![]() In a letter posted on the website, Sessions said, “It is the continuing goal of the Elevation Finance Office to stay ahead of our growth through the use of technology and additional resources, and to instill the highest standards of accounting practice and integrity.” The financial team is made up of Finance Director Jerry Sumner, a certified public accountant and chartered global management accountant, and Controller Gary Sessions, a CPA. The church does note, however, that this was 29.1 percent of its budget, while adding that the national average of personnel expenses for churches is 40.5 percent. In a breakdown of the megachurch’s operating income allocation, it reports that nearly $6 million was spent on personnel, but there is no further explanation. Elevation reportedly received more than $20 million last year, a 43 percent increase over 2011. The church does, however, have a 2012 annual report available on its website, with a section regarding its finances. But megachurches like Elevation hire compensation consultants to look at other megachurches. And the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina publishes a salary chart on its website. Many evangelical groups-like the Billy Graham Evangelical Association and Samaritan’s Purse-release their tax returns by law, so it is public knowledge what their leaders make. Though Elevation Church doesn’t have elected deacons or elders overseeing the church like many Baptist churches do, it was founded by, got loans through and gives missionary money through Southern Baptists. James “Chunks” Corbett, the executive pastor at Elevation Church, told NBC Charlotte that pastors do get paid to speak at Elevation Church, but the pay is “small in scope,” and he would not divulge any amounts. “Those are three of the five votes that set Furtick’s salary.” “When Furtick held his Code Orange Revival last year, three of the headliners, pastors Stovall Weems of Jacksonville, Fla., Perry Noble of Anderson, S.C., and Kevin Gerald of Seattle, were all board members at Elevation,” noted NCB Charlotte. Apparently he agrees to pay them to preach at Elevation, and they pay him to preach at their conferences or megachurches. In another article, NBC Charlotte reported, “Furtick and his lieutenants refuse to tell the people who pay his salary, the congregation at Elevation Church, just how much he makes.”įurtick has a “board of overseers” that sets his salary, made up of other megachurch pastors. In fact, no one knows what he makes from the church either. Many people wonder: If Furtick’s books made him enough money to build his mansion, then how much did he make from them? No one knows, NBC Charlotte says. ![]() In addition, Furtick gave away a backpack to children in need for every sale of the book. The two get mashed together in a way that creates a real conflict because the job of the pastor is not to preach his book.”Įlevation Church paid for full-page ads promoting his book Greater, and also paid to air sermons featuring the book on TV. ![]() “There's no distinction between Elevation Church and Steven's books. “I’m sorry, but there’s something wrong with that,” he told NCB Charlotte. This ain't right,” he said.īut Chris Rosebrough-who runs Pirate Christian Radio, a podcast that protests against preacher profiteers-says it isn’t that simple. “I built it with money from my books and I gave money to the church from the books and you start getting real defensive and being like this ain't right. But Furtick told his congregation he and his wife, Holly, didn’t use any money from his salary to build their home. With eight campuses spread out over four counties, Elevation Church brings in close to $400,000 in donations each weekend. NBC Charlotte said they tried asking Furtick about his home for weeks, sending emails, letters, making phone calls and even meeting with him. Since its founding eight years ago, the church has given away more than $10 million to nonprofit organizations. “It saddens me to see what the church is becoming.” He should be the one that is most transparent,” said Ole Anthony of the Trinity Foundation, a nonprofit that monitors and investigates religious fraud, in an investigative report from NBC Charlotte. “The pastor should be the servant of his people. Pastor and author Steven Furtick is facing criticism for his newly built $1.7 million 16,000-square-foot mansion, which critics say does not reflect the heart of a servant.įurtick is founder of the 12,000-member Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C., and author of best-selling books Greater and Sun Stand Still. Megachurch Pastor Steven Furtick Draws Criticism for $1.7 Million Home, Secret Salaryĥ:30PM EDT Gina Meeks Steven Furtick pastors 14,000-member Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C.
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