mega churches and money
The church has 236 people on staff and used the “overwhelming majority” of the PPP money for payroll. “You could tell there were a few folks that let out a sigh of relief,” he said. Can Megachurches Deal With Mega Money in a Christian Way? “It was really intended to be a lifeline for small businesses,” said Ashley Harrington, Federal Advocacy Director of the Center for Responsible Lending. From Joel Osteen's recent CNN interview, to last week's Elephant Room conferences, the very public lives of the country's top religious leaders frequently bring strong criticism. As one member commented, “You hit a certain size and you can become self-generating. Singer of “Satan, Bite the Dust!” and “R.I.O.T. When the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, the possibility of losing what she had worked hard so hard became all the more apparent. In all, the federal government gave more than $7 billion in loans to religious organizations. The PPP rules say loans will be converted to grants if 75 percent of the funds are used for payroll and the rest for specified needs, including rent and utilities. “They didn’t need this money, which was really designated for small businesses that were hurting,” he said. Exploring the Megachurch Phenomena: Their characteristics and cultural context. (Righteous Invasion of Truth)” believed in the power of celebrity and spectacle to draw people to Jesus. Nearly 50 percent of large churches spend between 39 percent and 52 percent of their annual budget on staffing costs, translating to 1 full-time paid staff for every 51 to 90 attendees. “That program is a worthwhile exception to the general rule,” Vaughn told Christianity Today. About $7.3 billion went to religious organizations, according to government records. These churches of darkness are flourishing by discrediting the Scriptures. Funding churches is one way to do that. Other churches that received PPP funds have similar stories. “We wanted to make sure that we didn’t have people walking around nervous and worrying. Ashley Harrington is the Federal Advocacy Director of the Center for Responsible Lending. Palm Valley, like about 40 percent of Protestant churches in the United States according to a LifeWay Research survey, decided to apply for the forgivable loan. The additional 7 percent went to rent and utilities. “Is it really manna from heaven? American churches took in as much as $10 billion in taxpayer funds through PPP loans. Megachurch Pastor Caught Buying Private Jet With PPP Funds. It has also set aside funds specifically for businesses with 10 employees or fewer, according to the press release. Popular Christian financial advisor Dave Ramsey strongly discouraged churches from taking the money on his radio show, for example. The average salary for a lead pastor in a megachurch is $147,000, according to a recent survey. Financial troubles forced Rick Warren to send a desperate plea for money to his Saddleback congregation two years ago. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The Houston megachurch, the largest in the nation with 52,000 weekly congregants, received the forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loan in … Mega churches across the United States are becoming increasingly popular which is not only bringing thousands of worshippers together, but also billions of dollars in profit. Many megachurches preach a prosperity gospel, the idea that God wants us to be rich, and if you aren't, it's through some fault of your own. “But we can try to demand something better.”, 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. It’s manna from Caesar, that’s for sure,” he said. But still, megachurch pastors who received the funds understand why it’s controversial. Black opened the gelato store in Arlington, Virginia, in December 2019 -- soon after returning home from a 13-month deployment in the Navy reserves. Protestant churches are no different. Restaurant chains like like Shake Shack, Ruth’s and Chris Steak House came under fire last year after they received $10 million or more in PPP loans. Who gets a helping hand from PPP loan program? It would have been a much heavier lift.”. She said it wasn’t even enough to cover one month’s rent. His ministry operates several branches including the NGO Inner City Missions for Children, three Christian television channels, the Loveworld book series, the Healing School and the Rhapsody of … You attract people by your sheer size. “Here’s why: You just let the federal government into the management of your organization.”. But the PPP money came with guarantees that the government wouldn’t interfere with the church’s business and it helped the church better serve its community in a time of acute need, Vaughn said. Vaughn is sympathetic to that point of view. With the PPP program now reopened and more people with a critical eye on its lending, the SBA did not respond to specific questions from ABC News. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. MORE: Coronavirus live updates: Biden admin won't lift COVID travel restrictions after Trump announces changes for UK, Europe, MORE: JPMorgan Chase investigating misuse of pandemic aid funds, MORE: Luxury hotels benefited from PPP loans. Billions of dollars from the first round of loans through the Paycheck Protection Program went to wealthy and well-connected businesses that were more likely to be white-owned, according to data released by the Small Business Administration (SBA), which manages the program, as reported by ABC News. The 13,000-member Southern Baptist megachurch received between $2 million and $5 million in April, according to OpenTheBooks.com. It’s not likely that churches will have to return their loan money at this point, but there’s still time to determine if the government privileged certain religious applicants or used taxpayer money in inappropriate ways, said Alison Gill, the vice president of policy for American Atheists, an organization fighting for more separation between church and state. Prominent media coverage of many of the nation's leading Christian pastors often places their lives and actions under the public microscope. How a group of white church planters learned to listen to African Americans and build a better Christian community. He has told his congregation that the home is a gift from God. University of Pennsylvania sociologist Ram Cnaan describes it as a “halo effect.” Churches provide social services, from counseling to child care, and also spend money locally. Thumma, a professor at Hartford Seminary, has since his book reported that the average megachurch income was $6.5 million in 2007, up from $4.7 million in … Megachurches, where pastors are sometimes worth millions of dollars, were also able to qualify for PPP. Scott Thumma, PhD. Televangelist Joel Osteen's megachurch in Houston received a $4.4 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.. LifeWay Research says nearly a quarter of Protestant churches applied for money and more than half of them received it. So did the investment trusts that own them. Claim your free 50GB now The church behind one mega-preacher, Joseph Prince, was forced to deny that he earned an annual salary of $550,000, after his wealth was reported online. Email: sthumma@hartsem.edu If you are interested in megachurches, you might find this 2007 book co-authored by Hartford Institute professor, Scott Thumma, interesting.. According to Vaughn’s accounting, the church spent 93 percent of the money on payroll. The SBA also extended the PPP loans to nonprofit groups, which normally wouldn’t qualify through the agency. T wo organizations that know megachurches well have released a new study they describe as “by far the biggest-scale, cross-denominational response … Because Palm Valley’s staff didn’t have to worry about their job security, they were able to focus fully on caring for the church in the pandemic, Vaughn said. Although some argue granting them loans under the program was appropriate as churches are employers and service providers, law professor Micah Schwartzman of the University of Virginia says it’s not that simple. In a press release, the agency said that it is "calling upon its lending partners to redouble their efforts to assist eligible borrowers in underserved and disadvantaged communities.". “It was crazy to me that I'm reading like, this company got $2 million ... and it's just like, is this a joke?”. Despite four months of not meeting in person, the Southern Baptist multisite megachurch, with regular weekly attendance of 14,000 people at nine locations, didn’t have to lay off any staff. Sandals has given away 13,000 boxes of food since the pandemic hit California, as well as 10,000 medical-grade face masks, 400 face shields, 100 pairs of goggles, and 15,000 protective hospital gowns. This can serve as a powerful attraction to one who is contemplating which local church to attend. “It changes the landscape of how the federal government [and] state governments relate to religious organizations.". The average net income of megachurches was estimated at $4.8 million by that same survey. Her business is more than that, though; it also fulfills a promise that she made to her 4-year-old daughter Isabella. Schwartzman pointed out that there was “no serious political or public opposition” to religious organizations being eligible for PPP loans like other nonprofits. Palm Valley staff called every member of the church to check in every two weeks, praying for them, encouraging them, and listening to their needs. In a study of 90 churches in three urban areas, Cnaan found each house of worship contributed $1.2 million to $2.5 million to the local economy every year. “We’re learning how to be a diverse congregation,” Vaughn said. Sign Up For Our Newsletter “It’s a triple don’t do it for churches,” Ramsey said. The Catholic Church might have taken in as much as $3.5 billion. Mega church memberships generally explode within a two- to five-year period, becoming overnight successes. MEGA provides free cloud storage with convenient and powerful always-on privacy. Providing money to churches was unprecedented and controversial—even among evangelicals. Two in 5 Protestant pastors (40%) say their church has applied for government assistance offered through the CARES Act or the Small Business Administration, while 56% say they have not. Sandals Church, in Riverside, California, received a loan between $1 million and $2 million, according to executive director Brian Chelette. “If we had been short-staffed once that aspect of things came to the surface and we recognized we needed to lean into those things, it would have been really hard. Vaughn said he would normally be skeptical himself. He said the “objection” to megachurches receiving the loans is similar to that of large corporations receiving the loans. The first thing Vaughn did when he got the news was tell church’s 24 full-time and 20 part-time staff members that their jobs were safe. Mars Hill Church spent $210,000 getting its pastor's book to the top of the New York Times best-seller list. A new investigation has found that millions of dollars worth of PPP funds ended up going to megachurches, which was a violation of the terms of the PPP loans. Read Why Do Churches Ask for So Much Money? Life.Church, which is headquartered in Edmond, Oklahoma, but has 34 locations and produces podcasts and online religion programs, received between $5m and $10m and said the money … The CARES Act was trying to pump money into the economy. Perhaps the next Mega-Church will have well padded reclining seats and offer popcorn & drinks for their Sunday entertainment. And at least one pastor seized on … “I was furious,” said Black. get one year free. Thereasa Black opened her gelato shop in Arlington, Virginia, in December 2019. Multi-millionaire Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church received $4.4 million in PPP loans, while Robert Jeffress’ First Baptist Dallas received $2.2 million and Joyce Meyers Ministries received $5 million. "What makes our PPP different [from] past funding programs is the direct financing of religious operations and religious institutions,” said Schwartzman. “I saw everything crumbling, and then it was a question of like, ‘What now?’” she said. Joel Osteen, another Texas megachurch pastor, received $350,000 to $1 million in loans for his Houston-based Lakewood Church, or about one-fifth what First Baptist of Dallas received. The church also organized a volunteer force to help with several projects, including providing care packages to area hospitals and serving a local food bank. Black said she applied for grants and applied for a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program in April, which aims to help small business owners like her stay afloat. “I mean, reality is that we can't write the rules,” she said. Lakewood Church and Joyce Meyers Ministries told ABC News that the money from the loans was used to save hundreds of jobs and that the pastors did not receive any of the money … Approximately 50 churches in the U.S. have a weekly attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000 people from Dr. Roger Barrier and get Christian, Biblical advice on today's issues. Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church is probably the biggest church in the United States, with 50,000 or so members. They have since returned the money. Because of that, Chelette said, they were able to put a lot of energy into helping those in need. … Having the resources to be at full staff I believe firmly enabled us to lean into racial justice.”. He is a faith healer who preaches that faith can heal all illnesses. Died: Carman, Christian Showman Who Topped Charts with Triumphant Faith, Ravi Zacharias’s Denomination Revokes Ordination, RZIM Confirms Ravi Zacharias’s Sexual Misconduct, Canadian Pastor Jailed Over COVID-19 Violations, Ravi Zacharias’s Books Pulled by HarperCollins After RZIM Investigative Report, The Multiethnic Church Movement Hasn’t Lived up to Its Promise. By tithing to the church as much money as possible, you show your faith in the Lord and it — according to the church — will return to you, the parishioner, a … Churches do provide extensive economic benefits to their communities. Christianity Today strengthens the church by richly communicating the breadth of the true, good, and beautiful gospel. There was just too much to do, and so we needed everybody’s head in the game.”. The church’s 52-year-old senior pastor was hired in 2005, it employs 25 staff members, and attendance has been recently growing 7 percent per year. Palm Valley is one of more than 88,000 religious organizations that received money from the Small Business Administration as part of the CARES Act, which President Donald Trump signed in March. Small businesses are hoping for more than a miracle. Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. “The public perception is that some organizations that have financial means should not have taken the money, even if they were eligible for it,” he added. “Not only has the PPP helped the strategic shift, but it’s also helped maintain the teams that are focused on caring for and supporting our communities,” Chelette told CT. “Strong churches help ensure strong communities.”. Duping those who wanted to be duped. Yet Nigerian churches do often invest large amounts of their congregations’ money in shares and property, at home and abroad, he and another banking source said. The Edmond, Okla.-based church, pastored by Craig Groeschel, brought in $143.4 million in cash and noncash donations in 2018 and reported $281 … Willow Creek … In the end, Black said she was denied the PPP loan because she had applied for it through multiple lenders even though she had been advised to do so. “What’s it going to look like in terms of the optics in the long term, that this is where the church went for a rescue?”. The church has also given 170 computer tablets to seniors, to help them better communicate with loved ones while isolated by the pandemic. Lakewood Church and Joyce Meyers Ministries told ABC News that the money from the loans was used to save hundreds of jobs and that the pastors did not receive any of the money themselves. Chuck Bentley, CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, had similar concerns. The first thing Vaughn did when he … His church, the New Creation Church in Singapore, is one of the largest in Asia, with a congregation of 31,000. With their full staff, the church could also better engage the national conversation about racism and policing after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. The mega church is located in Lagos. “It means everything to me, honestly,” said Black. First Baptist did not return a request for comment from ABC News. Data from the SBA showed churches led by Evangelical TV stars received anywhere from $250,000 to $5 million in loans. He also understands why those outside the church might be skeptical of religious organizations getting money from the federal government. The mega-church model which was the flavor of the week in church leadership circles for decades is now beginning to crumble. “We’re not a business, but we are an employer in the community,” he said. “I think most people understand that these are special circumstances during the pandemic, and so there wasn’t any major public outcry about this,” he said. Joel Osteen, the pastor of Lakewood Church, stands with his wife, Victoria Osteen, as he conducts a service at his church as the city starts the process of rebuilding after severe flooding during Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey, Sep. 3, 2017, in Houston. Churches are exempt from income taxes. What can we do about it? Megachurches were integrated by blacks seeking to end ‘the most segregated hour in America.’ But now those churches are getting Trumpy, and blacks are leaving. Religious groups got $7.3B in forgivable loans. Salaries for lead pastors go as high as $400,000 to as low as $40,000, Leadership Network reported in its 2010 Large Church Salary and Benefits Report. North Carolina Pastor Stephen Furtick of megachurch Elevation Church is building a $1.7 million-dollar home. With the government set to issue a new round of business loans as part of its latest COVID-19 relief bill, struggling small businesses, like Thereasa Black’s gelato shop, are hoping for more than a miracle. The loan received by Osteen's Lakewood Church … The CARES Act gave $521 billion in PPP funds to small businesses, nonprofits, and churches between the beginning of April and the end of June. But in some cases they do … Browse 60+ years of magazine archives and web exclusives. The money helped with more than just paying the bills, however. ABC News’ Faith Abubey reports on the struggle for minority-owned small businesses to secure PPP loans, and megachurches facing scrutiny after securing funds. mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Black said that during the entire month of April 2020, her business had made only a day’s worth, or 10%, of pre-pandemic sales. President Michael Lindsay among 26 CCCU presidents urging an exemption clause in pending executive order. Meanwhile, thousands of minority-owned small businesses waited longer and received less money, or no money at all, the Associated Press reported. Palm Valley, which is about 50 percent white and 50 percent African American and Latino, invited African American members to share their experiences of racism with the congregation. After a painstaking application process, Black said she was approved for only $2,000. Law professor Micah Schwartzman of the University of Virginia. The nondenominational megachurch, which has about 5,000 people in two locations on a normal Sunday, received $400,000. Now, Black is one of many other business owners back in line to apply for loans and demand change from the PPP program in order to save their businesses. “The loan really helped us to be able to make other decisions that allowed us to be that much more of a blessing to the community.”, Subscribe to CT and Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT. Gordon College Loses City Contract, Gets Accreditation Scrutiny. Mike Vaughn doesn’t think churches should accept money from the government, normally. “This company is literally my promise to her that I'm never going to leave her again.”. “However, there were, from the outset, structural flaws with this program, structural barriers.”. “I think we still would have done it [without the PPP funds],” Vaughn said, “but we would have been short-handed. Multiracial churches have not been good news for everyone. The nondenominational megachurch, which has about 5,000 people in two locations on a normal Sunday, received $400,000. But when the administrative pastor of the Palm Valley Church in Goodyear, Arizona, looked at the looming economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus shutdowns, the staff jobs he was trying to save, and the way Congress structured the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to be used by religious organizations, he felt different. Thereasa Black opened her gelato shop to fulfill a promise to her daughter Isabella in Arlington, Virginia, in December 2019. That financial security helped ministry teams focus. A Kansas City mega-church just lost their 20 million dollar campus to the bank. More than 400 evangelical churches received loans of at least $1 million. Been good news for everyone were able to qualify for PPP the next mega-church will well... [ mega churches and money ] state governments relate to religious organizations getting money from the government normally... I 'm never going to leave her again. ” no money at all, the Associated reported. Today strengthens the church has also given 170 computer tablets to seniors to! Editors of CT. Gordon College Loses City Contract, Gets Accreditation Scrutiny to a! From taking the money helped with more than just paying the bills however. 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