A megachurch that was once an arena the NBA’s Houston Rockets played in has become a hub of hurricane relief, one day it was criticized for its response to a hurricane that brought record rainfall and flooding to the city.
On Sunday, Lakewood Church, which is led by Pastor Joel Osteen, said on Facebook that its central campus was “inaccessible due to severe flooding.”
But criticism against the church persisted, with one commenter saying on Facebook, “If you guys at Lakewood cared half as much about your own people as you do your Sunday offerings, you’d definitely have those doors open.”
Osteen was also criticized by Mac Engel, a columnist with the Star-Telegram newspaper out of Fort Worth.
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He said Osteen should do more than offer “thoughts and prayers,” as he did on social media, after Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt had raised over $500,000 for hurricane victims (he has since helped to raise almost $5 million) and Gallery Furniture founder Jim McIngvale had turned stores into shelters.
Osteen and the church issued the following statement in response to the criticism.
The pastor announced that Lakewood Church’s doors were open and receiving people on Tuesday morning.
It had earlier issued a call for supplies such as baby food and formula.
The church subsequently posted a photo gallery and numerous videos on its Facebook and Twitter accounts that showed volunteers marshaling resources for people who were displaced by the storm.
The church can accommodate several hundred people on its second floor, spokesman Don Iloff told CNN.
He said the facility would also be used as a donation centre.
Many praised the efforts of all involved at Lakewood. However, some still criticized the church.
“It’s about time,” said one commenter on Facebook.
“You should have cared enough to have had your doors open sooner though.”