Introduction
A Promise Honored: Gabriel Swaggart Reads the Final Words Jimmy Asked to Be Spoken at His Funeral
In a moment of profound silence and sacred emotion, Gabriel Swaggart stepped forward and fulfilled one final promise to his grandfather, legendary evangelist Jimmy Swaggart.
Inside the packed Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, thousands gathered beneath soft sanctuary lights as Gabriel unfolded a single sheet of paper — the final words Jimmy had personally written and asked to be read aloud when the time came. The room, already heavy with grief, fell completely still.
“These are not words of goodbye,” Gabriel began, his voice steady but filled with emotion. “They are words of faith.”
Jimmy Swaggart’s message, written in his own hand, reflected a lifetime devoted to God, repentance, and redemption. In it, he thanked his family, his ministry partners, and the millions of believers around the world who had prayed with him, worshiped with him, and walked beside him through triumphs and trials.
“I have fought the good fight,” Gabriel read, pausing as many in the audience quietly wept. “Not perfectly — but faithfully. My hope has never been in myself, but always in Jesus Christ.”
The words felt deeply personal, especially given Jimmy Swaggart’s complex and often turbulent journey in the public eye. Known as one of the most influential televangelists in history, he had also faced public failures that shook his ministry. Yet his final message was not about scandal or controversy — it was about grace.
“I stand before God not because I was without sin,” the letter said, “but because I was never without a Savior.”
Gabriel struggled to continue as the weight of those words settled over the room. Frances Swaggart, Jimmy’s wife of more than seven decades, sat in the front row, clutching a tissue and nodding quietly as her husband’s final testimony was spoken.
Those in attendance described the moment as overwhelming. Pastors, musicians, and longtime members of the ministry embraced one another, many saying it felt as though Jimmy himself was still speaking to them.
For Gabriel, honoring his grandfather’s last request was more than a family duty — it was a sacred calling.
“He wanted his final message to be about hope,” Gabriel later said. “Not about death. Not about mistakes. About redemption.”
As the congregation stood and softly sang “Amazing Grace,” it became clear that Jimmy Swaggart’s final words had achieved exactly what he intended — to point every heart, one last time, toward faith.
And in that quiet, holy moment, a promise was truly honored.