Fund Raising: Falwell Hits The Skids

Preacher Jerry Falwell made a big splash last March when he wrested the PTL television ministry from Jim Bakker. Last week the minister made another big splash. Wearing a natty blue suit, Falwell, 54, plunged down the “Killer Typhoon” water slide at PTL’s Heritage USA amusement park.

The televangelist was fulfilling a promise he had made during a fund-raising drive that netted $20 million for the debt-ridden PTL. Looking a little pale at the top of the 163-ft.-long water slide, Falwell recited the Lord’s Prayer before his hellish four-second descent into the pool below, where he landed shoes up. Nearby, a group of PTL partners brandished a sign that read FALWELL, DON’T BACKSLIDE.