# Roe Messner > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Roe_Messner > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Roe_Messner.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_Messner > Source revision: 1313813170 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American building contractor (1935–2025)}} {{Sources|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Roe Messner | image = | caption = | birth_name = Ronald Roe Messner | birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|8|1|mf=yes}} | birth_place = [Waldron, Kansas](/source/Waldron%2C_Kansas), U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|3|24|1935|8|1|mf=yes}} | death_place = [Wichita, Kansas](/source/Wichita%2C_Kansas), U.S. | occupation = Building contractor | years_active = | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Ruth Ann Messner||1993|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|[Tammy Faye Bakker](/source/Tammy_Faye_Messner)|1993|2007|reason=died}} * {{marriage|Melanie Hart|2007|2008|reason=annulled}} * {{marriage|Carol Wynn Herrman Messner|2009|2021|reason=died}} * {{marriage|Cynthia Davis|2022}}}} | children = Robin (deceased), Richard, RoeAnn, Ron | website = {{URL|roemessner.com}} }} '''Ronald Roe Messner''' (August 1, 1935 – March 24, 2025) was an American building contractor ('''Messner Construction''') who built more than 1,700 churches, including several [megachurch](/source/megachurch)es. Having divorced his first wife, he married televangelist [Tammy Faye Bakker](/source/Tammy_Faye_Messner) in 1993 after her divorce from husband and [PTL Club](/source/PTL_Club) founder [Jim Bakker](/source/Jim_Bakker). == Heritage USA == Messner gained fame with the construction of [Heritage USA](/source/Heritage_USA) in 1978 at the behest of Jim Bakker. In 1987, he and his first wife, Ruth Ann, wrote a book titled ''Building for the Master''.{{cite book |first1=Roe |last1=Messner |first2=Ruth Ann |last2=Messner |title=Building for the Master: By Design |year=1987 |publisher=RAM Media Incorporated |isbn=0-940609-00-2}} He was reportedly the person who produced the money for the $265,000 payment to [Jessica Hahn](/source/Jessica_Hahn) to cover up a sexual assault. Messner later billed PTL for work never completed on the Jerusalem Amphitheater at Heritage USA, thus playing a behind-the-scenes role in the downfall of the [PTL Club](/source/PTL_Club). {{cite news |title=Testimony: Baker knew about Hahn being paid off |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Pacific Stars and Stripes |date=September 16, 1987}} {{cite web |title=available via newspaperarchive.com |url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com}} Revelations of the payoff invited scrutiny of Bakker's finances, prompting him to be charged with fraud. In Bakker's fraud trial, Messner testified for Bakker's defense, asserting that [Jerry Falwell](/source/Jerry_Falwell) had attempted to take over PTL and its associated cable television network by dispatching Messner to the Bakker home in [Palm Springs, California](/source/Palm_Springs%2C_California) to make an offer to "keep quiet".{{citation needed|date=March 2010}} According to Messner's testimony, Tammy wrote the offer on her stationery, listing a $300,000-a-year lifetime salary for Jim, $100,000 a year for Tammy, a house, and a year's worth of free phone calls and health insurance. However, Messner said Bakker wrote on it: "I'm not making any demands on PTL. I'm not asking for anything."{{cite news |title=PTL link puts church builder Roe Messner in public eye |newspaper=Kansas City Star |publisher=The News-Post Leader |place=Frederick, Maryland |date=June 17, 1987}} {{cite web |title=available via newspaperarchive.com |url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com}}{{cite news |title=Bakker witness says Falwell offered hush money |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Capital |date=September 26, 1989}} {{cite web |title=available via newspaperarchive.com |url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com}} Falwell denied making any offer. In the messy bankruptcy of PTL, Messner was listed as the single biggest creditor of PTL with an outstanding claim of $14 million. In court papers, the new operators accused Messner of $5.3 million in inflated or phony billings to PTL.{{cite news |title=PTL accuses builder of theft conspiracy |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Daily Inieiligencer / Montgomery County Record |date=September 10, 1987}} {{cite web |title=available via newspaperarchive.com |url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com}} == Marriage to Tammy Faye == Messner divorced his first wife in 1993. At about the same time, Tammy Faye divorced Bakker. Messner and Tammy Faye were married in and lived in [Rancho Mirage, California](/source/Rancho_Mirage%2C_California).{{cite book |last1=Meeks |first1=Eric G. |title=Palm Springs Celebrity Homes: Little Tuscany, Racquet Club, Racquet Club Estates, and Desert Park Estates Neighborhoods |year=2012 |chapter=location 377 |publisher=Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe |edition=Kindle |asin=B00A2PXD1G}} In 1996, Roe was convicted of bankruptcy fraud, having claimed to owe nearly $30 million to over 300 creditors in 1990. As he faced sentencing in 1996, he said he could not afford to treat his prostate cancer because he lacked [health insurance](/source/health_insurance).{{cite web|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/21/style/chronicle-018600.html|title=Chronicle|date=March 21, 1996|author=Louie, Elaine|access-date=June 27, 2018}} He was sentenced to and served 27 months in prison.{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=Tammy Faye Bakker, 65, Emotive Evangelist, Dies|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180627073738/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/us/22bakker.html|archive-date=June 27, 2018|url-status=live|last=Gates|first=Anita|date=July 22, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/us/22bakker.html|access-date=June 26, 2018|df=mdy-all}} {{closed access}} Messner published ''Church Growth by Design'', another book on church building, in 2003.{{cite book |title=Church Growth by Design: A Complete Guide for Planning and Building Churches to God's Glory |first=Roe |last=Messner |date=September 2003 |publisher=Send The Light Distribution LLC |isbn=0-9745015-0-6}} {{full citation needed|date=March 2020}} == Later life and death == Messner and Tammy Faye moved to the [gated community](/source/gated_community) of [Loch Lloyd, Missouri](/source/Loch_Lloyd%2C_Missouri), a suburb of [Kansas City](/source/Kansas_City%2C_Missouri), in 2007. Tammy Faye died from cancer on July 20 that year; her last public appearance was a taped interview on [CNN](/source/CNN) from their home the day before. Her ashes were interred in the Messner family plot in [Waldron, Kansas](/source/Waldron%2C_Kansas), immediately next to Messner's mother.[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0708/07/lkl.01.html Larry King Interview], cnn.com. August 7, 2007. Roe Messner was first diagnosed with [prostate cancer](/source/prostate_cancer) in 1996. In 2007, he told [Larry King](/source/Larry_King) that his doctors had told him that he would not die from the disease, an accurate prediction. Messner died in [Wichita, Kansas](/source/Wichita%2C_Kansas) on March 24, 2025, at the age of 89.{{Cite web |url=https://www.heritageofandover.com/obituary/ronald-messner |title=Obituary: Ronald Roe Messner |website=heritageofandover.com |access-date=March 29, 2025}} ==Notable churches== [[Image:Dream City Church Phoenix Campus1.jpg|thumb|[Dream City Church](/source/Dream_City_Church) in Phoenix, Arizona]] Messner is reported to have been the biggest church builder in the United States. On August 7, 2007, he told [Larry King](/source/Larry_King) that he had built 1,784 churches in 47 states. Messner supervised construction of the churches but was not the architect. He designed and/or built over 1,800 churches in all 50 states.{{Cite web|title=Roe Messner & Associates, Inc. - America's Church Builder|url=https://roemessner.com/|access-date=2022-02-24|website=roemessner.com}} *Calvary Temple (1958) – [Denver, Colorado](/source/Denver) *Pleasant Valley Methodist (1960) – [Wichita, Kansas](/source/Wichita%2C_Kansas) *Oak Cliff Assembly of God (1963) – [Dallas, Texas](/source/Dallas) *Evangelical United Brethren (1967) – [Marion, Kansas](/source/Marion%2C_Kansas) *[World Harvest Church](/source/World_Harvest_Church) (1983) – [Columbus, Ohio](/source/Columbus%2C_Ohio) *[Dream City Church](/source/Dream_City_Church) (1984) – [Phoenix, Arizona](/source/Phoenix%2C_Arizona) *Rockford First Assembly of God (1984) – [Rockford, Illinois](/source/Rockford%2C_Illinois) *Capital Christian Center (1984) – [Sacramento, California](/source/Sacramento%2C_California) *Hillside Christian Center (1986) – [Napa, California](/source/Napa%2C_California) *[Carpenter's Home Church](/source/Carpenter's_Home_Church) (1986) – [Lakeland, Florida](/source/Lakeland%2C_Florida) *Church on the Rock (1986) – [Rockwall, Texas](/source/Rockwall%2C_Texas) *Bethel Church – [Redding, California](/source/Redding%2C_California) *[Calvary Church (Charlotte)](/source/Calvary_Church_(Charlotte)) (1988) – [Charlotte, North Carolina](/source/Charlotte%2C_North_Carolina) *[Bellevue Baptist Church](/source/Bellevue_Baptist_Church) (1989) – [Memphis, Tennessee](/source/Memphis%2C_Tennessee) *Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (1989) – [Decatur, Georgia](/source/Decatur%2C_Georgia) *The Gate Church (1990) – [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma_City) *Deliverance Church (1990) – [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania](/source/Philadelphia) *Central Community Church (1990) – [Wichita, Kansas](/source/Wichita%2C_Kansas) *Point Harbor Community Church (2003) – [Chesapeake, Virginia](/source/Chesapeake%2C_Virginia) *Redemption (2003) – [Greenville, South Carolina](/source/Greenville%2C_South_Carolina) ==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}} ==External links== * {{IMDb name| 0582261}} * [http://www.roemessner.com Roe Messner & Associates, Inc. website] {{PTL scandal}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Messner, Roe}} Category:1935 births Category:2025 deaths Category:American businesspeople in construction Category:American businesspeople convicted of crimes Category:American people convicted of fraud Category:People from Harper County, Kansas Category:Businesspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina Category:Businesspeople from Wichita, Kansas Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roe Messner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_Messner) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_Messner?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.