Pastor TD Jakes announced an end to his tenure as senior pastor at The Potter’s House, which he founded in 1996, with the intention to hand off the position to his daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts and her husband, Touré Roberts. Jakes Roberts and her husband had relocated to Dallas from Los Angeles in 2022. In 2023, they were installed as associate pastors of the church, signaling that the couple were being positioned to take on an even bigger role in the future.
“For nearly 50 years, I’ve had the honor of connecting with and serving the local and global community as a pastor, global faith leader and unwavering truth teller. As I enter my 50th year in the public spotlight, I recognize the urgent need to address more challenges of our time, particularly the looming threat of a disappearing middle class, social unrest and closing opportunity gaps. This pivotal moment calls me to focus on a legacy of economic empowerment, serving as a bridge between community, culture, and corporate alliances to help position our nation for a stronger future,” Jakes announced. Jakes will maintain his position as Chairman of the Board and spiritual overseer of The Potter’s House.
The transition is set to take place later in 2025. Jakes Roberts paid tribute to her father on social media. “Daddy,” wrote Jakes Roberts, “The carpet is stained with your sweat. The walls rehearse your sermons. The pews have been baptized with testimonies of wanderers turned believers. There is no Potter’s House Dallas without Bishop T. D. Jakes.” Sharing that she had struggled to determine whether this was the next move for her. She also acknowledged all the ways her father had prioritized the needs of the church, writing “I get it now.” “I selfishly wish you’d keep going forever so I could be daddy’s little girl and stay hidden behind your shoulders, but God’s called me to stand on them instead. The same God that was with you will be with me, too. I’m scared, but I’m ready.”
The announcement comes after Jakes experienced a frightening health scare on stage November 2024. His health, however, was not referenced in the announcement. In fact, the announcement included a number of initiatives that Jakes will take on after stepping down from his senior pastoral abilities. He will be pursuing a new partnership with iHeartMedia with his new show “My Next Chapter.” The podcast will “explore the shifts” as well as rebuilding what has been broken. He will also be leading the Good Soil Forum, which assists small business owners with the tools they need to thrive. Jakes acknowledged it was important to let go and that too “many men build something and stay so long that they’ve killed what they’ve built.”