Pastor Marvin Sapp responds to accusations of forced tithing after viral video

The gospel singer and pastor of The Chosen Vessel Church in Fort Worth, Texas, came under fire within the last week after a video surfaced of the pastor seemingly forcing congregants to give during a service. In the clip, Sapp spoke about tithing and described an obligation of congregants to give currency if they acknowledged the supremacy of God’s Word. He estimated that at least 1,000 people were attending in person with another 1,000 watching online, and instructed ushers to close the sanctuary doors.

He repeated the instruction several times before asking congregants who were there in person and watching remotely to each tithe $20. He then asked the leaders beside him onstage to tithe $100. “It costs to sit up here,” he said. A goal of $40,000 should be an easy miracle to achieve at the church that night, Sapp added. Once people approached the stage to tithe, they could leave, he said. Sapp received serious backlash from online users who accused him of holding congregants hostage and forcing them to tithe.

How did Sapp respond to the backlash? Sapp initially addressed the clip in a social media post last week. He claimed that the clip had been misinterpreted and taken out of context by people unfamiliar with worship gatherings. Collecting offerings is the most vulnerable time for both the tithe collectors and the security team, and any movement during the offering is distracting and sometimes risky, according to the statement. Sapp insisted that his instruction to close the door was to create a safe and reverent environment, not a ploy to control congregational giving. He also clarified that the clip came from a 2024 conference where he was assigned to raise the conference budget. He described his actions as stewardship and said they were not manipulative.

Sapp further addressed the situation during a Monday interview on the Rickey Smiley Radio Show. The service in question took place last August during the International Summer Convention of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, he said. Sapp accused online users of creating a narrative, noting that he instructed ushers to simply close the doors, not necessarily lock them. 

Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Presiding Bishop Theodore L. Brooks, Sr. also came to Sapp’s defense with a statement released on Saturday, saying that the viral video  unduly misrepresented Sapp, the P.A.W., and churches worldwide.