Renowned American pastor and founder of The Potter’s House, Bishop T.D. Jakes, has officially announced that he will step down as senior pastor of the influential megachurch, handing over leadership to his daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts, and her husband, Touré Roberts, after three decades of service.
The emotional announcement came during Sunday’s service at The Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas, where the 67-year-old spiritual leader fought back tears as he shared the news with his congregation. Sarah and Touré are set to assume their new roles as senior pastors in July 2025.
Jakes, who established The Potter’s House in 1996 and grew it into a global ministry with over 30,000 members and campuses in Dallas, North Dallas, Fort Worth, and Denver, will remain on the church’s Board of Directors. His continued involvement is expected to ensure a smooth leadership transition.
“You have been faithful to God, and you have been faithful to me,” he said during the announcement, drawing applause and emotional reactions from the congregation.
The decision comes in the wake of a serious health scare in November 2024, when Bishop Jakes suffered a major heart attack while preaching.
He later revealed in a March interview on NBC’s Today show that he had collapsed during the service and only realized the severity of his condition after being hospitalized.
“The right side of my heart had completely stopped giving blood at all,” he said. “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.”
Reflecting on that experience, Jakes told his congregation that he could no longer risk leading the church at the expense of his health.
“I cannot afford, especially after November, to risk something happening to me, and you be sheep without a shepherd.”
Since recovering, Jakes has received an outpouring of support and prayers from across the globe, which he described as nothing short of miraculous.
In a statement posted on social media following the announcement, Jakes emphasized that while he is stepping back from day-to-day ministry leadership, his broader mission continues through the T.D. Jakes Group. He said the organization will now accelerate efforts to promote job creation, community development, and workforce readiness across the U.S.
“As Pastors Touré and Sarah take another step up to further accept the mantle of daily ministry duties at The Potter’s House of Dallas… the work of the T.D. Jakes Group… will be able to accelerate rapidly,” he wrote.
Sarah Jakes Roberts and Touré Roberts, both already well-known figures in Christian ministry, lead The Potter’s House branches in Denver and Los Angeles and are widely respected for their vibrant preaching and youth-focused outreach.
Their appointment marks a generational shift in leadership at one of America’s most influential Black churches, and a new chapter in the legacy of a man who has shaped modern Christian ministry over the past 30 years.
