“I told everybody to listen and come when you call, and that’s all that was,” Pastor Marvin Winans said after the controversial moment
- Marvin Winans, a pastor in Detroit, went viral after a video highlighted an interaction with a woman about her $1,235 donation
- Now, they’re both speaking out about the incident, which they say was misrepresented by the social media post
- The church member said the pastor personally apologized following the incident
A Detroit pastor was criticized after a viral video captured a moment between him and a congregation member making a $1,235 donation. Now, both the church leader and congregant say the post misrepresented what happened.
In the clip, Marvin Winans, a senior pastor at Perfecting Church, was seen at the pulpit as a woman gave him a donation at the Day of Giving service on Sunday, Oct. 19.
“I, Roberta McCoy, give in faith, and stand in unity with the vision of Perfecting Church with sowing this seed of $1,000, plus $235 in receiving the blessings to come to all that participate,” she said, which has more than 7 million views on X.
“Now, that’s only $1,200,” Winans replied.
McCoy responded that she’ll “work on the other $800,” as the pastor replied, “That ain’t what I asked you to do.”
However, in an interview published the next day by ABC affiliate, both McCoy and Winans denied that characterization.
During the fundraising service, church members were asked to give $1,000 and raise another $1,000 to help complete the new sanctuary, as well as support the community, according to the outlet. The pastor had asked donors giving $2,000 or more to step up to the line first, but that’s not what McCoy did.
“He absolutely did not rebuke me,” McCoy, who has been a member of Perfecting Church since 2013, told the outlet. “There was a correction because let me clearly state that pastor gave instruction on the lines to get into.”
