Kenneth Copeland, an ultra-wealthy televangelist, is taking flak for failing to fly disaster relief supplies to Haiti’s earthquake victims after he promised to do so. Copeland’s ministry has also faced scrutiny by the Senate Finance Committee for possible abuse of its nonprofit status. Critics say they have made unfulfilled” pledges and unaccounted donations.
Rich Vermillion, co-author of Angel Flight 44, wrote at the time “While there is a huge crisis going on in the nation of Haiti right now Kenneth Copeland’s promised Angel Flight 44 ministry is nowhere to be found, and the money he collected to start that ministry has not been accounted for.” Glen Hyde and Kenneth Copeland launched Angel Flight 44 during the Southwest Believer’s Convention.
It was supposed to be a new disaster relief ministry where Kevin Copeland Ministries (KCM) would provide ongoing aviation aid. It was announced after a summary of KCM’s relief efforts in 2006 in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Much of the coverage of this issue, has come from Vermillion, who started kennethcopelandblog.com.
He started the project as a “minister to errant-minister open rebuke.” He says that while Copeland accepted donations, he never actually created the charity. He explained, “It is as if Kenneth Copeland had never said such a ministry had already been formed, nor had repeatedly promised that such an aviation support ministry would be further developed and ready for disasters – such as that which just occurred in Haiti a few days ago.”
Kenneth Copeland, who is worth $760 Million and owns a fleet of private jets, called the allegations “misleading” and “potentially damaging misinformation.” His ministry said in a recent statement, Kenneth Copeland Ministries is one of the premier Christian Ministries in the world today and is run with the utmost integrity.” They added, “The Church has an annual independent audit and there are no funds that have been misused or unaccounted for.”
KCM contends that it did make “one of its aircraft available” during the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2006 and “also investigated the possibility of providing such assistance for future disasters.” However, when pressed on details, KCM spokesman Dr. Stephen Swisher, admitted: “This was not a specific promise with a timeline attached.”
Swisher claims Angel Flight 44 has collected only $7,788.43 and the donations have been spent on plane repairs. KCM purchased an airplane, but it “currently has structural issues” and is still “not in airworthy condition.” The spokesman says the ministry does not have the money to fund another plane and needs more donations. “However, it is our desire to have an aircraft to fly assistance during disaster relief efforts,” Swisher added. “We are believing God for the finances to have a fleet of aircraft to use during such instances.”
Since 2005, KCM has received more than $2.4 million in disaster donations. “It is our belief that instead of duplicating efforts or reinventing the wheel, so to speak, that we should support other ministries with the ability and capacity to hit the ground running and to help the people of Haiti as quickly and successfully as possible,” Swisher concluded.
“A generic relief fund is a far cry from a fully operational disaster-relief aviation ministry,” Vermillion stated. “[M]y experience with Kenneth Copeland, his family, and his ministry, has given me the regrettable opinion that they may be nothing more than religious frauds” Rich Vermillion responded. “[T]hat is why we are calling on them to simply repent.”
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