Bishop TD Jakes steps down from The Potter's House; announces daughter and son-in-law as his successors

Photo: Bishop TD Jakes

Bishop TD Jakes is stepping down as Senior Pastor of Potter's House Dallas.

On Sunday, April 27th, Bishop T.D. Jakes announced the leadership change at Potter's House Dallas, his flagship church.

In his address to the congregation, Bishop Jakes revealed that Pastors Sarah Jakes Roberts and Touré Roberts will assume the roles as senior pastors of the Dallas-based mega-church.

Bishop Jakes will remain Chairman of the Board and spiritual overseer of The Potter’s House.

The official appointment will happen later in 2025.

It is important to note that by choosing his daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts, as Senior Pastor of Potter's House Dallas, Bishop Jakes will be elevating a woman to one of most visible and powerful podiums of ministry in the world.

This leadership announcement comes a few months after Bishop Jakes had a health emergency while preaching in November 2024. He later revealed that he had suffered a massive heart attack on stage, that almost took his life.

Bishop TD Jakes, who will be 68 years old in June, had already started the process of passing the reigns of his ministry to others, 2 years ago. In 2018, Bishop Jakes transitioned his Woman Thou Art Loosed Conference to his daughter Sarah Jakes Roberts. The Sarah Jakes Roberts conference is now known as, Woman Evolve, and continues as an avenue to empower and heal women.

And just last month, Bishop Jakes announced that he was stepping away from his International Leadership Conference and was seeking new leadership for the annual conference.

The Potter's House announcement coincides with reports of legal entanglements for Bishop Jake.

Soon after his health scare, Bishop Jakes filed a defamation lawsuit against Duane Youngblood. In the lawsuit, Bishop Jakes claims that Duane Youngblood went on a YouTube podcast and alleged that Jakes had tried to sexually assault him.

Duane Youngblood is a former minister who was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenager while working as a pastor.

Then, in April 2025, media reports surfaced that Bishop Jakes's community revitalization project at Fort McPherson in Atlanta has stalled due because of a disagreement between the project's partners and financial backers.

Despite these leadership transitions and legal woes, Bishop TD Jakes has solidified himself as one of the most respected and recognizable voices in modern day ministry. For decades, he's occupied the pulpit, founding the Potter's House nearly 30 years ago in 1996. Leveraging his sermons and his ventures into books, TV and film, Bishop Jakes has delivered Christ-centered messages that have led many to hope and salvation.

His stepping down from ministry is the dawn of a new day.

The 67-year old did reference his age as important consideration in his recent leadership transitions. He stated that "it’s better to steps aside" and over-see the transition than to stay too long in office and not plan for the inevitable.

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Watch Bishop TD Jakes announce Pastors Sarah Jakes Roberts and Toure' Roberts as his successors at The Potter's House (click below).