What Happened to Kevin From Jim Bakker's PTL Club Is Heartbreaking

In May 1986, Jim Bakker broke ground at Heritage USA on Kevin's House, a giant Victorian home for disabled children named after Kevin Whittum, a teenager with brittle bone disease who had become one of the best-loved faces on The PTL Club. Roe Messner's crews built it in thirty days in front of live cameras, while Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker raised money on the air with silver medallions, Kevin's Club and thousand-dollar gifts. But what happened to Kevin after the cameras left is one of the saddest stories in the whole PTL scandal. Jim Bakker died on October 5, 2026, at 86. This is the untold story of the boy whose name was on the house: the Doug Oldham interview, the Enough Is Enough telethon, Fort Hope, Farmland USA, Art Linkletter, the overdrawn account, Jerry Falwell's takeover, the PTL bankruptcy, a federal probe, a lawsuit, Hurricane Hugo, and the night Kevin's House burned to the ground. 🔔 Subscribe for the real stories behind the legends, every week. 💬 Did you ever see Kevin on The PTL Club, or visit Kevin's House at Heritage USA? Tell us what you remember in the comments. #JimBakker #PTLClub #HeritageUSA