“Hillsong paid celebrity speakers massive amounts of money as honorariums according to a trove of financial documents from Hillsong Church first made public on March 9 by Andrew Wilkie, an independent member of the Australian Parliament. In a document titled, ‘Hillsong Conference (with One Days) Key cost Variances’ covering the period 2005-2011, Hillsong Church paid T.D. Jakes an honorarium of $146,359 in 2010. The list of payouts to other prominent Christian personalities includes $58,605 to Israel Haughton, $45,032 to Tim Hughes, $25,000 to Ed Young, $25,000 to Judah Smith, $25,000 to Andy Stanley and $10,000 to Nancy Beach. Joyce Meyer received an honorarium of $133,420 in 2008. Both Meyer and Jakes made multiple appearances at the annual Hillsong Conference, and each time they received $100,000 or more in honorarium payments. In 2015, according to the records, Hillsong Church spent just over $522,000 on honorariums. The list of famous Christian pastors with global brands that have received honorariums for making appearances at the megachurch include Steven Furtick, Jentezen Franklin, Robert Morris, Louie Giglio, Joseph Prince, Ravi Zacharias, Carl Lentz and many others. The details come after nearly 40 churches around the world were found to have paid up to $100,000, or 3% of their tithes and offerings, annually to Hillsong Church to be a part of the Hillsong Family network, which the whistleblower has alleged offers access to a global honorarium scheme meant to funnel additional income into the pockets of celebrity pastors through sophisticated means.”
“Hillsong Church Paid,” Christian Post, Apr. 6, 2023
