Trump Seeks to Shore up Evangelical Support at ‘Prosperity Gospel’ Church

U.S. President 👤Donald Trump will hold a campaign event in a Miami megachurch on Friday to shore up support from Christian conservatives, after a prominent evangelical publication questioned whether the faithful should support the Republican.

The event by Trump at the 7,000-capacity King Jesus International Ministry church has drawn fresh attention to his administration’s ties to “prosperity gospel” preachers who tell followers that generous donations to their churches will be rewarded on Earth with wealth, health and power.

The doctrine’s growth in recent decades – often helped by charismatic televangelist pastors – has confounded classical theologians and some of the evangelical community who consider the “prosperity gospel” to be in direct opposition to the Bible.

The King Jesus International Ministry is led by pastor Guillermo Maldonado, who encourages worshippers to give “first fruits” donations to the church in January that guarantee spiritual and financial returns later in the year.

“First fruits are given to honor God,” Maldonado said in a typical Facebook message on his page. “You can’t have the Father’s favor until you honor Him.”

The Trump administration has aligned itself with other prosperity gospel leaders, including Paula White, who has appeared at White House prayer events, and was named last year as an adviser in the executive Office of Public Liaison, which is tasked with outreach to special interest groups.

White’s and Maldonado’s ministries did not respond to questions about criticism of the prosperity gospel practice.

The late Rev. Billy Graham denounced the prosperity gospel movement in 2016, saying https://billygraham.org/answer/does-god-really-want-everyone-to-be-rich: “Jesus wasn’t rich, nor were His first disciples — not at all. In fact, the only disciple who really cared about money was Judas.”

More than 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for Trump in the 2016 election. But a crack in evangelical support opened up last month when the magazine Christianity Today wrote a blistering editorial on Trump’s “grossly immoral character.”