Marvin Sapp in August 2023. Photo:
Paras Griffin/Getty
- Pastor and Grammy-nominated gospel artist Marvin Sapp faced backlash this week after instructing ushers to “close the doors” while taking up an offering
- The moment dates back to a conference that took place in July 2024, however, it went viral on social this week
- Sapp addressed the criticism on Facebook, denying that he was “holding people hostage”
Marvin Sapp is responding to the backlash he received after a video of him telling church ushers to “close the doors” while taking up an offering resurfaced and went viral this week.
In the clip, the 58-year-old pastor and Grammy-nominated gospel singer is seen on stage speaking to attendees. “There’s 1,000 of you… I said close them doors,” he says. “Ushers, close the doors. Close the doors, close the doors. We’re all gonna leave together.”
He then instructed 1,000 people in the congregation, and another 1,000 people watching online, to give $20 each — aiming to raise a total of $40,000.
The moment dates back to July 2024, when Sapp was speaking at the 109th Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Convention in Baltimore. However, it resurfaced on social media and went viral this week.
As the clip circulated online, many social media users chimed in on X, with one writing, “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.”
Another added, “Marvin Sapp was OUT OF ORDER. I would have immediately dialed 911 as I walked toward the exit. You gone open these doors, or you’re catching a false imprisonment charge.”
One person chimed in with, “I’m still crying at Marvin Sapp locking them people up in the pews and begging for 40,000 like he didn’t just finish a tour.”
Content creators like KevOnStage also parodied the moment.
Sapp addressed the criticism on Facebook Wednesday, March 26, stating that he wanted to “add context” to the clip. He noted that along with instructing 2,000 people to give $20 each, he “also challenged leadership to lead by example by sowing $100.”
“That evening, I personally gave much more,” he added.
Speaking about the moment he instructed the ushers “rather firmly” to close the doors, he clarified that he was not “holding people hostage,” adding, “That was never my intent.”
He explained, “Movement during this sacred exchange can be distracting and, at times, even risky. My directive was not about control it was about creating a safe, focused, and reverent environment for those choosing to give, and for those handling the resources.”
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He called out the “snippets” of his message that spread online, and pointed out that “conferences have budgets. Churches have budgets. And people have budgets.”
“As the assigned ministerial gift for this international gathering, one of my responsibilities was to help raise the conference budget,” Sapp said. “That’s not manipulation, it’s stewardship.”
He continued with a scripture from 1 Chronicles 29, where David “challenges the people to give” as they are building a temple, “… not because God needed their money, but because the people needed to show their commitment to the vision and because stewardship demands accountability.”
He said it is “not unbiblical” or “manipulation” to challenge churchgoers “to give a specific amount.”
“So yes, you saw a moment. But I invite you to understand the movement behind it,” he continued in part. “Honor, clarity and truth are what I owe the people and I’ll always provide just that.”
