Bishop T.D. Jakes Steps Down As Head Pastor Of The Potter’s House

Bishop T.D. Jakes has decided to step down as the head pastor of The Potter’s House megachurch in Dallas. The difficult decision was made as a result of the heart attack he suffered in November 2024.

“You have been faithful to God, and you have been faithful to me,” he told the congregation during Sunday morning’s service (April 27). “And I’m so grateful […] I cannot afford, especially after November, to risk something happening to me and you be sheep without a shepherd.” He told NBC Today that if he had made it to the hospital five minutes later when he experienced his heart attack, he would’ve died. He returned to the pulpit for their New Year’s Eve service, calling his return a “message from God.”

His daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts, and his son-in-law, Toure Roberts, will take his place starting in July. “I’m grateful, I’m honored, as your daughter,” Roberts said. “I’m so happy you’re going to get some rest.”

Jakes founded The Potter’s House in 1996, and some of the church members believed he had been preparing to step down for years, even before the heart attack. Although he will no longer be head pastor, he will still hold the position of chairman on the church’s board and operate as a spiritual overseer.

“I was sad, it’s hard to replace an icon like Bishop, I mean, it’s just hard to do that,” Patrick Moore, a member of The Potter’s House congregation, told NBCDFW. “It’s actually impossible to do that, so very sad.” Nonetheless, he and his fellow churchgoers are optimistic about the future of the church without Bishop T.D. Jakes. “Transition is always tough, in anything we do, it’s a tough thing. So I have trepidation about it, but it’s still an exciting time, too.”