Bishop T.D. Jakes has revealed his decision to step down as church leader, months after suffering a medical emergency during a sermon.
His daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts, and her husband, Touré Roberts, have been named as his successors and will assume their roles as senior pastors in July.
Jakes, 67, who grew emotional during the announcement at The Potter’s House in Dallas, will continue to serve on The Potter’s House Board of Directors, according to PEOPLE.
RELATED STORIES
“You have been faithful to God, and you have been faithful to me,” Jakes told the congregation during his Sunday morning service, per NBC DFW. “And I’m so grateful.”
Jakes’ decision to step down from church leadership comes five months after he suffered a massive heart attack during a live-streamed sermon on November 24.
“As we look across our great nation and survey the unyielding economic, societal and spiritual needs visiting our communities, it’s clear that we can’t afford to squander the potential of our youth or the elders who have paved the way,” Jakes wrote in a lengthy social media post after making the announcement that he was stepping down from his role.
“The hardships of first-time home ownership, the dire need to invest in the growing entrepreneurial landscape and a younger generation needing a home for their faith walk in the midst of increasing skepticism; these issues we face are not a tale of despair; they are a clarion call for change,” he added.
Jakes founded The Potter’s House in 1996 as a non-denominational, multicultural church that now boasts over 30,000 members across several cities.
He spoke to Today about his November heart attack during a March appearance, and recalled how people rushed to help when he collapsed onstage.
READ ALSO: Armed ambush near Niger’s western border leaves 12 soldiers dead, army reveals
“I didn’t really realize what was happening to me onstage until I got to the hospital in an ambulance,” he said on the show’s March 26 episode. “And the doctor leaned over in my ear and said, ‘You’ve had a massive heart attack.’”
Jakes noted that he was caught off guard by his heart attack, as he experienced none of the typical warning signs leading up to the medical emergency.
“I just kind of drifted off to sleep. I didn’t know what it was,” he explained. “[The doctor] said five minutes later I’d have been dead on arrival.”
Jakes continued: “The right side of my heart had completely stopped giving blood at all. And as long as I was up preaching, I felt fine. But when I sat down, the adrenaline dropped and it exposed the fact that I was preaching with half of my heart closed with a clot.”
“In retrospect, it was such a privilege to stand on the other side to get a little glimpse of what that might be like or at least what it was like in that moment for me,” he added. “I think it was absolutely amazing. And then I had my whole church — and when I say my whole church, I mean global not just the congregation, even people who didn’t go to my church — people everywhere sending prayers. I’m so thankful.”
