Detroit gospel singer Fred Hammond defended Pastor Marvin Winans for criticizing a church member who offered $1,235 for his church fund.
Pastor Winans sparked controversy by reprimanding Roberta McCoy in front of the congregation for bringing him $1,235 instead of the $2,000 he asked for.
“Now that’s only $1,200,” Pastor Winans said. “Y’all not listening to what I’m saying,” he told his congregants. “If you have a thousand, plus a thousand…”
McCoy told Winans she would “work on the other $800.”
“That ain’t what I asked you to do,” he told her.
Bishop Marvin Winans goes viral after criticizing a woman and her son in front of the entire church for donating $1,200 instead of $2,000 during a fundraiser ?
— My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) October 20, 2025
Following the backlash online, gospel icon Fred Hammond defended Winans in an Instagram post on Tuesday. Hammond said organizations “raise money all the time.”
“I’ll set this right here. Here’s the full context,” Hammond wrote. “I wonder if those who cut it up will play this version?”
In the video, Pastor Winans gives instructions to church members donating to the church building fund.
“Those that have the thousand plus one, that means you’re coming with your thousand that you’re giving plus you’ve asked someone else to give… So in other words, if you say ‘Pastor Winans, I’m coming with my thousand plus another $3,000,’ then you’ll say that. You understand? And if you didn’t get the plus one, but you maybe came with $250, you’re gonna come say that this is my thousand plus $250.”
