Pastor Joel Osteen breaks down in tears as he tells congregation $100m loan to convert NBA stadium into Texas megachurch has been paid off after just 19 years: ‘It’s because of your faithfulness’
Megachurch pastor Joel Osteen has paid off a $100 million loan for renovations at his church in just 19 years with donations thanks to his congregation’s ‘faithfulness’.
Osteen burst into tears as he ripped up the loan agreement on Sunday during a service at the 17,000 seat NBA stadium turned church in Houston, Texas.
He has led the non-denominational Lakewood Church, popular with celebrities including Kanye West, for over 20 years and has grown the congregation to over 50,000 people, with some 200 million viewers tuning in online each week.
The pastor – who is estimated to have a personal net worth of over $40 million – has provoked controversy in the past for taking a $4.4 million government Covid loan and initially refusing to let victims of Hurricane Harvey shelter in his church.
He has also been criticized for his extravagant lifestyle and palatial home, which was recently valued at $14 million, but he defends his wealth, once saying: ‘We just feel like this is God’s blessings.’
Osteen, 60, took over the Houston Rockets’ arena in 2005, signing a 60-year lease for $11.5 million. In his sermon on January 14, he said: ‘Daddy left us that kind of money so we just signed that lease.’
It was ‘quite the ordeal’ to get the building and they were quoted $100 million to renovate it from an arena into a church.
Osteen said that the first bank they approached for a loan had been ‘so negative’ and told him ‘Man, it’s not going to happen’.
But he said he let their negativity ‘go in one ear and out the other’ and approached the Bank of America instead.
He said: ‘They showed up at our office, first day we were there, without even knowing us, they hadn’t even seen our financials, and they had a check for $25million they said that we could borrow.’
The Bank eventually agreed to loan them the $100 million needed to transform the building into a church from a stadium.
As of December 31, he said they had officially paid off the loan, saying: ‘It’s because of your faithfulness. What God has done for Lakewood he is going to do in your lives.’
He also acknowledged that interest had been ‘historically low’ for much of the 19 years meaning they were ‘good stewards’ of ‘God’s money’.
The pastor came under fire in 2017 in the wake of Hurricane Harvey when he initially refused to allow evacuees to shelter in the church, claiming it was flooded.
He finally let people in after critics filmed the seemingly-dry church and public outrage grew.
Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria who often appears with him during the services
Osteen’s personal wealth has been estimated at anywhere between $40 million and $100 million.
His sprawling home, in the exclusive River Oaks area of Houston is valued at $14 million by property site Zillow.
The 17,000-square-foot property has six bedrooms, six bathrooms, three elevators, a one-bedroom guest house, and a pool house.
Osteen has two children, Jonathan, 28, and Alexandra, 25, who are both heavily involved in the church, with his wife and business partner, Victoria.
Victoria, 62, is the co-pastor at the Church and has authored and co-authored several books with her husband.
When asked by Oprah whether he felt the need to apologize for his wealth, Osteen said: ‘I really don’t… We just feel like this is God’s blessings.’
He added: ‘We live what we preach. We’ve given millions of dollars and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a nice place to live and being blessed.’
During an interview with PennLive in 2013, Osteen said: ‘It is not that tradition saying you are supposed to be poor and humble.
‘I believe Jesus died so we can have an abundant life and be leaders. I believe that’s a part of the ministry that resonates with people.
‘I believe God wants you to prosper in your health, in your family, in your relationships, in your business, and in your career. If that is the prosperity gospel, then I do believe that.’
Osteen said he doesn’t feel the need to apologize for his wealth as it is all ‘blessings’ from God
Osteen came under fire in 2017 in the wake of Hurricane Harvey when he reportedly refused to allow evacuees to shelter in his church until he was the subject of fierce public backlash.
He originally claimed he couldn’t let people inside because the building was flooded, but then when people shared videos of the seemingly dry church he opened it up.
He later appeared on the Today show and described the scandal as a ‘false narrative’ peddled by critics of his church.
In 2020, he came under fire again when his church took $4.4 million in bailouts as part of the federal government’s COVID-19 relief program for small businesses.
A year later he repaid the loan after being widely condemned.
