Gospel artist Bishop Marvin Sapp has responded to criticism that he pressured people to give $40,000 during a worship service where he instructed ushers to close the doors and not to let anyone leave. Sapp took those actions at a Pentecostal Assemblies of the World conference last July, and a clip of Sapp at the convention recently went viral.
“Recently, a clip has gone viral of me challenging 2,000 individuals(virtually and in person) to plant a seed of $20 during an international gathering held at a convention center, with over 4,000 people in attendance that evening plus virtual viewers,” Sapp said in a March 26 Facebook post titled “Let’s Add Context to the Clip on Social Media.”
“In that same moment, I also challenged leadership to lead by example by sowing $100. That evening, I personally gave much more,” he said.
“Some have taken issue with a particular moment when I instructed the ushers, rather firmly, to close the doors during the offering,” Sapp continued. “To those unfamiliar with the church context or who may not regularly attend worship gatherings this has been misinterpreted as holding people hostage as well as offensive. That was never my intent.”
Marvin Sapp Challenges Worshipers To Give $20 ‘Seed,’ Leaders To Give $100
Marvin Sapp began his career with the group Commissioned before branching out as a solo gospel artist. He has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards and is a Dove Award-winner and nominee. His other awards include BET Awards, Stellar Awards, and Soul Train Music Awards.
According to Sapp’s website, he is cofounder of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan; the senior pastor of The Chosen Vessel Cathedral in Fort Worth, Texas; and the suffragan bishop-senior advisor to the presiding bishop of the Global United Fellowship.
In July 2024, Sapp led an evening worship session at the 109th convention held by Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in Baltimore. Before concluding his time in front of attendees, Sapp said, “Listen. Close the doors for me for a quick moment. I want everybody to remain standing quickly. I have to do something. I’m well over time, but I have to do something quickly.”
Sapp then asked worshipers to raise their hands if they had “received something from the Word of the Lord tonight.” He explained that “whenever God did something in the lives of the patriarchs of old…they would set up an altar, and they would offer a sacrifice.”
“Because of your acknowledgement of what God did in Word, there is an obligation that is attached to that acknowledgement,” said Sapp. In the Bible, he said, people offered the “currency” of livestock and grain.
