The Prosperity Gospel (Part 1)
Is this the latest rage in getting people to go to church? Have you heard of it—the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel and the name it and claim it gospel.
So, what is this gospel? How did it start? Who are the players now? Are you going to a church that is labeled one of the above or has its roots in this philosophy?
I will use various sources for your thoughts which include Britannica.
prosperity gospel
religion: Also known as: health and wealth gospel, prosperity theology
prosperity gospel, in Protestant Christianity, the teaching that faith—expressed through positive thoughts, positive declarations, and donations to the church—draws health, wealth, and happiness into believers’ lives. It is also referred to as the “health and wealth gospel” or “name it and claim it.” Central to this teaching are the beliefs that salvation through Jesus Christ includes liberation from not only death and eternal damnation but also poverty, sickness, and other ills. Adherents believe that God wants believers to be richly blessed in this life and that physical well-being and material riches are always God’s will for the faithful. Illness and poverty are seen as curses that, through atonement, can be broken with faith in Jesus. Prosperity gospel has been a significant influence in Christianity since the early 20th century and has continued to grow in the 21st century.
Origins
The early 20th-century New Thought movement, a mind-healing movement based on diverse religious and metaphysical presuppositions, shaped the later development of prosperity gospel. Although the movement was not necessarily Christian, religious strains of New Thought generally emphasized the immanence of God, the divine nature of humanity, the immediate availability of God’s power to humans, and the belief that sin, human disorders, and human disease are basically matters of incorrect thinking. Moreover, according to New Thought, humans can live in oneness with God in love, truth, peace, health, and plenty, and many groups emphasized Jesus as teacher and healer and proclaimed his kingdom as being within a person.
The Word of Faith movement, put forth by Essek William Kenyon (1867–1948) and Kenneth Hagin (1917–2003), encourages “positive confession”—that is, the naming of specific blessings so that they will be granted. Similarly, the charismatic Christian “healing revival” movement of the late 1940s and ’50s promised miraculous faith-based cures to believers. The Voice of Healing Revival, which ran between 1947 and 1958, featured a number of notable prosperity gospel teachers who grew the movement, including Hagin, James Gordon Lindsay, T.L. Osborn, and the evangelist Oral Roberts. It was Oral Roberts, through his subsequent rise as a televangelist, who became known as the first mainstream proponent of prosperity gospel. He preached “seed-faith,” proclaiming that money donated to his ministry would return to the donor sevenfold.
In the first half of the 20th century, many Black spiritual leaders embraced the idea that positive thinking is a key to healing and material blessings. These leaders included M.J. Divine, or “Father Divine,” sometimes considered a cult leader; Charles Emmanuel Grace, known as “Sweet Daddy Grace,” a pastor and faith healer; and Lightfoot Solomon Michaux, an international radio evangelist in the 1930s and a televangelist in the 1940s.
Prosperity gospel burgeoned with the growth of televangelism and the rise of certain “megachurches” in the second half of the 20th century. In addition to Oral Roberts, televangelists in the U.S. such as Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker (later Messner), Creflo Dollar, and Benny Hinn gained followers and significant wealth through their prosperity theology.
Developments from the late 20th century
Prosperity gospel teachings are also associated with Joel Osteen, the senior pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, whose services, attended by approximately 45,000 members every week, are live streamed as well as televised in more than 100 countries. He is the author of several best-selling books, including Your Best Life Now (2004) and Think Better, Live Better (2016). Osteen preaches that “it’s God’s will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty” and that “you must boldly declare words of faith and victory over yourself.” Like many preachers associated with prosperity gospel, he eschews the label.
Prosperity gospel on the campaign trail Pastor Paula White leading a prayer over Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the National Faith Advisory Summit in Powder Springs, Georgia, on October 28, 2024.
Other prominent figures associated with prosperity theology in the U.S. include Word of Faith televangelist and author Kenneth Copeland; bishop, author, and filmmaker T.D. Jakes; speaker and author Joyce Meyer; and bishop, author, and pastor Dale C. Bronner. In 2017 prosperity preacher and televangelist Paula White became the first woman to deliver the invocation at a U.S. presidential inauguration; in 2025 Pres. Donald Trump appointed her to lead the newly established White House Faith Office.
Prosperity gospel has spread from the U.S. to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In Latin America tens of millions of people left the Roman Catholic Church in the first quarter of the 21st century for Pentecostal churches that promote prosperity theology, such as those led by Silas Malafaia, a prominent televangelist and political figure in Brazil. Joseph Prince, the pastor of a megachurch in Singapore, preaches prosperity gospel, as did the late David Yonggi Cho, a cofounder of the church that once claimed the largest congregation in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, which had more than 800,000 members in the early 21st century.
Let’s turn to America’s “The Richest“
Kenneth Copeland
Perhaps one of the most talked-about preachers – because of his lavish spending habits – is the Evangelical preacher Kenneth Copeland.
This man’s success as a televangelist is unmatched, and boasts a 1500-acre campus ground for his Kenneth Copeland Ministries.
Copeland was heavily criticized for owning three luxurious private jets, which, in his defense, he says is necessary to “talk to God,” because he didn’t want to “get in a tube with a bunch of demons.”
One of the aircraft is a Gulfstream V jet the Texas-based pastor purchased from actor and comedian Tyler Perry for $20 million.
With this momentum, there is a strong chance that many failed actors can find a thriving career in church ministry.
Kenneth Copeland’s net worth is estimated at a staggering $760 million.
Bishop T.D. Jakes
T.D. Jakes has made guest appearances in movies with the world’s richest celebrities, is an established author, movie producer, and the Bishop of the Potter’s House International megachurch, which boasts a capacity of 30,000 members.
Sources have speculated the church’s construction cost as much $45 million.
The wealthy pastor also owns 14,000 square feet of land in Fort Worth, Texas, as well as a $5.5 million mansion seated on 17.8 acres of land.
The massive property also comes equipped with a seven-car garage, housing a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a 1957 Ford Thunderbird convertible, and a 1960 Trans-Am, to name a few.
Jakes even made it on the cover of Time Magazine as the best preacher in America, solidifying his celebrity status.
Estimates of Bishop T.D. Jakes’ net worth varies tremendously between sources, ranging from $20 to $40 million.
Benny Hinn
Scandals always seem to follow mega-pastors, no matter which part of the world they come from.
Benny Hinn was born in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, and has been recognized internationally for his purportedly miraculous healing powers, which always happen to be televised.
These alleged displays of God’s healing power are known as “Miracle Crusades.”
However, the revelation of Hinn’s financial charge for these “healings and deliverances” landed him under scrutiny, as a “prosperity preacher,” and for “selling the gospel for profit.”
In April 2021, Hinn’s church was taken to court by Mail America for an alleged $3.1 million in unpaid bills, which Hinn disputed.
Benny Hinn’s net worth is believed to stand at around $60 million, while his ministry rakes in an estimated $100 million per year.
Jesse Duplantis
Touted as another financial giant in the world of prosperity preaching, Jesse Duplantis comfortably ranks on this list alongside the world’s wealthiest men of faith.
Jesse Duplantis’ net worth is estimated at around $20 million today, and he can afford to feed his entire congregation comfortably.
Duplantis is a preacher from the Christian Evangelical Charismatic tradition based in New Orleans.
He also established Jesse Duplantis Ministries, which he founded in 1978 – and which clocked an impressive $6.22 million in sales.
The New Orleans preacher owns a $3 million home on a 35,000 square foot plantation.
To compliment that, he also owns a $54 million private jet purchased with the help of his congregation, per a 2019 CNN report.
In it, Duplantis was quoted as saying:
I’m not asking you to pay for my plane … The Lord said, ‘I didn’t ask you to pay for it, I asked you to believe for it.’ That is what I said. So, I’m believing, and I want you to believe with me.
Joel Osteen
Although he has never written or been cast in a movie, Joel Osteen is arguably the most celebrity-affiliated preacher there is, hands down.
He has, however, been the executive producer for religious films, such as Mary, Mother Of Christ (2012), and a documentary series entitled Jesus: His Life for the History Channel.
The Texas preacher is the owner, senior pastor, and main televangelist of Lakewood Church, along with his wife, Victoria Osteen.
With tens of millions of viewers in the United States and broadcasting to millions more in over 100 countries abroad, his Tel evangelical prowess and success as an author have brought him fame as well as massive fortune.
Osteen has been closely connected with celebrities such as Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Tyler Perry, and Oprah Winfrey.
Joel Osteen’s net worth is estimated at around $50 million.
Creflo Dollar
His name alone is enough to let you know that this man means business
Hailing from College Park, Georgia, Creflo Dollar is an established pastor, televangelist, and founder of the Christian World Changers Church International.
Creflo has amassed his fortune through multiple revenue streams, such as the publication of CHANGE Magazine and The Max, quarterly and bimonthly publications, respectively.
In addition, and similar to most other high-status preachers, he is a prolific author of books such as Claim Your Success Today, 8 Steps To Make The Life You Want, You’re Supposed To Be Wealthy, and a library of other books mentoring his followers to become rich like himself.
Estimates of Creflo Dollar’s net worth fluctuates, from $27 to $39 million.
Joyce Meyer
Regarded as one of the few female pastors to reach the levels of success she has, Joyce Meyer has made a definitive name for herself in the American Charismatic Christian community, especially among women.
Most of her wealth is derived from her self-authored books, her Life In The Term ministry, and her television show called Enjoying Everyday Life which began airing on WGN TV and BET in 1995.
She later founded Joyce Meyer Ministries, which spreads her teachings on Christ through daily TV shows, devotionals, podcasts, and conferences worldwide.
She is especially recognized for attending these international conferences in her $10 million private Gulfstream IV private jet, something she has in common with other celebrity pastors.
Joyce Meyer’s net worth is estimated at between $8 and $10 million today.
Rick Warren
Prominent mega-pastor Rick Warren garnered global fame and celebrity status after writing the book The Purpose Driven Life, which became the second most translated book in the world after the Bible.
Warren founded the Saddleback Baptist Evangelical megachurch in 1980, becoming the largest church in California and the eighth-largest church in the United States.
However, Warren is rumored to be unlike other mega pastors and does not own a private jet or a yacht.
In fact, he is said to live a fairly average life, living on just ten percent of his ministry’s earnings, giving ten percent to care for the poor and sick, and allocating ten percent to savings.
Tithing is a well-known practice, entailing the earmarking of ten percent of your income for the church; Warren’s practice of donating that amount is likely considered a tithe.
Rick Warren’s net worth estimates are modest as well, typically approximated at $25 million.
John Hagee
John Charles Hagee is the founder of The Cornerstone Pentecostal Mega-Church, which he established in 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Cornerstone Church seats over 20,000 members, making it one of the most successful wide-reaching Christian organizations in the world.
Apart from being the senior pastor of his church, he is also the CEO of Global Evangelism Television (GETV), a non-profit organization, as well as the President and CEO of John Hagee Ministries, which is carried across several different television networks in the United States.
Hagee also owns a $5.5 million ranch in Bracketville, Texas, and a three-engine jet Dassault Aviation Mystere-Falcon 50 valued at around $20 million.
Rev. John Hagee’s net worth is estimated in the even more modest range of $5 to $6 million.
The above pastors are known in today’s society as I have left out pastors such as Oral Roberts, Jim Bakker, Norman Vincent Peale, Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton, John Avanzini, Todd Bentley, Juanita Bynum, Charles Capps, Morris Cerullo, Paul Crouch, Kenneth Hagin, Marilyn Hickey, Myles Munroe, Rod Parsley & Fredrick K.C. Price.
As I close part 1, I wanted to give a background on American pastors who are preaching and teaching the prosperity gospel.
These pastors are preaching to those worldwide, not just America and proclaimed his kingdom as being within a person. I want you to keep in mind various statements concerning this gospel and its roots. It is with interest that Oral Roberts, through his subsequent rise as a televangelist, who became known as the first mainstream proponent of prosperity gospel. He preached “seed-faith,” proclaiming that money donated to his ministry would return to the donor sevenfold.
Fellow Christian, where is this biblical? Please show me where the Bible says that donations to him would return sevenfold?
So, let’s close with this information and then tackle the definition of the prosperity gospel and if this gospel is false. Let’s find out what the Bible says and the quotes from these preachers on prosperity.
On a side note, look at the video preachers and sneakers on you tube and lend me your thoughts on those who are wearing expensive clothes and sneakers.
May God bless you in your endeavors and may you always Praise God from whom all blessing flow.
