A tearful Joel Osteen recently announced that his megachurch, Lakewood Church in Houston, has paid off the $100 million loan it took out 20 years ago.

Standing with his wife, the televangelist emotionally shared during services on Jan. 14 that Lakewood’s loan from Bank of America was officially paid off on December 31, 2023.

Osteen’s congregation, which averages about 45,000 in person each week with millions more watching online, responded with cheers and a standing ovation.

And Osteen, using language common among prosperity preachers, thanked his supporters for their faithful giving and promised financial and other blessings in return.

“You guys have seed in the ground,” Osteen said. “. . . And the message today is that we’re out of debt . . . But what God’s done for Lakewood, he’s gonna do in your life, I believe, in 2024. You’re gonna see God release you from some things that have held you back—release you from debt and release you from addictions, release you from wrong mindsets. I just believe a year of release, a year of just God’s goodness in new ways.”

Similarly, Osteen’s wife, Victoria Osteen, referred to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, where the master tells a servant, who is faithful with little, that he will be put “in charge of many things.”

“He’s seen every seed you’ve sown,” Victoria Osteen said. “He sees your heart. He sees your life. And he wants it to be more. He has created you to rule over more than you have right now. But you have to be faithful with what’s in your hands right now.”

Joel Osteen assumed the pastorate at Lakewood in 1999, soon after his father and founder of Lakewood Church, John Osteen, passed away. At the time, the church met in an 8,000-seat sanctuary.

But in 2003, Lakewood leased the former Compaq Center. The former sports arena needed major renovations to transition into a church with child-care facilities and meeting rooms.

Osteen told his congregation that when one bank rejected Lakewood’s application for a loan, the church turned to Bank of America. Without even looking at Lakewood’s financials, the bank quickly loaned the church $25 million and eventually bankrolled the entire $100-million renovation, Osteen said.

“(Bank of America) had a check for $25 million dollars that they said we could borrow, and I thought—” Osteen said while pausing to choke back tears. “I saw that 25 million. I said, ‘You let us borrow 25. Would you let us borrow $100 million?’ They said, ‘We’ll do it.’”

After acquiring financing, Lakewood renovated the space into a 16,800-seat auditorium. The church later built a five-story building adjacent to the arena for offices and its broadcast operation.

In 2010, Lakewood purchased the arena, which it had been leasing. This enabled the church to continue its meteoric growth into one of the largest churches in the world with broadcasts reaching an estimated 7 million people in over 100 countries.

“I want to say it again, it’s because of your faithfulness,” Osteen told his congregation. “You got to know you have seed in the ground. . . . Twenty-four hours a day, Sirius Radio goes out, and hundreds of millions of people watch and listen. And you know what? It’s faithful people that support it.”

In 2021, Osteen’s church made headlines for taking out another loan—a $4.4 million loan received through the U.S. government’s Paycheck Protection Program. That loan also originated through Bank of America.

The church said it used the loan to provide salaries and benefits for its 370 employees during the COVID pandemic, adding that none of the loan was used to pay salaries for Osteen and his wife. Yet, after receiving public criticism, the church said it would pay back the entire loan.

Osteen also has faced criticism for his promotion of the prosperity gospel, which many consider a convenient heresy, encouraging people to give preachers their money in return for promised health and wealth.

Osteen has drawn criticism for his lavish lifestyle, too. He lives in a 15,700-square-foot mansion in Houston worth about $12 million. And he owns a California home worth more than $7.3 million.

This article has been updated to reflect revised information about the assets of Pastor Osteen and his ministry.

Julie Roys is a veteran investigative reporter and founder of The Roys Report. She also previously hosted a national talk show on the Moody Radio Network, called Up for Debate, and has worked as a TV reporter for a CBS affiliate. Her articles have appeared in numerous periodicals.