Televangelist and gospel singer Juanita Bynum is defending her ministry offering a seven-session prayer training course for $1,499.99, after critics called the price “outrageous.”
In a Facebook Live video posted on Thursday, Bynum dismissed critics who found the cost of the prayer training excessive. She said to “discuss the price” of the course, slated to begin on October 6, was “an insult to who I am after being in ministry for over 50 years.”
The 63-year-old preacher and author stated: “(I’ve) been a pioneer in the things of prayer and helping people to understand prayer and letting them watch me do it, so that they can know that there are different dimensions and different levels to prayer.”
Saiko Woods, a Bible teacher in west Texas who hosts The Book Chapter Verse Podcast, noted he has long-standing concerns after following Bynum’s ministry for years.
“When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, as we read in Matthew chapter six, there was no fee involved,” Woods told The Roys Report (TRR). “So, prayer is free. There’s no price for it.”
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Also calling Bynum out publicly is an author and street preacher from Chicago, Marcus Rogers.
“As you guys know, I never charge to travel and preach and I never charge for classes,” Rogers posted on Facebook last week. “I feel like God freely gave it so I freely give it to help His people. . . . So I want to hear y’all’s hearts on this. I just think this is outrageous.”
Bynum’s post received 3.7K responses and thousands of comments.
Regarding the course, Bynum emphasized that her TV studio has space for hundreds of people, and this Atlanta training represented her launching a “next-level school of prayer” that would be limited to 150 people. The online listing states that a tote bag, binder, journal, sacred anointing oil, and Prayer Institute certificate are included as part of the course.
“It is going to be four weeks, seven sessions, in-person,” she said. “It is not a revival or a conference. I’m going to consecrate you at the end and put a full-length prayer shawl on you and give you your certificate stamped with my seal of my ministry.”
TRR reached out to Juanita Bynum International for further comment but did not receive a reply.
Woods, who attended the College of Biblical Studies in Houston for three years, said the course, as it’s described online, does not appear to be similar to any accredited curriculum with which he is familiar. “What I see are people claiming to be Christians selling merchandise to those who are unsuspecting and naïve, because that’s their market,” he said.
Citing 2 Peter 2, which speaks of false teachers, Woods described Bynum and other televangelists as “self-appointed, self-made prophets.” He added: “This is nothing but a get-rich-quick scheme for them to fill their own money coffers. And they’re doing it at the expense of their own soul for profit.”
Bynum, whose TV program airs four times daily on the Daystar network based in Dallas, has 1.3 million followers on Facebook and 248,000 Instagram followers.
She claimed that her ministry in the past has been provided to people at no cost. “In the last several years I have traveled in ministry, I’ve given away more money than I want to think about right now,” said Bynum via Facebook Live. “(I’ve) preached at conferences and not taken a dime, which I recently did and have done and have stacks of letters to prove that.”
According to a database search, five different 501(c)3 organizations are listed as linked to Juanita Bynum. Only one of those organizations, New Juanita Bynum Ministry II Inc., has filed a Form IRS 990 in recent years, revealing the salaries of top-paid employees. That nonprofit group reported donations of $1.8 million in 2020.
Bynum also said that course topics will include “understanding how to hear from God,” demonology, dream interpretation, and the connection between mental health and prayer.
Woods, who described his theological background as Reformed Baptist, said this latest televangelist offer revealed a “lack of discernment” in many churches—particularly “in a lot of charismatic communities.”
He explained: “Some of these people are sincere brothers and sisters, but they are naïve when it comes to what to look for with these ‘big name’ ministers like Juanita Bynum and T.D. Jakes.”
Freelance journalist Josh Shepherd writes on faith, culture, and public policy for several media outlets. He and his wife live in the Washington, D.C. area with their two children.
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17 Responses
We do not need to pay how to pray…may I note that the Bible says we only need to groan and He hears our prayer…may I note as believers we have the Holy Spirit with us…we can speak to our Lord Jesus Christ as our Intercessor and Friend…our Comforter. I need not pay anything for this…related to this person in article or not. May we each really see our personal relationship with our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ as not dependent on something we give/pay others, but as something we cultivate with our Savior directly.
What is so funny about miss Juanita didn’t discern her husband to be Mr Weeks that he was a wife beater and his anger and Rage inside him and deceiving people with outside appearances! Even her! Be careful people Jesus taught his disciples to pray they ASK him to teach they. Just saying ????♀️
That is a cruel statement a woman should be allowed to make mistakes, she is only human. No one deserve to be abused.
Maybe if I had the “prayer certificate” I would get more “positive” answers to prayer /sarc
At which point, what’s the diff between a Prayer Certificate and a Magickal Amulet?
They’re both similar to an anointed prayer cloth with holy oil from Jerusalem the R ev. Al used to send thru the mail.
I referred to Rev Al. That should have been the late Rev. Ike. My mistake.
Juanita’s still around? I thought her stunt of asking people to “empty their bank accounts and live on faith” would undo her. I remember watching Juanita do that on “the Word” network (using quotes for a reason given some of the questionable programming on there). I was speechless.
Televangelist charging $1500 a pop to teach you how to pray.
Why doesn’t this surprise me?
Has anyone heard of Simon Magus in Acts 8:9-24?
Actually, it *is* quite surprising. They usually want you to give $1500 in exchange for nothing more than a strip of “prayer cloth” or a tiny bottle of “holy water” they’ve supposedly prayed over, and often it’s nothing more than a promise that you’ll be blessed by God for sending them money.
By comparison, $1500 for a whole seven-session prayer training course is fantastic value for money…!!
I guess she needs a new private plane.
The 63-year-old preacher and author stated: “(I’ve) been a pioneer in the things of prayer and helping people to understand prayer and letting them watch me do it, so that they can know that there are different dimensions and different levels to prayer.”
So many red flags in one quote. A pioneer in the things of prayer? Letting them watch me do it? Different dimensions and levels?
I remember seeing this same juanita bynum on TBN during a telethon about 15-20 years ago where she told people if they didnt give money to TBN that God would hold them accountable for people going to hell. WHY are people still following this clown??
I agree with everything Pastor Saiko Woods said. In a free society it is Ms. Bynum’s prerogative to advertise and charge whatever she wants. It is also the prerogative of those who choose to pay and attend the course. However, it is disappointing how such situations reflect on Christianity and the spreading of the Gospel.
On an optimistic note, maybe the exposure of the unbiblical stuff going in the christian community today will cause a move back to the first century church and her priorities.
This certainly seems to be a scam but if people choose to pay $1500 for this “course” that’s their choice.
As P.T. Barnum supposedly said “There’s a sucker born every minute” and this is just an example of that. Pay up to pray up!
People like this set themselves up to prey upon the vulnerable, like the elderly whose cognitive abilities are impaired, and the desperate who are ready to try anything to turn their fortunes around. It’s not even enough to just say “let people make their own choices.”
Jesus rebuked the shalartans like Juanita…. She gives Christianity a bad name… but Gid will deal with her accordingly , no bad deed goes unpunished. She needs to retire!!!