October 21, 2025
Pastor Marvin Winans is under fire for scolding a woman who donated $1,235 instead of $2,000.
Pastor Marvin Winans is under fire after a video surfaced online showing him reprimanding a woman who fell short of the $2,000 donation he requested from his congregation.
The now-viral clip captures a woman at Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan, approaching the pulpit with her son during the church’s “Day of Giving” to offer a $1,235 donation, according to Atlanta Black Star. However, Pastor Winans appeared visibly displeased, as he had specifically asked congregants to contribute “$1,000 plus 1.”
“I’m giving in faith and standing in unity with the vision of Perfecting Church, sowing this seed of $1,000 plus $235 and receiving the blessings to come,” the woman said when she gave her donation.
Winans, a member of the famed Winans gospel family and star of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, publicly chastised the woman in front of her son and the congregation for falling short of his $2,000 donation request.
“That’s only $1,200,” he said.
Even after the woman admitted she was short of the requested amount, Winans continued to reprimand her publicly before the congregation.
“You’re not listening to what I’m saying. If you have $1,000 plus $1,000…,” he said.
Although the woman promised to bring the remaining $800 later, Winans remained unsatisfied.
“Well, that ain’t what I asked you to do,” he said.
The video has gone viral on social media, with many criticizing Winans for dismissing the woman’s financial circumstances and failing to appreciate the $1,200 donation she was still able to give.
“Pastors like this are the main reason people are turning away from the church,” one X user wrote. “I don’t understand how people are willing giving him this money when he talks like this.”
“I would’ve snatched my money back so fast! These ungrateful, over-begging, false prophets are out of control, nothing but fake religious pimps,” added someone else. “Nowhere in the Bible does it say to demand $2,000 from every member. In this economy, someone giving you $1,200 is already a blessing! 🙏🏾 People need to stop letting these so-called pastors use and disrespect them. This kind of behavior is not godly.”
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