Jason Kendrick, founder and lead pastor of Vox Church
There is a new old church trend taking hold in the northeast: megachurches. New England is the most secular part of the country, with fewer than 40 percent going to church. A church known as Vox Church is attempting to reverse that trend. They have one simple message: to bring the Word of God back to the northeastern United States, and bring people together in worship. Incorporated in 2011 in New Haven Connecticut as a one location, small church, Vox Church has expanded into eleven locations and an online forum. Dedicated to reaching a younger and more secular population, the church relies upon a large, grandiose service, complete with high pastoral energy, a rock band singing praise songs, and an enthusiastic audience. Because of this, they have accrued over two thousand weekly service attendees, meeting the megachurch threshold. In a place where religious following seems to be dwindling, Vox pastor Justin Kendrick seems to have revitalized the Christian scene in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Although all of this appears to be innocent and even healthy for a religious society, Kendrick and his organization is hiding some shady practices. They profess faith in God and the teachings of Jesus to their congregation, yet they themselves are antithetical to his teachings. A registered nonprofit organization, Vox Church gets incredible tax deductions on their properties. Having fewer taxes to pay, it is plausible they would expand, so Kendrick can fulfill his so-called divine mission. Also receiving voluntary community donations, Kendrick’s team can continue to preach and expand into other regions of the country. Donations are essential for a church to continue to function, so as a concept, donations are morally permissible. When a community commits to serving the church, and in turn the church serving them and the community, there is a two way street and a sense of community building. However, tithing, or a means of giving the church money under the false promise that it will win them favor with God is where ethics are violated.
Pastor Kendrick has employed tithing to his church congregation with his Wake My Heart initiative. In this plan, he lays out a tithing process of giving to the church. He wishes to raise $17 million through this initiative to maintain and expand buildings. However, instead of asking for assistance with expansion, Kendrick convinces his followers to donate once, saying followers should take a leap of faith and donate money. He is invoking their faith to give him and his church money, not asking a community to band together to spread worship on an earthy plain. After convincing a congregant once, he further presses them, saying “this is a step in faith in God and in the leaders of the church.” Again, he invokes God, implying a follower will gain favor by donating money. Yet, Kendrick’s quote also says faith in the church, which is him and his other priests. A biblical scholar or lector would know that God does not benefit from physical money, so invoking God here would be irrelevant unless he was using Him as a means to get money from those who may not be able to donate it. Kendrick lays out five tiers of giving. The first one is a first time giver. This is where he says it is God’s calling to donate to profess faith in Him and in the church. The second tier is giving on a consistent basis. This is when congregants send in donations regularly, but not on a set schedule. The third tier is an intentional giver, which is where a certain amount of income is regularly donated. The fourth tier is a sacrificial giver, where congregants would donate 12% of their income to the church annually – which may put some into financial troubles. The fifth tier is the legacy giver, who gives at least $12,000 a year, which could be over 17% of yearly income for the average American individual. Every increase in tier, Kendrick says, is putting more faith into the church and into God. False. Again, biblically God and Jesus do not care about how much money one has. Sacrifice is not monetary, but rather in service and humility. However, Kendrick asks his congregation, “how much [money] shows I’m all in?”
Wake My Heart lasts nine weeks, where Kendrick has his congregants seek their souls and donate by divine choosing to be a part of his church. From there, he assigns curated scripture readings involving money and sacrifice, eliminating the context of the intended sacrifice. Vox says they create a conduit between the individual and God, and giving monetary donation is the key to doing so. Biblical teaching, however, explicitly states that a relationship with God and Jesus is a direct link between the individual and God. No pastor or priest creates the link through money. Christianity formed on spirituality and the resurrection of Jesus, not money. Again, no ethical dilemma would exist if the Vox simply asked for money to expand without invoking faith and God. That way, there would be only community building incentive and not followers fearing falling out of favor with God.
The church’s financial statements of 2020 are damning as well. They made over $3million in profit and roughly $3.3 million are unaccounted for, leaving questions as to where the money went. They brought in $8,137,827 in 2020, the year their last financial statement was published. There has been no statement since. Their expenses have been $4,876,771, which means they have a profit of $3,261,056. This profit is likely used to expand locations, although the exact destination of the funds is unknown. The majority of the revenue has been from congregant individual donations, meaning Kendrick’s Wake My Heart fundraiser worked. His campaign to boost attendees “faith in God” by donating to the church brought in over $8 million, allowing his organization to expand and reach a megachurch status.
The story of Vox Church is not unique, in the sense of growing a congregation. Televangelists have been doing this since the twentieth century, requesting callers to tithe, or “sow seed,” to earn Godly favor, and say the notion of tithing will heal the sick, bring monetary wealth, or anything the caller desires. The more seed they sow, the more return they will get. This is known as the Prosperity Gospel, used by these megachurch pastors to grift money from their congregations. For example, megachurch pastor Kenneth Copeland has nearly $1 billion worth of assets, and much of his wealth comes from individual donors. He has a mansion, multiple private jets, and expansive clothing, all from getting donations from individuals who are seeking spiritual guidance or prayer. As a part of his grift, he claims to be able to heal illnesses, injuries, or disabilities through the power of God, further incentivising his congregation to give him more money. He fools them, uses their faith against them, to make himself rich.
Kenneth Copeland during a Business Insider Interview
Other megachurch pastors in the country like Creflo Dollar and Joel Olstein use the same tithing tactic to enrich themselves. They also go on television, asking people to call in and tithe as much money as they can so that God can work his miracles. The promise by these pastors, delivered with personality and energy, resonate with the congregation, who then donate. These pastors then reveal to their congregation that God has granted them private jets, expensive vacations, million dollar suits, and more. They say the Prosperity Gospel got them all this wealth, and the congregation in turn donates more money. Now, through Justin Kendrick and Vox, there is a risk of the Prosperity Gospel invading New England. Although Kendrick’s personal assets are unknown, discrepancies in the financial statements and embrace of tithing, using “Scripture” to justify his desire for donations, should caution New England Christians to stay away.
https://westfaironline.com/nonprofits/vox-church-defies-trends-by-expanding-congregations-across-connecticut/ https://voxchurch.org/Content/VoxChurchAR2020.pdf
Journalism 2.0 