The Greatest Scandal in Evangelism History (Marjoe Gortner)

Marjoe Gortner: From Child Evangelist to Whistleblower

The video recounts how Marjoe Gortner was made into a child evangelist and later exposed the financial and performance tactics behind his ministry.

Childhood and Exploitation

Born in 1944, Gortner was trained by his evangelist parents from an early age to imitate prominent preachers, deliver sermons, and appeal to audiences. His mother presented him as divinely chosen, citing a near-fatal birth complication as evidence of God’s intervention. Gortner later said he did not remember believing he was a miracle child or feeling that his preaching came from God.

His parents taught him to solicit money, including by offering kisses and prayers to donors and selling supposedly powerful prayer cloths. Gortner said he supported them from around age four and estimated they raised about $3 million during his childhood, though his father disputed the figure. Gortner said he never received the money. He also described being harshly punished by his mother when he failed to learn his lines.

Staged Signs and Performance

The account describes churchgoers being pressured by people around them to speak in tongues. Gortner also learned to make a red cross appear on his forehead using special ink that reacted with sweat. Audiences interpreted it as a divine sign, and it helped him collect offerings.

Around age 16, Gortner told his mother he would stop preaching. After a period away, he returned because preaching was the only work he knew. He became a more polished performer, using dramatic stories, claims of visions and healings, and stage techniques borrowed from musicians. He said he was not a believer and felt guilty about deceiving people.

The Documentary and Later Life

Gortner eventually invited a film crew to follow him and secretly document the methods used on his preaching tour. The resulting film, Marjoe, won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The video presents Gortner as both a participant in the deception and someone exploited as a child who ultimately chose to expose the system.

After the documentary, Gortner pursued acting and music, later raised money for charities, and retired in 2010, according to the video. It closes with his view that he was “bad, but not evil,” and that revealing the truth was an act of honesty.

Presenters and Contributors

The narrator is not identified. Marjoe Gortner is the principal interview subject. His mother and father are discussed but not named, and the documentary crew is also unnamed. The subtitles name Howard Smith and Sarah as co-recipients of the documentary award.