Osteen is often criticized for sermons which teach that wealth is a sign of God's favor (Pictured: Osteen's mansion in the River Oaks neighborhood of Houston)Īccording to the Houston Chronicle, Osteen's Lakewood Church repaid the money after the stadium-sized facility was widely-condemned for accepting the cash in 2020.Ī spokesman claimed at that time that they needed the loan because the church - which can 16,800 worshippers at one time - was unable to take weekly collections during COVID closures ,which it says helps pay its 368 staff.īut that sparked an outcry, as details of Osteen's extreme wealth were once again shared. The amount was just a portion of donations made from one weekend of services and it has never been found. In 2014, $600,000 worth of donations were stolen from the church. He said hundreds of envelopes were filled with cash and checks. Houston police confirmed to that cash and checks were found in the wall, and that they talked to 'everybody associated with the building' they were able to contact. 'We went to go remove the toilet, and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall, and I was like 'Oh wow!'' 'There was a loose toilet in the wall, and we removed the tile,' he explained during the call Thursday morning. ![]() ![]() Justin was called in to America's largest church, Lakewood Church, on November 10 to fix a broken toilet, he said. “If he never had been doing that work behind that toilet, they would have never known that money was there.”Ĭrimestoppers of Houston told KPRC that a tipster would have to contact the organisation with information prompting the arrest of a suspect to receive the funds, but that the statute of limitation, in this case, has expired and no money will be given out.Megachurch pastor Joel Osteen has been questioned by police after 'bags and bags' of cash and checks were found in about 500 envelopes in a bathroom wall at Lakewood Church in Texas.Ī plumber who worked at the church and only gave his first name, Justin, called into a Houston radio morning 100.3 The Bull show to tell them about his shocking discovery, which comes seven years after about $600,000 in donations was stolen and hasn't been recovered. “He’s the one who found it,” Mr Lindsey said of the plumber. Did they have an accident, you know what I mean? It’s like, why did they never go back? If it’s that money, why did they never go back?” Mr Lindsey said.Ī Lakewood Church representative confirmed that the envelopes had been found during the restroom repairs, according to KRPC.Ĭrimestoppers of Houston offered a reward of $25,000 at the time of the burglary for tips that would lead to arrests. “Don’t you want to know what happened, I mean they stole the money, but they didn’t get it out of the wall. The Houston Police Department is still investigating the 2014 burglary and it’s not clear how much money the plumber found in the toilet wall. Morning show host George Lindsey said on Thursday that “he relayed to us that in 2014 there was a big story about money being stolen from Lakewood church that they never recovered”. “I went ahead and contacted the maintenance supervisor that was there, and I turned it all in,” he said. The caller added that around 3,000 envelopes stuffed with checks and cash were eventually found.
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