Social media was set ablaze after a series of videos of Bishop Marvin Sapp started to circulate online. According to The Shade Room, the clips are of a sermon Sapp gave in which he asked his congregation to help him reach a $40,000 goal.
In one clip, Sapp repeatedly instructed the church ushers to close the doors to keep the congregation from going anywhere.
Sapp told churchgoers to open their wallets
“We all gon’ leave together,” he said. “Y’all ain’t going no place but to the restaurant.”
As the congregation laughed, Sapp explained that if the 1,000 people in the pews and the 1,000 people watching the service online gave $20, which he described as a “small seed,” it would total $40,000.
“I’m challenging each of you all down here to give a $20 seed,” he said in the clip.
He joked that $20 was a lot of money back when his late wife, MaLinda P. Sapp, was alive, and that amount would usually cover their movie date with popcorn and a drink.
He told fellow clergy members to cough up more
The bishop told fellow clergy members to cough up more while churchgoers were busy rummaging their wallets for cash to meet Sapp’s request that 1,000 people get up and donate $20.
“It costs to sit up here,” he said after instructing them to give $100.
The congregation and clergy appeared to oblige. The clip showed churchgoers going to the stage and giving their offerings. As they filled the church baskets, Sapp hushed the crowd repeatedly, saying, “Giving is worship.”
“This ain’t a time to talk,” Sapp said, as he kept encouraging those in person and viewers online to give, calling their contributions “a easy miracle.”
Social media users had a lot to say about the clips
Many viewers had much to say about Sapp’s fundraising sermon clips. Most found it inappropriate and indicative of some questionable church activities.
“Never would’ve gave ittttt 😩,” one user commented on The Shade Room’s Instagram post, a play on Sapp’s “Never Would Have Made It” single from his seventh studio album, Thirsty.
“The pressure is what’s wrong. If ppl want to give, it should be their choice. He up there sounding like it’s an auction not a house of God,” another shared.
“Yall are slow and it shows. Yall quick to go to the liquor store and buy a 5th of Don or go out to eat with $20 but mad bc he challenged them to sow $20 in tithes????? Yall be big money on the internet til yall in church huh…” someone else wrote.
Others on X, formerly Twitter, had much to say about Sapp.
“Marvin Sapp is clearly HUSTLING his congregation for 40k— and using God’s name to do it. he’s calling for the doors to be locked? that’s not faith, that’s a shakedown and a false prophet. someone had a bill to pay, and it wasn’t to the church,” one tweeted alongside a clip.
Another captioned a GIF of someone closing a laptop when Sapp called out online viewers to donate.
Not everyone thought Sapp’s intentions were questionable; some social media users defended him.
“It’s $20 chill,” one wrote on Instagram.
Another commented, “Can yall plz explain if he was hustling his ppl why tf did he pull 20$ out of his own pocket to give back to his self ?”
“Yall complain to much about tithing. Give to Gods house and stop worrying about where it’s going. That’s why most of you have money troubles now,” someone else shared.
“Those of us who grew up in the church: What he do wrong? This is business as usual. Nothing to see here.🤷🏽♀️🥲🤣” a fourth user added.
