraw, Jay McGraw, and CBS Television
Distribution to launch a syndicated, secular talk show; however, due to economic
issues within the syndicated television market, the program never premiered.[3][4]

In July 2015, Tegna, Inc. and Debmar-Mercury announced that a new secular talk
show hosted by Jakes and called T.D. Jakes would air a test run on Tegna stations in
Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, and Minneapolis from August 17 to September 11,
2015.[5][4] On May 10, 2016, Tegna announced that it would begin airing Jakes'
show September 12 in over 50 markets across the country.[6][7] On March 15, 2017,
Tegna announced that T.D. Jakes was cancelled due to poor ratings and low
clearances.[8]

Beliefs
Although Jakes was converted and ordained within Oneness Pentecostalism, he
revealed in an interview with Mark Driscoll in 2012 that he affirms the Trinity,
although Jakes did not affirm the eternality of the individual persons of the Trinity
which is denied by Oneness churches.[9][10]

Jakes is a strong advocate of abstinence[clarification needed] and has made

appearances on the subject ranging from Good Morning America to Dr. Phil.[11]

Awards and accomplishments

Jakes has received numerous honors, including 13 honorary degrees and doctorates.
His album A Wing and a Prayer won the "Best Gospel or Chorus Album" at the 46th
Grammy Awards in 2003.[12] He has also received Grammy and Dove Award
nominations for the gospel album "Live at The Potter's House." PBS Religion and
Ethics Newsweekly named Jakes among America's "Top 10 Religious Leaders." Time
magazine featured Jakes on the cover of its September 17, 2001 issue with the
provocative question, "Is This Man the Next Billy Graham?"[13]

On the PBS program African American Lives, Jakes had his DNA analyzed; his Y
chromosome showed that he is descended from the Igbo people of Nigeria.[14][15]
According to his family history, it was suggested that he is also descended from them
through his grandmother.[16][17]

Writings
Intimacy With God
Loved by
Naked And Not Ashamed?
Loose That Man And Let Him Go
Loose That Man And Let Him Go Work Book
Positioning Yourself To Prosper
Reposition Yourself: Living a Life Without Limits
He-Motions: Even Strong Men Struggle
Help! I'm Raising My Children Alone: A Guide for Single Ladies and Those Who Sometimes
Feel They Are
Ten Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment
Promises From God For Single Women
Woman, Thou Art Loosed: Healing the Wounds of the Past
Woman, Thou Art Loosed Devotional
The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord
Maximize the Moment : God's Action Plan for Your Life
So You Call Yourself a Man?: Finally a Devotional for Ordinary Men with Extraordinary
Potential
God's Leading Lady
His Lady
Jesus Walks (with me)
Lay Aside the Weight
Daddy Loves His Girls
The Greatest Investment
Mama Made the Difference
TD Jakes Speaks to Men
Overcoming the Enemy
From the Cross to Pentecost
Life Overflowing: Six Pillars for Abundant Living
Not Easily Broken, 2006
Before You Do: Making Great Decisions That You Won't Regret, Atria Books, 2008.
ISBN 978-1-4165-4728-0
The Memory Quilt: A Christmas Story for Our Times, 2009
Let it Go: Forgive So You Can Be Forgiven , 2012
Instinct: The Power To Unleash Your Inborn Drive, 2014, Hachette Book Group.
ISBN 1455554049
Destiny: Step Into Your Purpose,August 2015,Hachette Book Group. ISBN 978-1-4555-5397-6

Filmography
2004: Woman Thou Art Loosed As himself (based on Jakes' novel of the same name)[18]
2009: Not Easily Broken Allen (based on another Jakes' novel)[19]
2011: Jumping the Broom Reverend James
2010: Munya Reverend Brian
 2012: Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day - As himself
2012: Sparkle
2014: Heaven Is for Real - Producer
2014: Winnie Mandela - Producer
2016: Miracles from Heaven - Producer