U.S. megachurches are providing funds and supplies to help Ukrainians, despite liberal attacks on social media, according to “The Christian Post.”
PolitiFact took aim at widely shared posts on Facebook and Twitter that combine a photograph of televangelist Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston and the words: “Funny how we haven’t seen a single American megachurch offer ANYTHING to the Ukrainians …” This meme was published by “The Other 98%,” a Facebook page with more than 6.6 million followers that is known for posting memes that advance a liberal narrative. The post was shared 22,000 times and received 40,000 likes.
Another tweet that was retweeted more than 2,000 times claims, “You’ll notice that you haven’t seen one multimillion dollar tax exempt megachurch or their grifting sinister millionaire owners sending relief or supplies to Ukrainian refugees, which isn’t surprising because they don’t even help U.S. citizens during times of disaster.”
“We rate posts that say no megachurches are raising money for Ukraine relief False,” PolitiFact said. FactCheck.org also published a report tackling the false posts, stating: “American megachurches are actively raising funds to support Ukrainians.”
Lakewood Church shared a Facebook video featuring Osteen’s brother, Dr. Paul Osteen, talking about the church’s efforts to help Ukrainians.
“We are doing what we can do to help partner churches in Slovakia who are helping refugees fleeing the war,” he said in the video. “We’re looking for opportunities to work with refugees in Poland and with our longstanding partnership with Dr. Todd and Sue Price, we’re working inside of Ukraine to help those who are in the midst of the conflict right now.”
READ: Child Evangelism Fellowship on the ground In Ukraine with help for refugee children
John Osteen, Joel and Paul’s father, raised donations to help build a church in Ukraine in 1996, and that church is now feeding refugees, the video said.
Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church has deployed an advanced relief team to connect with local pastors in Ukraine and Poland caring for hundreds of Ukrainian refugees. An update from the team detailed some of the work being done at a border crossing in Medyka, Poland, to help refugees who fled the invasion.
“We’re traveling in three large vans so we can take refugees back to Warsaw or any other stop along the way,” it said. Saddleback’s website also invites people to help and has provided multiple updates on its efforts in the region.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice