The son of prominent televangelist Jimmy Swaggart announced that his father is nearing the end of his life after going into cardiac arrest in mid-June. Swaggart’s son, Donnie, asked for prayers and took the opportunity to praise his father, a polarizing figure who is the longest-running TV evangelist in the country.
For background, Jimmy Swaggart, a both esteemed and controversial televangelist, went into cardiac arrest on June 15, 2025, and has been hospitalized ever since. Meanwhile, his son, Donnie Swaggart, has provided consistent updates on his father’s social media pages, asking for prayer and for those impacted by Swaggart’s ministry to respect his privacy.
On June 26, 2025, Donnie Swaggart explained that his father was “facing the end,” saying that the Swaggart family was “in the process of making some very difficult and hard decisions.” He added that he had “called all of the family to come into town, the grandkids that haven’t been here, and Joanna and Cliff for a family meeting on Friday.”
Furthermore, on June 29, 2025, Donnie provided another update, saying that his father was in his “last days,” and adding, “All of the family has been called in and really, speaking very straightforward, it’s not really a matter or question of if, but when.” He went on to explain that the family wanted “dad’s — if it’s what the Lord desires — we want his last days to be comfortable.”
Continuing, Donnie asked for the members of Family Worship Center, Swaggart’s church, to “continue to lift up mother in prayer,” saying, “You can imagine how difficult this time is, and she only leaves the hospital to go home and clean up a little bit and get a quick bite to eat, and then she’s back in the hospital.”
Moreover, Donnie asked the congregation at Family Worship Center to “pray for the family and pray for mother, that she’ll have strength.” He continued, “And as I said, we are, it’s sad, but at the same time, everyone’s race is going to be finished one day.” Donnie went on to say, “And you know who’s waiting at the end of that finish line to say, ‘Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant.'”
Then, Donnie emphatically praised his father, who has been a controversial figure in the Christian world since he confessed to soliciting a prostitute in 1988. Donnie said, And I know I’m his son, but I say this, and I am right. There has been no greater example of a good and faithful servant than my father.” He added that Jimmy Swaggart was “a man who lived his life for the cause of Christ.”
Next, Donnie recounted how his mother had told him “just a couple days before” Swaggart went to the hospital, “She said he literally woke her up in the middle of the night and was preaching.” He added, “And she said, The next night, the same thing, he woke her up, and she said, I just laid there listening to him as he was preaching the gospel, because that’s who he is, a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Featured image credit: Jimmy Swaggart via Facebook