The State : Bakker Joins a New Group

Fallen PTL founder Jim Bakker said he has new ministerial credentials from the Faith Christian Fellowship International and will return to the pulpit when he hears God’s call. Bakker, defrocked by the Assemblies of God last spring after admitting to a 1980 sexual tryst with Jessica Hahn, said the Tulsa, Okla., fellowship granted the credentials, but he will remain in California through Christmas. “They have recognized the call of God on my life,” Bakker said in a phone interview from Palm Springs. Bakker said he does not know when he will return to the pulpit. “I really believe when it’s time for me to begin my ministry, God will speak to me and let me know it is time . . .,” he said. The Faith Christian Fellowship is a charismatic group with a doctrine similar to that of the Assemblies of God.