By DEEPA BHARATH, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The star of Sean Feucht — once a little-known conservative Christian worship leader and musician — began to climb in 2020 as he challenged government restrictions brought on by the coronavirus’ tightening grip on the world.

Related Articles

Researchers turn human skin cells into eggs — but not yet usable ones

From drones to police presence, Utah campus where Kirk was shot lacked key public safety tools

Judge finds Trump administration unconstitutionally targeted noncitizens over Gaza war protests

Fewer households, businesses will get high-speed internet under revamped federal plan

Kentucky has kicked people off food benefits using data that doesn’t tell the full story

At well-attended protest concerts that brazenly flouted social distancing rules, he became a poster child against public health regulations curtailing in-person religious practice. It put Feucht in league with high-profile conservative pundits and elected officials from President Donald Trump to conservative influencer Charlie Kirk and Pete Hegseth, now the secretary of defense.

Alongside his Christian rockstar status, revenue to Feucht’s ministry also skyrocketed, jumping from $243,000 in 2019 to $5 million in 2020 — the last year his ministry filed a Form 990 with the IRS. It’s that deluge of money, Feucht’s and his ministry’s amassing of expensive real estate in its wake and their lack of financial transparency, which has former ministry staff and volunteers now accusing the worship leader of mismanaging ministry funds.

Three former associates with Feucht’s worship organizations, such as Burn 24-7, Let Us Worship and Light a Candle, shared details with The Associated Press about Feucht’s alleged financial mismanagement, verbal abuse and overworking volunteers and staff without fair wages.

Christy Gafford, the former national director and communications lead for Sean Feucht Ministries, said she was fired in May 2024 after demanding accountability and questioning why volunteers had to pay for Feucht to come to their communities.

“I would get very vague answers,” said Gafford, who served for eight years in various roles, including leading a Texas chapter of Burn 24-7. She believes those answers because the Charismatic Christian world emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in the form of spiritual gifts, and that faith leaders embody that spirit. “You’re supposed to put your trust in your leaders.”

After being fired, Gafford began questioning why more money wasn’t used for local ministry initiatives when millions of dollars were spent by Feucht and his organization on real estate.

Feucht, who did not respond to the AP’s repeated requests for comment, dismissed these allegations as false in a social media video posted in June. He called them “embittered, upset, angered former volunteers” who had no knowledge of the ministry’s financial situation and “had to be dismissed because of moral issues.”

“We’re in great standing with the IRS, with our accountants,” he said. “Every single penny you have donated has gone to fulfill kingdom-ordained purpose and I stand by that.”

Real estate acquisitions questioned

Feucht said his ministry has spent money on visits to all 50 state capitals and about 30 other U.S. cities, purchased a tour bus and sound systems for concerts, and acquired real estate around the country.

“We’ve got real estate in D.C., which is awesome,” he said, referring to his ministry’s headquarters known as Camp Elah on Capitol Hill in Washington. “It’s such a blessing. We’re taking ground for Jesus and we’re not apologizing for that.”

Property records posted online by the concerned former associates show Sean Feucht Ministries has purchased nearly $7 million in property since 2020. The properties include two parsonages in Washington, D.C., and San Juan Capistrano, California, a 40-acre hunting property with a cabin in Creston-Bigfork, Montana, and 458 acres in Real County, a scenic region known as the “Swiss Alps of Texas.”

The property records also show Feucht and his wife personally own $4.5 million in real estate. That includes seven rental properties in Pennsylvania and a house in Redding, California, that were purchased between 2009 and 2023; a condo in the oceanside community of Dana Point, California, that they bought in April; and a Big Fork, Montana, property about 15 minutes from the ministry’s hunting ground.

In January, the couple also sold a house in an upscale Orange County, California, community for $1.7 million.

In this photo provided by Peter Hartzell, Peter and Amanda Hartzell, former associates of worship leader Sean Feucht’s ministry pose for a photo on Aug. 1, 2025, in St. Augustine, Fla. (Peter Hartzell via AP)

Peter Hartzell, who with his wife Amanda helped lead Burn 24-7 in Montana from 2008 to 2010, said he questions the need for a religious organization and a worship leader to amass high-value property around the country.

“How many of these properties are really being used for ministry?” he asked, pointing to how a property in Orange County listed as a parsonage for Sean Feucht Ministries is about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from another residence personally owned by Feucht.

Christian watchdogs raise concerns

Feucht’s real estate acquisitions have also been questioned by independent Christian watchdog organizations such as MinistryWatch and the Trinity Foundation.

Last year, MinistryWatch, a nonprofit that grades the nation’s 1,000 largest Christian ministries “based on transparency, accountability and credibility,” gave Sean Feucht Ministries an F, asking donors to “withhold giving” to the organization. Feucht’s accumulation of expensive real estate was a factor, as was his organization’s decision not to file Form 990s after 2020 when its earnings rose significantly, said Warren Cole Smith, president of MinistryWatch.

He said the “biggest red flag” was the organization’s failure to file a Form 990, which describes how a nonprofit allocates its money but isn’t legally required of some religious organizations. The ministry’s most recent 2020 filing shows it took in $5 million, but spent only $1 million on ministry work, leaving a surplus of about $4 million, Smith said.

It is unclear if the real estate amassed by Feucht’s organization is being used for ministry, Smith said, adding that MinistryWatch’s repeated requests for additional responses from Feucht and his organization have gone unanswered. Religious organizations are not legally require to file Form 990s, and it is legal for pastors to take housing allowances to purchase a home or pay rent, Smith said.

“But the ownership of multiple homes does take concerns up a notch and would cause us to want to know more,” he said. “Right now, we just don’t know.”

Smith says a vast majority of ministries that take in $5 million or more annually “behave responsibly” by joining the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, getting audited financial statements and filing Form 990s.

“All of this costs time and money,” he said. “But when you make millions in profit each year, you’ve got plenty of money to comply with these transparency and disclosure requirements.”

In this photo provided by Richie Booth, a former associate of worship leader Sean Feucht’s ministry, he poses for a photo on Oct. 22, 2022, in Redding, Calif. (Kyle Re via AP)

Bookkeeper saw ‘financial dodginess’

One of the former associates, Richie Booth of Redding, California, became a bookkeeper for Burn 24-7 and Light a Candle after he came to Feucht in 2019 as an administrative intern during the worship leader’s unsuccessful bid for Congress. He said he saw irregularities such as the blurring of personal and ministry expenses. However, Booth said, he initially accepted Feucht’s “financial dodginess” as part of the chaotic personality he projected.

“It’s all just urgency and crisis created by him on the one hand to fuel his employees to burn themselves out, and on the other, to solicit donations because everything is urgent and happening right now,” he said.

Booth said he did not have access to Feucht’s business credit card statements to categorize expenses properly. The lines between personal and ministry expenses were blurred, he said. In addition, Booth said he was concerned that employees were not getting paid due wages, including overtime, and wondered if such practices were being normalized by Feucht.

Hartzell said he and his wife parted ways with the ministry after they raised objections to being verbally abused by Feucht and felt pressured to travel to global events at their own expense.

“We’re often asked why it took us so long to speak up,” he said. “You just try to find excuses. It took us a while to understand that this was not normal.”

In this photo provided by Christy Gafford, a former associate of worship leader Sean Feucht’s ministry, she poses for a photo in August 2025, in Corsicana, Texas. (Christy Gafford via AP)

Still a unique figure among worship leaders

Booth, Hartzell and Gafford said they initially felt inspired by Feucht’s message.

“I found language, context and theology for a lot of things that I felt had been in my heart for a long time,” Booth said.

Feucht still performs in churches across Southern California, where he resides, and around the country. He has hundreds of thousands of social media followers and the support of pastors and congregations nationwide. This summer, his Canadian tour sparked a religious freedom debate after multiple cities revoked his public venue permits for safety concerns and backlash over his anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion views. After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Feucht performed at a vigil at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Adam Perez, a worship studies professor at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, said Feucht has built a strong political platform by “doing stump speeches in the form of worship concerts around the country” and tapping into social issues that resonate with conservative Christians.

“That’s what makes him a unique figure among musicians and worship leaders on the religious right,” he said.

Perez pointed to Feucht’s song “Imago Dei,” which in Latin means “image of God” about the sanctity of life, released soon after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision ending a nationwide right to abortion.

“There aren’t other figures like him in the worship space who are fully active in political engineering,” he said.

Despite his initial connection with Feucht’s work, Booth said he became disheartened by what he saw within the organization.

“I’ve seen so many people get taken advantage of, go through burnout and how their health suffered because of how much they poured into these ministries,” he said. “They neglected their own finances and ended up decimated from how much they gave — thinking they were doing something good and beneficial.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The Lynx held their season-ending media access on Tuesday, and Napheesa Collier wasted little time in getting things off her chest.

The star forward opened with a prepared statement criticizing the WNBA not only for the state of its on-court officiating — a trenchant topic during this postseason — but for its lack of transparency and accountability, starting with Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

“We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world,” Collier said. “But right now, we have the worst leadership in the world.”

Asked if she and other players were aware of Collier’s prepared words beforehand, teammate Alanna Smith said, “Yes, and we back everything that Phee said.”

The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement expires on Oct. 31, two years earlier than the original terms because the players opted out of the deal in 2024. Although interest in the league and its many star players is at an all-time high — ESPN said 2025 was its most watched regular season — many players are still playing overseas to supplement their income.

Asked if she believes WNBA players have the leverage to turn down a CBA they don’t like, Collier was clear.

“I think we have the most power that we’ve ever had in the history of women’s sports, in the history of our specific sport,” she said. “All this money that they’re talking about is nonexistent without the players. We hold all the cards. So, yes, I do think we have the power to do that.

“Does anyone want to do that? No. We love the sport, want to play, we want to get paid, but we have to stand on our principles and we have to stand for what is right, and that’s something that we’re not going to budge on.”

Smith agreed, saying players would “exercise that power, and that right” if they don’t get a deal they believe is fair.

Collier’s voice is a strong one. A five-time all-star, she was the 2025 All-Star Game MVP, and finished second to Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson for the 2025 league MVP. She is former defensive player of the year and was league’s second-leading scorer in the regular season (22.6 ppg.) behind. Wilson.

She is respected throughout the league and deeply embedded in the players’ CBA negotiations.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who had her own run-in with the league after criticizing officiating in Game 3 of the semifinals, declined to address Collier’s comments but said, “Obviously, Phee’s voice is a really important one.”

Wearing a walking boot on the injured left ankle that knocked her out of Minnesota’s last game of the season — a Game 4 loss in Phoenix in the Western Conference semifinals — Collier was most critical of Engelbert, the WNBA’s commissioner since 2019.

Collier recounted a conversation with Engelbert about rookie contracts, specifically how they pertain to a player like Caitlin Clark, already a star while playing at Iowa. “Without the platform that the WNBA gives her,” Collier said she was told, “she wouldn’t make anything.”

In the same conversation, Collier said, Engelbert told her that WNBA players should be “on their knees” thanking her for the media rights deal she negotiated.

“That’s the mentality driving our league from the top,” Collier said. “We go to battle every day to protect a shield that doesn’t value us. The league believes it succeeds despite its players, not because of them.”

A message to the WNBA asking for comment has been sent to the league.

Related Articles

Shorthanded Lynx eliminated with Game 4 loss in Phoenix

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve suspended by WNBA for officiating remarks

Frederick: Lynx must match Phoenix’s physicality, or their season will end

Reeve blasts refs, Collier injured as Lynx drop Game 3 to go on brink of elimination

Lynx once again staring adversity in the face as playoff venue shifts

Amid all of the good news about star forward Kirill Kaprizov’s contract extension, the Minnesota Wild revealed an injury update, which has been all too common of late: Veteran forward Mats Zuccarello, who has missed all of training camp, is expected to be unavailable for the next seven to eight weeks with a lower-body injury.

Zuccarello, who turned 38 on Sept. 1, was skating informally with teammates when he suffered the injury. He missed 13 games last season with a lower-body injury that required surgery after getting hit by a teammate’s shot in front of the Wild net during a November home game versus Montreal.

“Coming into camp, we knew that he wasn’t going to be ready. Now we have an exact timeline of his return,” Wild coach John Hynes said following the team’s Tuesday morning skate.

The coach also admitted some ramped-up competition for Zuccarello’s spot on the team’s first or second line, mentioning veterans such as Marcus Johansson and Marcus Foligno and younger players such as Liam Ohgren and Danila Yurov who could potentially fill in during Zuccarello’s absence.

Zuccarello finished fourth on the team offensively last season, notching 19 goals and 35 assists in 69 games. He had a goal and two assists in six playoff games.

Related Articles

‘Our franchise player’ staying, as Wild wrap up Kirill Kaprizov long term

Wild cut three more from training camp

Hynes sees more of Wild’s identity despite another preseason loss

Wild focused on David Jiricek’s skating, on-ice decisions

Ryan Hartman more settled, but still playing on the edge

One by one, a series of residents and community advocates connected to St. Paul’s Midway took a seat before the city’s legislative hearing officer on Tuesday morning to plead, in no uncertain terms, that City Hall order the demolition of what they described as the neighborhood’s most eyesore property — the shuttered CVS pharmacy store at Snelling and University avenues.

The building, erected between 2005 and 2007, has drawn loiterers, break-ins, litter and other signs of vagrancy and neglect since CVS permanently closed the location in April 2022. With a rooftop HVAC unit stripped bare by vandals and the exterior fenced and boarded, the site has become an unfortunate anchor to what was once one of St. Paul’s most prominent business corridors, said speaker after speaker, and a disincentive to move to or invest in the surrounding community.

“This is one of the oldest St. Paul intersections. This is on every Minnesota map,” said Nicole Brown, who can trace her family history in St. Paul back to 1895. Every summer, “2.5 million, at least, attend the Fair, and they see this. They talk about this. I work at the Fair.”

In addition to being surrounded by storefronts and housing, the site borders the Green Line light rail station and the A Line bus stops along Snelling, key transit connections that were once expected to inspire commerce. Instead, “my children have now taken opioid overdose classes and know when to call 911 instead of stepping around (prone loiterers) at this specific building,” Brown added.

Marcia Moermond, the city’s legislative hearing officer, said an order to abate nuisance building conditions was mailed to the property owner of record on Aug. 5, and it spelled out the need for a $5,000 performance deposit in advance of site improvements. Since then, after “almost two months, and no action on it,” Moermond said. “I don’t see movement right now.”

Uncertain ownership

An attorney representing CVS indicated the national pharmacy chain leases the site from a property owner, with whom CVS has had no recent contact. He indicated the company, which has had dealings with employees of the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections in the past, hopes to find another lessee for the site, which was fenced off within the past year. He said he had no other immediate information to share.

Property records show the site is owned by a limited liability corporation of ambiguous title (“Scp 2005 C21 045 Llc”) with a post office box in Spokane, Wash. The address, shared by dozens of companies, appears to be a “virtual post office box” — a service that allows companies to view scanned images of their mail or have their mail forwarded along to yet another address, further concealing their actual whereabouts.

“I’m not clear as to the actual relationship between CVS as the lessee and Scp 2005 C21 045 Llc in Spokane, Washington,” said Moermond, eliciting some wry chuckles from the audience.

Several speakers said they longed for the site to fall into local ownership and serve a community-driven purpose, such as affordable housing, a free clinic, grocery or some combination of all of the above. Even before CVS opened at the site, community groups like the now-defunct University United expressed concern that an out-of-state corporate retail chain building one story of commerce with faux upper levels would not serve as the highest and best use of the property.

“You get the community you plan for,” said Lily Eggers, who is active with the Hamline-Midway Street Corps, a working group of the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America. “You get the community you build for.”

In community meetings, some skeptics have said the area already hosts an overconcentration of charitable efforts such as the new emergency overnight shelter at Central Baptist Church and housing for the recently homeless provided by Beacon Interfaith on Snelling Avenue.

Dr. Bill McGuire — owner of the Minnesota United soccer team, and a key player in development plans around Allianz Field — has said the CVS site needs to become market-rate housing or another tony use, which could help provide tax base for the city and customers for the surrounding businesses of Little Africa.

Key vote on Nov. 5

The St. Paul City Council is scheduled to consider the abatement order on Nov. 5, and Moermond said it was her immediate inclination to recommend at that time that the council order the property owner to remove the site rather than repair it. If approved by the council, the owner would then have 15 days to demolish the building, or it would fall to the city to put demolition out to bid and follow through with a hazardous materials inspection and utility disconnections, a process that could take several weeks.

If the city demolishes the building, the costs will be assessed to the property owner. If the owner were to simply walk away from the site, it will lapse into tax forfeiture and be transferred to Ramsey County. The city’s demolition costs would eventually be recouped through a land sale, which the county would oversee.

Pointing to tall grass and litter collecting in nearby vacant lots, some residents expressed concern that if the property owner simply sits on the lot without selling it, it would remain a dirt lot for the foreseeable future.

It’s also possible, said Moermond, that CVS or the property owner comes forward with formal plans to abate nuisance conditions at the site before the council convenes on Nov. 5. She said she planned to review any comments or plans submitted to the city on Oct. 28.

“The public record is still open and we could get a pile of paperwork from anybody on this,” said Moermond, noting any new information submitted to the city could impact her recommendation.

In addition to the $5,000 performance deposit, Moermond said the property owner will need to provide a complete abatement plan laying out future lighting, cameras, bids for trade labor improvements in particular parts of the building and other evidence of a detailed scope of work.

“I don’t have any of these things right now,” she said.

Related Articles

Residents urge St. Paul to demolish Midway’s vacant CVS

After St. Thomas-area home demolished without permit, concerns grow over new student housing

St. Paul: Osborn Plaza is getting a renovation, possibly a new name

St. Paul: Housing, Grand Casino Arena remodel among roundtable topics

St Paul: Snelling-Randolph service station up for sale for $1.7 million