Marvin Winans Addresses Backlash over Scolding Woman Who Gave Less Than $2,000

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Pastor and Grammy-winning singer Marvin Winans faced controversy after a video surfaced showing him scolding a church member during a fundraising service for not meeting a $1,200 donation goal.

Winans, who founded and pastors Perfecting Church of Detroit, Michigan, had called out a church member, Roberta McCoy, during a fundraising service on Sunday for not giving to a $2,000 donation goal, The Christian Post reported.

At the time, McCoy and her son came forward to say that she was donating $1,000, plus raising around $200, after Winans asked the church to donate $1,000 and to raise an additional $1,000.

“Now that’s only $1,200,” Winans told McCoy, with her agreeing with his statement. “Y’all not listening to what I’m saying. If you have a thousand plus a thousand.”

Although McCoy said that she was “going to work on the other 800,” Winans immediately replied, “That ain’t what I asked you to do,” which was met with laughs and applause from the congregation.

During an interview with WXYZ-TV Detroit, Winans addressed the incident, calling it a misunderstanding.

RELATED: 7 Essentials of Grace-Based Giving

“I was calling because the whole church was giving, and it was our day of giving, and the whole church was coming, and we didn’t want people standing, the mothers and all that, so I was calling them by increments,” the pastor explained.

“And we had someone that had given out of [order], and I corrected it, and I told everybody to listen and come when you call, and that’s all that was.”

McCoy, who has been a member of the church since 2013, told WXYZ that Winans personally apologized to her and denied claims that he “rebuked” her. She added she was “corrected” for coming up at the wrong time.

Winans previously made headlines in 2018 after a former housekeeper sued him and his church, claiming they fired her for not paying tithes.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the Southern Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, was dismissed with prejudice in 2021, with both parties agreeing to cover their own costs.

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Rick Diamond / Staff

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.