Kenneth Copeland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kenneth Copeland
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Copeland on the Believer's Voice of Victory television broadcast in 2011
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Kenneth Max Copeland
December 6, 1936 Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
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| Years active | 1967–present |
| Political party | Republican |
| Movement | Word of Faith |
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| Children | Kellie Copeland Swisher John Copeland Terri Copeland Pearsons |
Kenneth Max Copeland (born December 6, 1936) is an American televangelist associated with the charismatic movement. He is the founder of Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. (EMIC), which is based in Tarrant County, Texas. Copeland has also written several books and resources.
He preaches prosperity theology and is part of the Word of Faith movement. Copeland has written that parishioners will get a "hundredfold" return on their investment through giving to God.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Copeland claimed that the pandemic had ended or would soon end and that his followers would be healed from the virus. He stated that followers should continue tithing if they lost their jobs in the economic crisis that the pandemic caused.
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Early life
Kenneth Max Copeland was born in Lubbock, Texas, to Aubrey Wayne and Vinita Pearl (née Owens) Copeland. He was raised in West Texas near a United States Army Air Forces airfield, which inspired him to become a pilot.
Career
Copeland was a recording artist on the Imperial Records label, having one Billboard Top 40 hit ("Pledge of Love", which charted in the Top 40 on April 20, 1957, stayed on the charts for 15 weeks, and peaked at No. 17).
In the fall of 1967, he enrolled in Oral Roberts University, where he soon became pilot and chauffeur to Oral Roberts.
Ministry
In 1967, after attending Kenneth E. Hagin's Pastor Seminars, Copeland and his wife Gloria founded Kenneth Copeland Ministries (KCM) in Fort Worth, Texas. The ministry's motto is "Jesus is Lord".
Television and other programming
Since 1967, Copeland's ministry has held three-to-six-day conventions across the United States. KCM still holds an annual Southwest Believer's Convention in his hometown of Fort Worth during the first week of August. Kenneth and Gloria Copeland also preach and minister at other conventions and conferences throughout the world. These events stream live on Copeland's website, kcm.org, as well as being shown on Christian television stations such as GOD TV and the Daystar Television Network. Portions of recorded conferences are shown on Sundays. The Monday through Friday television broadcasts feature a Copeland family member, either alone or with another minister, discussing subjects from the Bible.
On May 27, 1971, KCM began a one-hour television program. This program called "The Word of Faith" would become what is now known as the "Believers Voice of Victory". In 1972, another television program was launched called "The Prayer Group". This was a half-hour television program aired across the United States.
Facilities
Kenneth Copeland Ministries is located in Fort Worth, Texas, on a 33-acre (13 ha) property that was once the Marine Corps Air Station Eagle Mountain Lake (MCAS Eagle Mountain Lake), a United States Marine Corps air station, valued in 2008 at $554,160 (equivalent to $753,212 in 2022) by Tarrant Appraisal District. The site includes the Eagle Mountain International Church, television and radio production facilities, warehouse and distribution facilities, residences for the Copeland family, and Kenneth Copeland Airport. Approximately 500 people are employed by KCM. Copeland's son John Copeland was the ministry's chief operating officer until his divorce from Marty Copeland in 2017. He remains a consultant to the ministry.
KCM also owns a 1998 Cessna 550 Citation Bravo, which it received from a donor in October 2007 and is used for domestic flights, and a 2005 Cessna 750 Citation X, which it uses for international flights. They also acquired a Gulfstream V in 2018 that was formerly owned by Tyler Perry. It also is restoring a 1962 Beech H-18 Twin, which the ministry plans to use for disaster relief efforts.
In February 2007, Copeland was accused of using his ministry's Citation X for personal vacations and friends. The Copelands' financial records are not publicly available, and a list of the board of directors is not accessible as these details are protected but known confidentially by the Internal Revenue Service. Responding to media questions, Copeland pointed to what he asserted was an accounting firm's declaration that all jet travel complies with federal tax laws. In December 2008, KCM's Citation Bravo was denied tax exemption after KCM refused to submit a standardized Texas Comptroller form that some county appraisal districts use to make determinations, which would have required making public the salary of all ministry staff. KCM subsequently filed suit with the Tarrant Appraisal District in January 2009 and its petition to have the aircraft's tax-exempt status restored was granted in March 2010.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries has utilized the Federal Aviation Administration program that keeps flights private from tracking websites, and the ministry owns five such aircraft whose flights are kept private, including the Cessna 750 Citation X noted above and a North American T-28 Trojan. United States Senator Chuck Grassley has questioned some of the flights taken by these aircraft, including layovers in Maui, Fiji, and Honolulu. The ministries say that the stopovers were for preaching or for allowing pilot rest.
Kenneth Copeland Bible College
Kenneth Copeland Bible College (KCBC) is located on the property of Kenneth Copeland Ministries and Eagle Mountain International Church (EMIC). KCBC is an accredited member with Transworld Accrediting Commission International.
Victory Channel
In 2015, KCM launched the Believer's Voice of Victory Network on channel 265 on Dish. Believer's Voice of Victory Network was renamed Victory Channel in 2019, and is available over-the-air and on some cable providers. On October 2, 2020, the Believer's Voice of Victory (BVOV) stopped broadcasting on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). At the start of 2022, it was added on several national cable systems under a new channel lease with Olympusat, which had previously offered Hillsong Channel and Living Faith Network, then Bulldog Shopping Network, on the channel space.
Advisory board
Copeland sat on the evangelical executive advisory board that Donald Trump assembled during his campaign for the presidency.
Personal life
Copeland has been married three times. His first marriage was to Ivy Bodiford in October 1955. They had one child; they divorced in 1958. He was then married to Cynthia Davis from 1958 to 1961.
Copeland then married Gloria (née Neece) in 1963. They have been married for 59 years. They are the parents of John Copeland and Kellie Copeland. Gloria co-hosts the ministry's flagship broadcast, The Believer's Voice of Victory, alongside her husband.
Kellie preaches throughout the United States, as does Copeland's daughter Terri, who also preaches at Eagle Mountain International Church, which is pastored by her husband George Pearsons.
Copeland has amassed significant wealth during his career and has referred to himself as a "very wealthy man". In 2021, Copeland was claimed by some sources to be the wealthiest pastor in America, with a net worth of $750 million.
See also
In Spanish: Kenneth Copeland para niños
- Tony Palmer (bishop)
- Trinity Foundation (Dallas)
- Ulf Ekman
