Joel Osteen’s church received $4M in PPP loans
Lakewood Church gained funds through the federal COVID-19 stimulus package despite officials previously stating they did not apply.
A new report reveals that Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch was the recipient of millions of dollars in federal funding intended to aid businesses suffering through the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Houston Business Journal reported that Osteen’s Lakewood Church was granted $4.4M in Paycheck Protection Program bailouts. The loan was the third-highest in the Houston area during the entirety of July and August. According to spokesman Donald Iloff, the funds were divided between 368 full- and part-time employees. He cited the lack of in-person church service between March 15 through Oct. 18 due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason the church was not able to collect donations.
“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 according to the outlet. “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.”
He continued “It is important to note that, since 2004, Pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen have not received salaries from Lakewood Church, and the PPP funds do not provide any personal financial benefit to them, whatsoever.”
In October, in-person worship services resumed at 25% of of the church’s normal capacity which Iloff said is around 16,000 people.
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Still, according to the outlet, the famed church was not the only one to receive PPP funding. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was approved for a $4M PPP loan, First Baptist Church of Houston was approved for a $3.1M PPP loan, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church was approved for a PPP loan of approximately $2.2M, and more.
The Houston Business Journal reported that over 1,000 religious organizations in the greater Houston area, including churches, synagogues, mosques, and faith-based schools, were approved for PPP loans.
Lakewood’s PPP loan was originated by Bank of America, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration data, the Business Journal reported. As for Osteen, the Business Journal reported his net worth as $60M as of 2017. Lakewood Church is the largest megachurch in the United States.
Osteen faced social media backlash after the news of the PPP loan spread.
As theGrio reported, in the spring, the church celebrated the Easter holiday with a star-studded virtual event including Mariah Carey and Tyler Perry.
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