Court Rules Benny Hinn’s Church Owes Mail House More Than $3 Million
A U.S. District Court in New York has ruled that Benny Hinn’s World Healing Center Church is liable for more than $3 million in overdue payments to a mail house that provided printing and mailing services for the ministry.
Mail America Communications Inc. brought the lawsuit against WHCC in September 2018 after repeated attempts to collect the debt, saying the church had fallen progressively behind in payments since the two organizations began doing business together in 2006. Mail America said the church was more than $5.6 million in arrears by early 2012. 
The parties had entered into a forbearance agreement offering a more relaxed payment plan in December 2014 after the church acknowledged it had defaulted on a promissory note. On July 19, 2018, the parties executed another forbearance agreement and a related affidavit in which the church acknowledged an outstanding obligation of $3,098,380.06 as of June 30, 2018.
The church at one point admitted not making any payments under the second agreement between October 7, 2017 and July 24, 2018, then later contended it had in fact paid more than $250,000 and had even overpaid by $49,000.
Mail America filed an instant motion for summary judgment for payment of the $3 million-plus on January 6, 2021, and the motion was granted April 7 by District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.
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Known for his massive “healing crusades,” Hinn has long been associated with the prosperity gospel, the concept that God will reward with wealth those who give money to ministries like his.
In 2019, however, he said he was “correcting” his theology away from that belief, saying, “The blessings of God are not for sale. And miracles are not for sale. And prosperity is not for sale.”
He went on to say that televangelists asking for “seed money” with the promise of high returns—as he himself had done—was offensive to God.
But soon after posting the Facebook Live video in which he spoke about his change of heart, he was again asking donors for $1,000 donations, Jubilee Cast reported.
Hinn’s ministries are estimated to take in more than $100 million a year. In 2017, his nephew, Costi Hinn, wrote in Christianity Today about the family’s lavish lifestyle, including flying in private jets, living in luxury homes, and driving expensive cars. His subsequent book God, Greed, and the Prosperity Gospel published in 2019 and offered an even deeper look at the Hinn family lifestyle.
MinistryWatch gives World Healing Center Church dba Benny Hinn Ministries an “F” Transparency Grade because it does not release its Form 990, an earnings statement for tax-exempt organizations; does not do regular audits and reviews; and is not a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. MinistryWatch does not recommend giving to ministries that are not financially transparent.
The corporate headquarters for Benny Hinn Ministries/World Healing Center Church is located in Grapevine, Texas.
