Plumber finds about 500 envelopes full of cash, checks behind loose toilet at Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch
It’s a miracle!
A plumber working at Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch said that he found a stash of cash and checks hidden in a wall behind a loose toilet.
Around 500 envelopes filled with cash and checks were found as insulation was removed from the wall earlier last month.
The stunning discovery was made on Nov. 10. According to Click2Houston, the plumber later called a local radio station to talk about his incredible finding.
“There was a loose toilet in the wall and we removed the tile…well they removed the tile,” the caller, who hasn’t been named, said.
“[I] went to go remove the toilet and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall, l, and I was like ‘Oh wow!,’ the man told host George Lindsey during a show at 100.3 The Bull, a local country music radio station.
“I went ahead and contacted the maintenance supervisor that was there and I went ahead and turned it all in,” he added.
In a statement, Osteen’s massive non-denominational Christian megachurch confirmed that “an undisclosed amount of cash and checks” had been recently found” “while repair work was being done at Lakewood Church.”
Church officials “immediately notified the Houston Police Department and [the church] is assisting them with their investigation. Lakewood has no further comment at this time.”
It’s unclear how much money was recovered, but the discovery raises some questions. Seven years ago, about $600,000 was reported missing from a church safe.
In March 2014, the church sent out a letter to its then-more than 40,000 members to let them know about the theft.
“We were heartbroken to learn today that funds were stolen from the church over the weekend. This includes cash, checks and envelopes containing written credit card information, and it is limited only to those funds contributed in the church services on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2014. If you made a contribution during these weekend services, we would encourage you to pay close attention to your accounts over the next several days and weeks and report any suspicious activity to your financial institution or credit card company immediately,” the letter read.
