“Faith Healer” David Taylor posing with props—crutches of people supposedly healed.
(photo—screen capture from Taylor’s website)
David Taylor is not an ex-con, and he is still very much alive as opposed to a few other ex-con preachers and one other deceased televangelist who are televised on what may be the United States sleaziest “Christian” television network—Kevin Adell’s ‘Word Network’. But this is about David Taylor. How in the world can this snake-oil salesman be allowed to continue soliciting donations, often from the poorest, least educated people in the country?
Tax-exempt status ends
David Taylor’s Joshua Media Ministries lost its tax-exempt status on May 15th, 2021, for failing to file the informative IRS form 990 for three consecutive years—the organization stopped reporting after its 2017 filing. Despite losing his tax-exempt status, he presses on with gimmicks and projects pleading for donations from unsuspecting donors who probably have no idea that their donations to that organization are no longer tax-deductible.
However, Taylor’s sister organization, “The Kingdom of God Global Church” (KOGC) can operate with impunity since it’s a church and the likelihood of that organization losing its church status is practically non-existent, due to the reluctance of the IRS to audit churches.
For those who aren’t familiar with Mr. Taylor, you’re not alone. He’s a small-time televangelist in a large pool of television preachers who dresses lavishly as a copy-cat clownish caricature of the more well-known televangelist Benny Hinn and occasionally utters nonsense from a garish golden throne-ish chair in his broadcast studio.
For those who enjoyed following the entertaining faces and contrived energetic outbursts of the aging televangelist Robert Tilton, you can tune in to Taylor’s broadcasts on the Word Network.
Like Hinn, who prophesied that peace would soon come between the Israelites and Palestinians on a September 25th Facebook video, shortly before the present war broke out, Mr. Taylor makes his own wild prophesies.
Like Hinn, Taylor loves to live in mansions (more below).
Also, like Hinn, Taylor loves to glorify himself…
Taylor has written fantastical books such as, Supernatural Marvels—Time Travel, claiming to time travel, and another, The Kingdom of God-Part 1-Recovering the Crown, which claims multiple face-to-face trips to heaven. Taylor claims on Amazon he has a close friendship with Jesus, “He most prizes his face-to-face appearance relationship and friendship with Jesus”.
Taylor advertises “One Night with the King” with a Jesus looking character on the left looking over at the word KING right next to Taylor himself. Nothing subtle about the imagery.
Screen shot from 11/1/2023 broadcast
One televised cartoonish image shows a larger-than-life apparition of Taylor’s head and shoulders with a golden face, dressed in white, shining clothing, behind two miniature people on stage as if he is a giant spirit appearing to them. A banner across the bottom of the screen quotes the scripture about Jesus’ physical appearance on the mount of transfiguration, “And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.” (Luke 9:29) Again, nothing subtle about the glorified imagery.
Screen shot from 11/1/2023 broadcast
A 2018 website page about his ministry names him as “The General” and depicts him in a white outfit with a lot of buttons speaking into a mike and reaching out toward the sky.
Some of Taylor’s solicitation gimmicks:
On one broadcast, he offers a “heavily discounted” $8 bundle for a Training in Miracles DVD, a Face-to-Face Appearances from Jesus book AND an anointed prayer cloth. He also plugs his “My Trip to Heaven” book, where he talks about his time travels.
On another broadcast, a banner across the bottom of the TV screen announces, “Call for your Free Prayer Cloth!” and “You can experience Jesus face-to-face!”. Most of his broadcasts feature photos or video of rows of supposed empty wheelchairs and abandoned walkers, the obvious inference that all were abandoned by former cripples.
One program is all about dreams. Taylor preaches “God is going to give you dreams and the interpretation of those dreams in order for you to have victory.” Taylor says, “Have you lost your money? God will give you a dream of how you’ll become wealthy again”, He says the same about a lost husband or wife, and a lost business.
“If you write to me, I’ll send you a Dream Decoder… for a small donation ($50 is small?)”, and, “For a small donation of $25, (holding up ‘Dream Pillow’ pillowcases) I’ll send this to you,” “We have prayed over these pillowcases” He says, “We have raised up a dream army.” He says, “I want you to call in… we have dream interpreters.” You can also order his “dream dictionary” from the website.
Taylor uses Google as an example and shows an image of Larry Paige who is a billionaire now because he dreamed of the possibility of Google searches, “and it revolutionized the way we see the world today.” Taylor, referring to Jack Nicklaus and onscreen images of him say Nicholas Nickolai (?) dreamed and won a golf championship.
Taylor’s money-raising tactics cross state lines and go all over the US via his internet website, social media, mass emails, the US postal service, and television.
One mailing sent out by Taylor’s organization tells people that God is speaking to them to lay their possessions “at the apostle’s feet”, and that God will bless them “100-fold what your possessions are worth” if you bring them to him: non-cash donations such as an individual’s inheritance; their stocks; their life insurance policies; their house deeds; their 401K’s; precious metals and stones—gold, diamonds, rubies, silver, etc.; “precious arts or things worth a lot of money, collectibles.”; and “deeding JMMI in your inheritance/will.”
In other words, God is telling you to bring everything of value to him!!
Taylor claimed during deposition testimony in 2015 that JMMI received over one million dollars in collectibles in 2014 from a woman (name provided in testimony but withheld here); however, this donation was not reported on JMMI’s 2014 form 990. There is no record of non-cash donations in the non-cash donations blanks on any JMMI form 990 from 2015 through 2017 either.
JMMI started an online store called Joshua’s Collectibles and promoted these items for sale from 2015 to 2017 on Facebook. The collectibles included jewelry, shoes and a guitar.
A few of Taylor’s outrageous claims
At one point, Taylor’s website claimed that his ministry had 1800 churches.
Rolling website photos: “The Most Powerful and Biggest Miracle Healing Outreach, Since the Time of Jesus / 8 Billion Soul Harvest”
Amidst the rolling photos on his quirky website, Taylor claims this “Urgent Prophetic Alert:” Taylor was (supposedly) given prophetic answers to prevent World War III, superimposed over a photo of Xi Jinping and mentioning the Chinese spy balloon shot down over the Atlantic.
Taylor’s JMMI website 2018 mission statement reads as follows “Throughout the years, JMMI has funded many humanitarian projects including: feeding thousands in Detroit at the Northeastern Headquarters, construction water wells in third world countries, supporting woman coming out of abusive situations, caring for orphans, and supporting local food banks. JMMI is committed to establishing local mission stations that daily feed the poor, building water wells around the world, training young people how to be productive members in society, bring racial equality to each generation and equip the generations to come to bring justice, equity, and equal rights throughout the world. Currently JMMI is in the beginning stages of building “Refuge Homes”. These homes are dedicated to the restoration and rescuing of children from human slave trafficking. Many states do not offer treatment and restoration for these children. JMMI is a ministry committed to establishing these centers, free of charge, in the necessary communities around America.”
While collecting the offering during a Cancer Crusade held on December 31, 2017, Taylor told the audience about the humanitarian efforts his ministry does and specifically asked for money for sex trafficking victims. He asked them to write on the back of their checks “deliverance, freedom, for girls sold in human slave trafficking.” He claimed that the police had come to him and asked him if he ever considered building a home for the girls since they didn’t have anywhere to put them. He said they are going to build a home for the girls who are delivered from sex slave industry and says that’s going to be in the millions of dollars. Taylor even tells the audience that he told the police where the girls were located, inside a metal container and they found them and freed them. At one point during the program, he looks into the camera and promises viewers that if they have missing children they will get them back. Then he asks for an offering and says to make it the biggest one you can. (Our emphasis)
“Faith healer” David E. Taylor posted this on Twitter on July 18, 2019.
On Taylor’s March 16, 2018, TV broadcast, JMMI “employee” Joseph Busch gives a testimonial claiming Taylor raises his dead cousin to life via a text message.
Taylor claimed on a July 14, 2019 broadcast to heal people with prayer cloths. “For about 20 years I have been praying over handkerchiefs and I have seen whole villages in other countries healed, saved and set free. There was a village dying of sickness… I sent one handkerchief, and they passed the handkerchief around the village and everyone was healed and gave their life to Jesus.”
Partnering with law enforcement? Taylor claims in one recent broadcast in bold letter superimposed over a law officer, “POLICE, DEA, & FBI PARTNER WITH DAVID E. TAYLOR!”, complete with the exclamation point. His on-air announcer says they all came out to help him distribute Thanksgiving turkey meals to grieving families who recently lost a family member to a homicide and murder, which if true, hardly deserves such a bold televised declaration.
Continuous Defaulted Debts and Lawsuits
Most recent lawsuit: Both Taylor’s organizations, Kingdom of God Global Church and Joshua Media Ministries have been sued by Movie Prop Rentals to recover almost a quarter million dollars. In the middle of constructing a roughly 100 feet wide, 25 feet high, and 28 feet deep stage for $680.000, Taylor’s organization increased the size of the stage prop such that the new conceptual design and requirements called for a huge stage prop roughly 136 feet wide, 49 feet high, and 38 feet deep, now for a price of $1,252,960.
By May of 2021, more change orders and additions to the project had raised the cost of the huge stage to $2,244,366, to which Taylor’s organization agreed. Movie Prop Rentals alleges that throughout the process to that point, Taylor’s KOGC lagged behind on 14 progress payments which were supposed to total $70,000 monthly and most of which were roughly half that amount or less and is suing to recover its losses.
If what the lawsuit alleges is true, this wouldn’t be the first time David Taylor’s organization has defaulted on debts.
2017 UCC filing for defaulted debt: A public Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) financing filed by CT Lien solutions on March 15, 2017 against Joshua Media Ministries International and Joshua Media Ministries Building Campaign mentions defaulted debts and that “This merchant has defaulted on a merchant cash advance.”
The UCC filing indicates that collateral receivables include all assets now owned or hereafter acquired and wherever located, including but not limited to, the following subcategories of assets: A. accounts including but not limited to credit card receivables; B. chattel paper; C. inventory; D. equipment; E. instruments, including but not limited to promissory notes; F. investment. G. Documents; H. deposit accounts; I. letter of credit rights; J. general and tangibles; K. supporting obligations; and L. proceeds and products of the foregoing. “Notice pursuant to an agreement between debtor and secured party, debtor has agreed not to further encumber the collateral described herein. The further encumbering of which may constitute the tortious interference …”
2015 Feigned Ignorance? A lawyer filmed the aforementioned deposition of David E. Taylor on February 23rd, 2015, during a 2014 lawsuit between Deborah Frazier (a David Taylor follower) and Ricky Frazier. The video and its transcript display Taylor’s extreme actual or pretended ignorance.
2008 David Taylor filed for bankruptcy protection: In the 2015 deposition, Taylor claimed he couldn’t remember anything about the bankruptcy filing except that it was about debt ratio. After many pages of questions from different directions, Taylor finally admitted that there might have been a judgment against him and his former organization Resurrection Media Ministries International (RMMI) and that the judgment against himself and the ministry by GE Capital (below) may have been at least one of the reasons for the name change of his organization.
Taylor admitted that a 2006 lawsuit filed by GE Capital Information Technology Solutions was partly responsible for his bankruptcy filing.
Mansions
Current: The latest in a series of mansions owned by Taylor’s various religious entities was purchased last year for $8.3 million and is currently worth $9 million according to the real estate website Redfin. Check out these excerpts from Redfin’s description of this small palace befitting either a prince, a drug dealer, or a shady televangelist:
… private gated entrance welcomes you … premier private gated country club … Perfectly positioned for the ultimate in privacy and exclusivity, on just under 6 manicured acres, overlooking a golf course, pond, conservation area. … impeccable … detail inside and out, …a main house, guesthouse, 10 bedrooms, 10 full baths, 3 half baths and boasting (over 28,800) masterfully crafted square feet (including a 2,620 SF Guesthouse). Meticulous design elements include a grand foyer entry, ballroom, executive library, 14 fireplaces, wine room, elevator, numerous terraces … 5+ car garage. An inviting gourmet kitchen … top-of-the-line stainless appliances, generous center island and breakfast area. … gracious living area/media room, along with an opulent bath. …grandeur … outdoors … an inviting pool and spa, … with a cabana and fireplace, marvelous limestone terrace area … entertaining pavilion with outdoor kitchen. … One of Tampa Bay’s most exclusive… blah blah blah, here’s a photo…
Taylor’s Ministry’s Mansion
Ties to Businessman Involved in Polish $360 Million Check Kiting Scandal
David E. Taylor with Andre Gasiorowski
Taylor’s “Miracle Crusade Against Cancer” held in Taylor, Michigan from July 31 to August 4, 2019 featured Andre (also known as Andrzej) Gasiorowski, chairman of the Israeli non-profit Helping Hand Coalition which supports (or supported) Holocaust survivors.
Decades ago, Gasiorowski co-founded the conglomerate Art-B which looted the Polish banking system. Then Gasiorowski fled the country. He moved to Israel to avoid extradition in 1991.
The Washington Post explained the criminal enterprise: “The company’s founders discovered that a helicopter could move cash around Poland faster than the antiquated banking system could clear checks. Art-B shuffled about $18 billion through the banking system, picking up an estimated $360 million in interest on money that was in several accounts at the same time.”
A Polish court convicted Gasiorowski’s business partner Boguslaw Bagsik. Radio Free Europe reported, “Bagsik was found guilty of cheating the Polish banking system out of 424 million zlotys ($94 million), defrauding a bank, bribing bank clerks, and carrying out financial misdeeds connected with his company, Art-B.”
As of the year 2000, Polish investigators estimated “that Bagsik may still have some $40 million abroad and Gasiorowski twice that amount.”
After moving to Israel, Gasiorowski re-invented himself as a philanthropist but failed to pay back the people he defrauded.
JMMI was raising money for a partnership with Gasiorowski’s Helping Hand Coalition—claiming to help bring aid to thousands of impoverished Holocaust survivor Jews in desperate need—but it is impossible to know how much money went to Helping Hand Coalition.
Bank Statements, W2, & 990 Discrepancies
According to Mr. Taylor’s 2013 W-2, his ministry paid him a salary of $27,479 but during the aforementioned deposition, Ms. Ronayne saw bank statements that indicated he was being given $5,000 biweekly.; He claimed that the difference was in IRS allowable compensation but did not elaborate as to what they were and claimed he didn’t know. Mr. Taylor said he does get a car and housing allowance but didn’t know what the amount is. According to the 990 for the same year, he reported income of $119,916.
Taylor Postscript
Trinity Foundation understands that many donors don’t have the tools or the skills to do their research before donating to TV preachers. If you have a relative or know of someone who donates to Taylor and his organization, please help by sharing this article when possible.
Abuses
If you know of any church’s or ministry’s financial abuses (not necesarily in Taylor’s organizations), please fill out our abuse questionnaire or contact us by phone or email. Details available on our contact page. We have been maintaining confidentiality for decades.