Who gains from the prosperity gospel

In a sermon, "Provision for the Vision," T.D. Jakes bragged about his stable of luxury cars. His materialism resembles that of other prosperity preachers like Fred Price, who fly from coast to coast in his Lear jet,. Hillard, who wears full-length fur coats, an expensive diamond ring, and flies in his private helicopter to avoid traffic while traveling to the churches he pastors in north and southwest Houston. Prosperity preachers flaunt tremendous wealth before their congregants as validation of their faith.

Pastor Joel Osteen owns the largest Pentecostal Church in the U.S.A, with some 30,000 people attending Lake Wood Community Church in Houston. Osteen (the smiling preacher) has a reason to smile. He has taken the congregation started by his father and turned it into the largest Church in the US. And he has (as he is quick to tell us) an elegant home, well adjust kids and an adoring ministry9

Osteen like other Pentecostal pastors have no problems with money, they can get as much as they want from their followers even though it means to threaten them death.

Many of these pastors own personal jets, have fenced houses, drive the latest cars and have billions on their accounts. One Pastor, (Kiwewesi) made a wedding which cost his followers 362 million Uganda shillings. I am sure no apostle would be so extravagant to that extent considering that many street children and orphans go hungry for days. Pastor Hinn turned his Mercedes for a Jaguar and moved from the exclusive Heathrow development to the even more exclusive Alaqua in a $685,000 home. His suits are tailored, his shoes are Italian leather, and his wrists and finger glitter with gold and diamonds. He wears his diamond Rolex, diamond rings, gold bracelet and custom suits for all to see. He forced his followers to donate to him money (which God will return many times fold) in order to buy a new jet worth $36 millions which he later bought.

Pastor Jackson Senyonga from the poor country of Uganda owns a Television Station and a number of radio stations, an NGO, plus a multi hundred seater church which all combined generate millions of shillings in a single day, Do not be deceived, though these income generating activities are as a result of peoples offering and tithe, the proceeds are not for the members but for a few.

Pastor Chis Oyakhilome’s weekly services are said to draw an average of 30,000 faithful, more than some European soccer teams draw for their games. At every crusade, seats are booked in advance. He owns hundreds of churches in many countries which generate great revenue. He also owns the Love world television ministry, Global distributors network, Love world cyber ministry, and the entire Christ embassy Missions plus a publishing house. It is also important to note that he is one of the richest African Pastors.

Bishop David Oyedepo is the founder of Living Faith Ministries a.k.a. Winners' Chapel based in Nigeria with a capacity of 50,000 worshippers and features a 5,000-strong choir. In Lagos, members are given free bus rides to the church. \he has more than 1500 branches world wide. He owns prestigious primary schools, secondary schools, and a university with three different colleges which charge high fees. He also owns a powerful publishing house, Gilead medical centers, a garage of state-of-the-art cars, has a private jet and make fortunes through the sale of gift certificates

If I present the wealth of Reverend (Dr.) Enoch Adejare Adeboye, space for this book will be too big. The man has a vast empire from Africa to other contents with more 200 parishes in the USA. His riches are so vast that we will not able to present them in this book, other wise we will be limited by resources.

Edir Macedo is the founder of Brazilian based Universal Church of the Kingdom Church, only in Brazil alone the church has more than 2000 branches with each branch collecting millions dollars per month. However that is only Brazil, the church has braches in more than 45 other countries. Even in my country of Uganda, this church is moving to close to half a dozen branches. Edir Macedo church has its own bank (Banco Credito Metropolitano), 14 Television stations, 40 radio stations, daily and weekly newspapers; a bank and shares in an offshore Cayman Islands company called Investholding Ltd.; a travel company; a construction firm to build and adapt churches and even a furniture company to supply pews. Wow!

There is little time to talk about other Pentecostal pastors who have become exceedingly rich while their followers become poorer, Men like Paul Crouch, John Hagee, Kenneth Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, Howard Brown, Rehrnd Bonker, Rod Parsley, Robert Kayanja, Imelda Namutebi, Benson Idahosa, Joseph Serwadda, and a host of many others who no longer have any problems with money what so ever. They have really collected amazing wealth not for church but for them selves. This is so because though those pastors can afford staying in luxurious hotels, many of there followers battle so hard to meet their rent.

There is no doubt at all that those who gain from the wealth and health gospel are the pastors while many of their followers live in poverty. Pentecostal prosperity preachers continue to live like CEOs of cooperate companies while encouraging their members to confess and possess the same financial prosperity.
In real life, many Pentecostals are living on promises; they have big money problems but convinced by their pastors that they are rich and they have been made to believe that sowing the seed is there major duty. It’s just probable that some people in a group of many can get rich in the Church (some because they are hard working, educated, inherited richness…) It is these few who are used to give testimonies which are so misleading to others.

In today’s world, people plant churches after failing to secure jobs. They decide to start churches so as to get money for survival. These churches now flourishing with members who never know that their pastor’s main aim of starting the church was to get money. However, this is not only in Uganda, all over the world, people are starting churches for money reasons. The followers are however deceived that it was a calling from God. Such pastors invent stories of how God called them to the ministries with many claiming that they saw fire or a strange light or even hard the voice of God himself.