The reason for the webpage shutdown was unknown, but as of late Friday afternoon, the web page devoted to raising $65 million dollars for Minister Creflo Dollar’s private jet was down, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Project G650, which asked 200,000 believers to donate $300 each to provide the “prosperity preacher” with a new Gulfstream 650, has been the talk of the town since news of the ask hit on Friday morning.
Many were outraged that the area near Atlanta where Dollar’s church is based — College Park — has an average median income of $29,000. Many took to social media to say that those millions would be better spent in providing social services and housing for this impoverished community.
Maybe we’re being harsh, but asking your followers to donate $65 million for a private jet is a little ridiculous. But that’s exactly what the minister of World Changers Church International in Atlanta asked supporters of his word to do.
In a page that has since been taken down on the Creflo Dollar Ministries website, the man of God is seeking “200,000 people committed to sow $300 or more (to) help achieve our goal to purchase the G650 airplane.”
A plane. A $65 million plane that, according to Dollar, will “transport Pastors Creflo and Taffi Dollar and members of the Dollars’ church around the globe to help them spread the gospel,” CNN reports.
On the video, the pastor chronicles incidents involving his current jet, which has been in service for more than three decades: The right engine went out en route to Australia, but the plane was able to safely land at its destination thanks to the experience of the pilot and crew. During another trip, mechanical failure caused the jet to skid off a runway in London while Taffi Dollar and their three daughters were aboard.
Dollar attributed his family’s safe arrival to “a grace working on that airplane, that brought my girls back home to me, you understand what I am saying?” he said from the pulpit to thunderous applause.
Dollar said that after those incidents, he “knew that it was time to begin to believe God for a new airplane.”
We’re guessing safety also means two multichannel satellites, two Rolls-Royce engines, and the ability to get from New York to Los Angeles in two and a half hours.
But then again, that just sounds like convenience and/or luxury. Is Dollar’s request excessive? Sound off below.
News of Dollar’s online fundraising page spread quickly online early Friday. His ministry needs a new, $65 million private jet so that Dollar, 53, can safely spread the word of Jesus around the world. And Dollar’s World Changers Church International, based in College Park, isn’t shy about asking for help.
Friday morning, the website stated: “Due to this recent incident coupled with the 31 years the airplane has been in service, we believe it is time to replace this aircraft so that our Pastors and staff can continue to safely and swiftly share the Good News of the Gospel worldwide. We need your help to continue reaching a lost and dying world for the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The campaign is asking 200,000 people to contribute $300 each but if you’re skeptical, maybe a little unsure of how much you can give, there’s no need to worry. According to the man named
Dollar established his ministry in 1981 while a student at West Georgia College, where he also met his wife, according to his church’s website. His first service was held in 1986 in an elementary school cafeteria, and in 1988, the Dollars purchased the former Atlanta Christian Center Church in College Park.
In 1995, the ministry moved into its current location, the 8,500-seat “World Dome” on Burdett Road. On Friday, the church held the funeral service for Terence Avery Green, a veteran Fulton County police officer killed in the line of duty.
In addition to the College Park location, which serves 30,000 members, the ministry has satellite churches across the U.S.
