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This is not the first time a minister has asked for a new private jet.

In 2015, televangelist Creflo Dollar asked his followers to help his ministry purchase a $65 million jet. That same year, Kenneth Copeland's ministry successfully purchased a Gulfstream V jet worth millions.

“Glory to God! It’s Ours!” the Kenneth Copeland Ministry website posted. “The Gulfstream V is in our hands!”

Moreover, Copeland’s television program “Believer’s Voice of Victory”, held a segment with Duplantis to discuss the difference between commercial airplanes and a private jets to spread the gospel. The ministers argued that flying on a commercial plane would be similar to flying with “a bunch of demons.”

During the segment, Duplantis mentions a time when he had to unbuckle his seat belt to be able to speak to God.

\"PHOTO:
Jesse Duplantis Ministries/Twitter
PHOTO: During his show "This Week With Jesse" on May 21, evangelical minister Jesse Duplantis asked worshipers to help him pay for a new jet.
>

“You couldn’t have done that over an airline,” Copeland said. “Stand up and say, ‘What did you say, Lord?’”

Duplantis did not immediately respond for comment.

The National Association of Evangelicals president Leith Anderson questioned the effectiveness of passing the offering plate in this manner saying, “I keep thinking how much good $54 million would bless the poor instead.”

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