How many churches did Marvin Sapp open? Singer and Bishop accused of “hustling” congregation for 40k

58-year old American singer-songwriter, Marvin Sapp is the co-founder and pastor of two churches in Grand Rapids, MI and Fort Worth, TX. He is also the Bishop serving a congregation of over 100 people. Sapp has come under fire recently after a video of him ordering ushers to "close the door" at an unknown church in Baltimore and demanding attendees to give $40k as a donation surfaced online.

A video by @stoppfeenin noting that the singer is "HUSTLING his congregation for 40K" has over 2.5 million views on X.

Marvin Sapp was addressing at least 1,000 church goers and admonished them to all "sow a seed" to the church. In the video, he can be seen saying,

"I said close them doors. Ushers close them doors, close the doors. Close the doors. We all gon' leave together. We all gone (sic) leave together. Y'all ain't going no place but the restaurant. This is a small seed...This is easy, saints."

Sapp noted that he needed the 1,000 churchgoers in the building and 1,000 people watching the service online to each donate $20, totalling to $40k. Aditionally, he urged the pastors, to donate $100 noting that "it costs to be up here."

He noted that $20 is not a lot and that's the amount he would spend to take his wife, Malinda, on a movie date.

"When my wife, Malinda B. Sapp, was alive, $20 was a good date. I could take her to the movies, buy a box of popcorn, get one soda with two straws. I wasn't cheap - that's swag. I was looking in her eyes, she was looking in mine. You can't do that anymore."

To make sure that everyone donated an exact bill of $20, Sapp told the in-person attendees to head to the altar so he could "see" the donation,

"I need to see a thousand people moving. I want to see the folk, y'all start moving."

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More about Marvin Sapp's role as a pastor and bishop

American singer-songwriter Marvin Sapp, who holds over a dozen Grammy nominations, Steller Awards and BET Awards, and more as a Gospel artist, is also a bishop and a pastor.

Marvin Sapp is the co-founder and pastor of two churches in Grand Rapids, MI and Forth Worth, TX. Additionally, he is Metropolitan Bishop under the leadership of presiding Bishop Neil C. Ellis.

In March 2023, in an episode of Faith and Family Night, Marvin opened up about how his faith kept him going when he lost the mother of his three kids, Malinda Prince Sapp, in 2010.

"The only reason why I made it is because I had a real solidified relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My family is everything to me so when we talk about faith and family we're dealing with the two most important things."

After the video went viral on the internet, netizens expressed disbelief and disapproved of the Gospel singer's ways of getting donations out of people.