Televangelist Claims He Needs $54 Million Private Jet To Spread The Gospel

Evangelist Jesse Duplantis asked listeners to “pray about becoming a partner” in his plan to buy a Dassault Falcon 7X to add to his current fleet of three jets. (Photo: Jesse Duplantis Ministries / Facebook)
Evangelist Jesse Duplantis asked listeners to “pray about becoming a partner” in his plan to buy a Dassault Falcon 7X to add to his current fleet of three jets. (Photo: Jesse Duplantis Ministries / Facebook)

A Louisiana televangelist is convinced that God wants him to own a fourth private jet ― and he’s calling on others to donate toward that lofty goal.

Evangelist Jesse Duplantis asked listeners to “pray about becoming a partner” in his grand dream to own a Dassault Falcon 7X, a luxury plane that’s reported to be worth at least $54 million. Duplantis claims he needs the private plane with seating for up to 19 and an optional onboard shower to efficiently spread the gospel.

“I really believe that if Jesus was physically on the Earth today, he wouldn’t be riding a donkey,” Duplantis said in a May 21 video posted on his website. “Think about it for a minute. He’d be in an airplane preaching the gospel all over the world.”

A Dassault Aviation Falcon 7X takes part in a flying display near Paris on June 13, 2009. (Photo: Pascal Rossignol / Reuters)
A Dassault Aviation Falcon 7X takes part in a flying display near Paris on June 13, 2009. (Photo: Pascal Rossignol / Reuters)

Duplantis is a purveyor of the prosperity gospel, a strand of Christianity that teaches that earthly riches are a sign of God’s favor. His organization, Jesse Duplantis Ministries, is headquartered in Destrehan, Louisiana, with a global reach facilitated by a television program, magazine and web series. The evangelist has over 700,000 followers on Facebook.

In a recent episode of his web show, “This Week With Jesse,” Duplantis showed viewers framed photos of three jets he has already “purchased for the Lord.” Two of them are now being used by other pastors, while the third, his current Falcon 50, is no longer up to par, he claims.

With a Falcon 7X, the evangelist says he could fly “one stop” to faraway locales “for a lot cheaper,” using fuel from his own fuel farm instead of paying for jet fuel during stops.

The revelation that he needed a Falcon 7X came straight from heaven, Duplantis said. During the video, he recalled a conversation he claims to have had with God.

″[God] said, ‘I want you to believe me for a Falcon 7X,’” the evangelist said. “The first thing I thought of was how am I going to pay for it? And a great statement that he told me in 1978 flooded into my mind, and he said, ‘Jesse, I didn’t ask you to pay for it, I asked you to believe for it.’”

“I am a blessed man,” he added. “You looking at a blessed man.”

HuffPost has reached out to Jesse Duplantis Ministries for comment.

In the past, the evangelist has said he needs a private jet because of his demanding schedule. Duplantis’ Facebook page shows events scheduled throughout the summer in the U.S. and Canada.

Prosperity preachers have been criticized heavily for using private jets. In 2015, televangelist Creflo Dollar asked donors to pitch in $300 each to help fund a $65 million Gulfstream G650 jet. Dollar has yet to purchase the jet, according to The Washington Post, since they are in high demand among billionaires.

Duplantis and fellow prosperity gospel preacher Kenneth Copeland defended their use of private jets in a television broadcast. Copeland, who was on President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board during the 2016 campaign, claims in the video that pastors use these private jets as a “sanctuary” where they can talk directly to God.

“The world is in such a shape, we can’t get there without this,” Copeland said during the broadcast. “We’ve got to have this. The mess that the airlines are in today I would have to stop ... at least 75 to 80, more like 90 percent of what we’re doing because you can’t get there from here.”

“It’s impossible,” Duplantis said.

“You can’t manage that today,” Copeland added later, “this dope-filled world, and get in a long tube with a bunch of demons. And it’s deadly.”

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On Twitter, several Christians chimed in to argue against the idea that preachers who own private jets are following Jesus’ example.

In his pitch for the Falcon 7X, Duplantis said he knew not everyone would agree that preachers need jets. But, he said, he’s simply trying to follow one of the last commands that Jesus gave his disciples: “Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

“Now how we going to do that? I can’t live long enough to travel by car. Or by ship or by train. But I can do it by an airplane.”

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1927

The official opening of an airline passenger service between Boston and New York took place when the first two women to make the night trip alighted from the air mail plane in New York on April 5, 1927. The fare was $25 per person.
The official opening of an airline passenger service between Boston and New York took place when the first two women to make the night trip alighted from the air mail plane in New York on April 5, 1927. The fare was $25 per person.

1935

Passengers sitting in their seats inside the cabin of a 21-passenger airplane making daily trips between New York City and Chicago circa 1935. 
Passengers sitting in their seats inside the cabin of a 21-passenger airplane making daily trips between New York City and Chicago circa 1935. 

1939

Passengers boarding Pan American clipper ship at Port Washington, NY circa 1939.
Passengers boarding Pan American clipper ship at Port Washington, NY circa 1939.

1940s

Passengers, seated two to a row, talk with their inflight neighbors aboard a Mainliner Convair aircraft as the flight attendant works at the back of the plane in the late 1940s.
Passengers, seated two to a row, talk with their inflight neighbors aboard a Mainliner Convair aircraft as the flight attendant works at the back of the plane in the late 1940s.

1949

Stewardess Jane Driscoll lights a cigar for airline passenger Carl Graulein, 68, of East St. Louis, as he prepares to depart for his native Germany aboard an American Airlines overseas flight on Nov. 10, 1949.
Stewardess Jane Driscoll lights a cigar for airline passenger Carl Graulein, 68, of East St. Louis, as he prepares to depart for his native Germany aboard an American Airlines overseas flight on Nov. 10, 1949.

1947

A model poses walking off the Pan American Clipper 'Challenge' Lockheed 1049 airliner circa 1947.
A model poses walking off the Pan American Clipper 'Challenge' Lockheed 1049 airliner circa 1947.

1955

Passengers enjoy a relaxing smoke on a Transocean Air lines Boeing 377 Stratocruiser circa 1955.
Passengers enjoy a relaxing smoke on a Transocean Air lines Boeing 377 Stratocruiser circa 1955.

1960

A family walking down airplane stairs.
A family walking down airplane stairs.

1961

Passengers getting off of a tardy chartered plane on Oct. 1, 1961. 
Passengers getting off of a tardy chartered plane on Oct. 1, 1961. 

1974

Miami-bound passengers on National Airlines go through a baggage check. 
Miami-bound passengers on National Airlines go through a baggage check. 

1977

Passengers taking a bus to get to a connecting flights in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Passengers taking a bus to get to a connecting flights in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

1980

Passengers board an Aloha Airlines plane named after Hawaiian monarch 'Queen Liliuokalani' at Honolulu airport in Honolulu, Hawaii on Jan. 2, 1980.
Passengers board an Aloha Airlines plane named after Hawaiian monarch 'Queen Liliuokalani' at Honolulu airport in Honolulu, Hawaii on Jan. 2, 1980.

1984

Just for special snow days, United Airlines now has signs and lines to handle passengers with cancelled flights. They had four lines going and about six agents handling the frustrated travelers on Nov. 12, 1984.
Just for special snow days, United Airlines now has signs and lines to handle passengers with cancelled flights. They had four lines going and about six agents handling the frustrated travelers on Nov. 12, 1984.

1994

Airplane passengers look through windows at airplanes being de-iced and plows at work at La Guardia airport on Feb. 11, 1994. 
Airplane passengers look through windows at airplanes being de-iced and plows at work at La Guardia airport on Feb. 11, 1994. 

1995

Shuttle by United travels most frequently between San Francisco and Los Angeles on Sep. 7, 1995. 
Shuttle by United travels most frequently between San Francisco and Los Angeles on Sep. 7, 1995. 

2001

Travelers stand in line at the United Airlines terminal at O''Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on June 18, 2001.
Travelers stand in line at the United Airlines terminal at O''Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on June 18, 2001.

2002

Passengers wait in line at the low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines ticket counter at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida on Dec. 13, 2002. 
Passengers wait in line at the low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines ticket counter at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida on Dec. 13, 2002. 

2004

Passengers arrive at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Nov. 23, 2004 in Los Angeles, California. 
Passengers arrive at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Nov. 23, 2004 in Los Angeles, California. 

2007

Northwest airlines passengers check in at Detroit Metropolitan Airport May 31, 2007 in Romulus, Michigan. 
Northwest airlines passengers check in at Detroit Metropolitan Airport May 31, 2007 in Romulus, Michigan. 

2011

Airline travellers stand in line to get to the United airlines ticketing counter at Newark Airport in Newark, New Jersey on Aug. 29, 2011. 
Airline travellers stand in line to get to the United airlines ticketing counter at Newark Airport in Newark, New Jersey on Aug. 29, 2011. 

2013

Passengers prepare to board their flight at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, IL on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. 
Passengers prepare to board their flight at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, IL on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. 

2013

Passengers aboard a US Airways flight take their baggage from the overhead bin as they depart the plane in Phoenix, AZ on Oct. 7, 2013. 
Passengers aboard a US Airways flight take their baggage from the overhead bin as they depart the plane in Phoenix, AZ on Oct. 7, 2013. 

2016

Passengers walk through the Delta Airlines Inc. terminal at LaGuardia Airport in the Queens borough of New York, U.S. on Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. 
Passengers walk through the Delta Airlines Inc. terminal at LaGuardia Airport in the Queens borough of New York, U.S. on Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. 

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.