Bishop T.D Jakes Retires, Passes Church Leadership Baton to Daughter

American non-denominational Christian evangelical pastor and motivational speaker, Bishop T.D Jakes, the founder of Potter’s House church based in Dallas, USA has announced plans to step down as the lead pastor and let her daughter take church of the church.

The surprising revelations comes barely six months after the 67-year-old experienced a heart attack on November 2024 while preaching on the altar.

He did make a full recovery and started preaching again on New Year's Eve, but stated he wants to make sure the church continues if something else were to happen to him. 

"I cannot afford, especially after November, to risk something happening to me and you be sheep without a shepherd," said Bishop Jakes during the service.

"I cannot afford to let all the work of all the saints, living and dead, to hold this so tight so long that I wither away. So I'm suggesting to you, I'm recommending to you, that you receive Pastor Touré and Pastor Sarah," he added, presenting his daughter and son-in-law to the church leadership.

He revealed that his children have been leading the church since he suffered a health scare last November, and now he feels they are more than ready to assume fully responsibilities of running the Potter’s House Church.

Jakes said he did not know what he was suffering from until when he was rushed to hospital and the doctor leaned and whispered to his year what had happened and how serious it was. 

"The doctor leaned over in my ear and said, 'You had a massive heart attack.' And the reason I didn't realize it is I had no symptoms [of a heart attack]: no numbness, no sharp pain, no anything. I just kind of drifted off to sleep. I didn't know what it was, but I almost died."

After serving in ministry for almost 50 years, Jakes is looking forward to continue working for the ministry, but more behind the scenes as he stays on as chairman of the T.D. Jakes Group.

 In 1996, with minimal resources, T.D. Jakes founded The Potter’s House (TPH), a non-denominational, multicultural church and global humanitarian organization, in Dallas, Texas. The church has since expanded to include more than 30,000 members to now an 80,000-member mega church.