Joel Osteen

Pastor Joel Osteen finally opened the doors of his Houston megachurch after catching heat for closing the $50 million church in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Osteen, 54, tweeted a prayer to everyone affected by the storm on Saturday, but he was criticized for shutting the doors of his megachurch for 3 days.

“Victoria & I are praying for everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey. Please join us as we pray for the safety of our Texas friends & family,” Osteen tweeted on Saturday.

The prosperity preacher remained silent as others called for him to open the doors of his massive church for hurricane relief efforts.

“if you were a real Christian, you’d be opening your doors to your displaced neighbors,” tweeted one user.

Another user tweeted: “How are you guys helping the storm victims in Texas right now?”

Others noted Osteen’s personal wealth is in the tens of millions of dollars, but instead of opening his doors, he is taking donations on his website.

A Twitter user wrote: “Here you go folks! You wanted Joel Osteen to take action, well he did. Church stays closed but send me your money!”



Some Twitter users trolled Osteen for ignoring the calls for help with flood relief.


Around 9 p.m. Monday, a Twitter user announced the church would open it’s doors for flood relief. The Twitter user, @cmclymer, tweeted: “Lakewood Church apparently bought countless air mattresses and are prepping to open their doors. Took a while but good news. #JoelOsteen”