Joel Osteen Opens Megachurch to Hurricane Victims, Amidst Backlash [VIDEO]

Joel Osteen Opens Church To Hurricane Harvey Victims

Pastor Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch is reportedly opening its doors Tuesday (August 29th) to residents displaced by Hurricane Harvey flooding.

On Monday, Osteen and his Lakewood Church received backlash for remaining closed and not assisting those in need.

The church posted on social media Monday that the venue was “inaccessible due to severe flooding” following Hurricane Harvey, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm.

However, footage surfaced contradicting that they were actually flooded.

A post shared by NEW ACCOUNT (SPREAD THE WORD) (@thejasminebrand_) on Aug 28, 2017 at 7:10pm PDT

Church spokesman and Osteen’s father-in-law Donald Iloff said in a statement,

We have never closed our doors. We will continue to be a distribution center for those in need. We are prepared to shelter people once the cities and county shelters reach capacity. Lakewood will be a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm in helping our fellow citizens rebuild their lives.

Pastor John Gray, who is a pastor at the church, posted and deleted the following message.

Photos provided by the church showed standing water in hallways and the parking lot. The church already had a flood wall in place following a previous storm.

Today, the church is said to open around noon and will also be used as a donation center.

A post shared by NEW ACCOUNT (SPREAD THE WORD) (@thejasminebrand_) on Aug 29, 2017 at 6:51am PDT

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