T.D. JAKES Biography - Religious Figures & Icons

 
 

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T.D. JAKES

Name: Thomas Dexter Jakes                                                           
Born: 9 June 1957 Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.                                   
                                                                                   
Thomas Dexter "T. D." Jakes Sr. (born June 9, 1957) is an American pastor of the   
The Potter's House, a 23,000 member church in Dallas, Texas. It is a               
primarily African-American non-denominational megachurch.                           
                                                                                   
His church services and evangelistic sermons are broadcast on The Potter's Touch,   
which airs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He also airs on The Word Network.   
Other aspects of Jakes' ministry include an annual revival called "MegaFest" (which 
draws more than 100,000 people during that period of time), an annual women's       
conference called "Woman Thou Art Loosed", and gospel music recordings.             
                                                                                   
He founded The Potter's House in 1996, with about 50 families that had relocated   
with him from his former congregation, Greater Emmanuel Temple of Faith in Cross   
Lanes, West Virginia. In its 11-year existence it has grown to over 30,000         
members. Both Jakes and his Potter's House church are unrelated to the Potter's     
House Christian Fellowship, a Pentecostal denomination founded in Arizona in       
1970. He has 5 children (Jamar, Jermaine, Cora, Sarah, and Thomas Jakes Jr.) His   
wife's name is Serita Ann Jakes.                                                   
                                                                                   
For the 2006 PBS program African American Lives, Jakes had his DNA analyzed; his   
Y chromosome showed that he is descended from the Yoruba people of what is now     
Nigeria. According to his family history, it was also suggested that he             
was descended from the Igbo people through his paternal grandmother.