'Jesus Wouldn't be Riding a Donkey': TV Preacher Asks Followers to Fund New Private Jet

Steve Warren
05-29-2018

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Jesse Duplantis, a televangelist based in St. Charles Parish, Louisana, is asking his followers to donate money for a new $54 million private jet, "so we can go anywhere in the world in one stop," according to The Times-Picayune. 

Duplantis, 68, makes the appeal in a "The Week with Jesse" video posted on the ministry's website last week.

He promoted his video on Twitter asking users to "Watch This Week with Jesse as Jesse shows the importance of using aviation as an amazing tool for evangelizing the world!"

Duplantis explains his 40-year-old ministry has owned three private jets in the past.

"You know I've owned three different jets in my life and used them and used them and just burning them up for the Lord," he says in the video. 

Now the preacher is targeting the necessary funds for a Dassault Falcon 7X, with a $54 million price tag.

Duplantis explains his reasoning for wanting to purchase the new jet.

He says he could fly cheaper because he has his own fuel farm and he can avoid refueling stops. By flying in the new plane, Duplantis says it will save money and not pay for "those exorbitant prices with jet fuel all over the world."  

"I really believe that if Jesus was physically on the earth today, he wouldn't be riding a donkey," Duplantis says in the video, "He'd be in an airplane preaching the gospel all over the world."

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About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of
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