Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 4, 1994                   TAG: 9412230011
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: F-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

THROUGH THE YEARS WITH JIM BAKKER

1978: The Bakkers open Heritage USA, a 2,200-acre religious and entertainment complex in Fort Mill, S.C., featuring a TV studio, hotel, campgrounds, shopping mall and more. A water park is later added.

1980: Bakker meets former church secretary Jessica Hahn at a hotel in Clearwater Beach, Fla., an encounter that ultimately leads to his downfall.

1986: At the peak of its popularity, an estimated 6 million visitors come through the gates of Heritage USA.

1987: Bakker resigns as PTL president.

1989: Bakker is convicted of 24 counts of mail and wire fraud for bilking PTL supporters of $158 million. He is sentenced to 45 years in prison, a punishment ultimately reduced in court to eight years.

1992: Jim and Tammy Bakker divorce after 30 years. After going through several operators, PTL opens under the ownership of a Malaysian company.

1994: After five years in custody in Minnesota, Georgia and North Carolina, Bakker is released from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. He is required to get a job.