Bishop Marvin Winans addresses the backlash after church donation video goes viral

Bishop Marvin Winans is responding after a video of him calling out a donation to his church in Detroit for being less than $2,000.

After facing backlash this week when a video began circulating of him seemingly rebuking a churchgoer’s donation, Bishop Marvin Winans is setting the record straight. 

While speaking with ABC 7 News on Wednesday, October 22, the 67-year-old gospel star and pastor stated that the footage showing him calling out a woman in front of the entire congregation of his Detroit-based Perfecting Church for handing him a check for less than $2,000 has been taken out of context.

In the footage circulating online, a long line of congregants can be seen presenting donations to Pastor Winans, who at one point holds up two checks from a woman—one for $1,000 and another for about $235.

“That’s only $1,200, y’all not listening to me,” he said before he attempted to clarify that he asked for “$1,000 plus $1,000,” prompting the woman to reply that she’d “work on the other $800.” 

He responds, “That’s not what I’m asking you to do.”

Winans told the outlet the incident occurred during the church’s day of giving, as he was calling members up “by increments,” when she entered the wrong line for the amount she intended to donate.

“It was our day of giving, and the whole church was coming, and we didn’t want people standing, the mothers and all that,” he explained. 

He added, “so I was calling them by increments,” when someone stepped into the wrong line and he “corrected it.”  

“I told everybody to listen and come when you call, and that’s all that was,” he stressed. 

The church member at the center of it all, Roberta McCoy, who has been a member of Perfecting Church for over 13 years, also weighed in on the now viral moment. 

“He absolutely did not rebuke me,” McCoy said. “Now there’s a difference. There was a correction, because, let me clearly state, pastor gave instruction on the lines to get into.”

According to McCoy, Winans has since apologized to her for the ordeal.