As Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Friday, August 25, numerous churches, temples, mosques and community centers opened their doors to the public to shelter the displaced. Yet, with all these open doors, one notable establishment kept theirs closed: Lakewood Church.
The Houston megachurch was berated for its actions on Sunday after pastor Joel Osteen did not open the doors of the 16,800-seat building to the public following the hurricane. On the Lakewood Church Facebook and in a now-deleted Instagram post, Osteen explained the church’s conspicuous closure by claiming that highway flooding rendered it inaccessible.
“Dear Houstonians! Lakewood Church is inaccessible due to severe flooding!” the post read, but commenters were quick to respond with a barrage of photos and videos showing open roads surrounding the church, seemingly contradicting the statement. A number of vocal Facebook and Twitter users came to the church’s defense, citing the dangerous conditions for church staff among other reasons as to why Lakewood could not have opened earlier.
In response to the controversy, Lakewood Church released pictures depicting flooding on some levels of the multi-tiered megachurch. Additionally, Don Iloff, a spokesperson for the church, publicly denied allegations that Lakewood was voluntarily closed in an attempt to quell backlash.
“The church has been open from the beginning, but it’s not designated as a shelter,” Iloff told The Washington Post.
Osteen’s original post and the following stream of contradicting information were met with a strong media backlash, which quickly built up steam as “Joel Osteen” became a trending topic on Twitter earlier this week. Many angry Houston residents, as well as people around the world, became increasingly incensed with the church’s perceived lack of hospitality.
“The fact that Osteen refused the opportunity to extend potential relief to thousands of suffering people in the wake of Hurricane Harvey speaks volumes about his character,” senior Isabella Holland said. “We need people to lend a compassionate hand to victims, not turn their back on them.”
Monday, Osteen released another public statement on Twitter to combat the media fire, emphasizing that the church would be “receiving anyone who needs shelter.” Lakewood Church later maintained in a statement to ABC News that Lakewood Church has always been open as a shelter and had been taking in refugees from the first landfall.
“We have never closed our doors,” the statement read. “Lakewood will be a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm in helping our fellow citizens rebuild their lives.”
Despite the contradicting statements and social backlash against its actions, Lakewood Church is now functioning as a shelter, playing a part in recovery and aid in the aftermath of the Harvey disaster.
“Lakewood’s doors are open to anyone needing shelter,” the Lakewood Church tweeted August 29. “We are also looking for volunteers and collecting shelter supplies.”
