Televangelist Joel Osteen’s megachurch in Houston received a $4.4 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.
The loan received by Osteen’s Lakewood Church was the first time federal lawmakers provided direct financial assistance for a house of worship, the Houston Chronicle reported.
As part of the federal CARES Act that gave coverage to employers to pay for employee wages and other operational costs and needs during the coronavirus pandemic, Lakewood Church received the third-highest loan in the Houston area, according to the Houston Business Journal, citing federal data.
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Lakewood spokesman Donald Iloff told the Business Journal the PPP funds went to 368 full- and part-time employees.
He added that services suspended at the church between March 15 and Oct. 18 impacted the church’s ability to “collect substantial donations,” which prompted Lakewood to apply for the loan.
“Believing the shutdown would only last a few weeks, Lakewood did not initially apply for PPP assistance during the first half of the program,” Iloff said in a statement. “However, as the shutdown persisted month after month, given the economic uncertainty, Lakewood finally applied for the PPP loan and has been able to provide full salaries and benefits including health insurance coverage to all of its employees and their families.”
Iloff underscored that since 2004, neither Joel nor Victoria Osteen receives salaries from Lakewood Church, and “PPP funds do not provide any personal financial benefit to them, whatsoever.”
The Chronicle reported in July that more than 1,000 religious groups in Texas received hundreds of millions of dollars in PPP loans to preserve a total of 59,000 jobs.
Other notable religious groups such as the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, First Baptist Church of Houston and St. Mark Lutheran Church also received loans from the federal program.
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- Discussion
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Joel Osteen's Texas megachurch received $4.4 million COVID-19 stimulus loan https://t.co/hwIetDNX55 pic.twitter.com/pvCRzpypdj
— The Hill (@thehill) December 15, 2020
This is why I’m not in favor of stimulus and all the other supposed virus relief packages. Too many who shouldn’t get help get it and too many who are in dire straits are left out in the cold. Typical government corruption, fraud, waste and mismanagement.
This should NOT have happened. We are supposed to have separation of church and state. Churches do not pay taxes as far as I know. 4.4 million and nothing for people living paycheck to paycheck who have lost their jobs. Oh yes, I forgot. They got a stinking $1200.
Some people believe churches should be taxed. I have mixed feelings about that. The so-called mega-churches which pull in huge amounts of money — yes. To me they are a business , even a crooked business, and should be liable for taxation just like any legitimate or criminal enterprise would be.
But there is a small church across the street from my house — small congregation (maybe 30 members tops), no major fundraising apparatus or a central church paying its bills and the members aren’t exactly wealthy. By taxing that church, in effect, the parishioners will be the ones paying and many of them are unemployed since the pandemic. How would they be able to afford their taxes and the church’s too?
Osteen crying poverty since the pandemic is laughable. If he needed money to pay his employees, maybe he could sell one of his fabulous homes or whatever “toys” he owns. Taking money from a program meant to help struggling businesses is criminal. Osteen and whoever allowed his “church” to benefit should be in prison.
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