Marvin Sapp Breaks Silence on Outrage From Keeping His Church Members Hostage
Gospel singer and preacher Marvin Sapp is facing severe criticism online after a video of him seemingly pressuring his congregation into donating $40,000 went viral.
In the video, Marvin Sapp, known for his popular singles “Never Would Have Made It” and “The Best In Me,” instructs ushers to “close the doors” until he sees all 1,000 churchgoers drop a “seed” of $20. He’s also under fire for demanding that online visitors prove they donated virtually.
Marvin Sapp Tells Church Workers To ‘Close The Doors’
“Ushers, close the doors. Close the doors. Close the doors,” he said aggressively. “We all gone leave together. Y’all ain’t going no place but the restaurant,” he continued. “This is a small seed… This is easy, saints.”
Later, Sapp told the church leaders on the stage he wanted them to give $100, while he wanted the crowd to each give $20. But he didn’t stop there. He challenged the online watchers to give money, too.
“There’s 1,000 of you tonight, and those that are watching…it’s 1,000 that’s watching online. This is a small seed. If I get 1,000 online to give this, if I get 1,000 in the sanctuary to give this, that’s $40,000 tonight,” he declared.
“I need to see a thousand people moving,” he went on. “I want to see the folk, y’all start moving.”
In a viral video, Sapp, per TMZ, was wrapping up his sermon at the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World annual summer convention in July 2024 when he began asking the congregation to donate a collective $40,000. He’s facing criticism, though, because of how he went about it.
Sapp Says He Was Creating A ‘Safe’ Space For Money To Flow
Sapp opened up about the pushback he’s received on his official Facebook page and said his intention was never to make people feel as though they were being held hostage. According to him, he was creating a safe space for money to be exchanged.
“The truth is, when finances are being received in any worship gathering, it is one of the most vulnerable and exposed times for both the finance and security teams. Movement during this sacred exchange can be distracting and, at times, even risky. My directive was not about control it was about creating a safe, focused, and reverent environment for those choosing to give, and for those handling the resources,” he wrote.
Sapp explained that he was in charge of raising the conference’s budget during the 2024 event, and he was taking his duties seriously.
