By Michael Gryboski, Editor Thursday, October 23, 2025

Pastor and Grammy-winning singer Marvin Winans has responded to claims that he wrongfully scolded a woman during a worship service for not donating more than $1,200 to his church.

Winans garnered controversy earlier this week after a video surfaced online of him appearing to scold a member of Perfecting Church of Detroit, Michigan, during a “day of giving” service on Sunday.

During the service, congregants lined up and came forward to the front of the church to announce the offerings they were making to help build a new sanctuary.

Winans had asked congregants to donate $1,000 and then raise another $1,000.

When a woman named Roberta McCoy and her son came forward to say she was donating $1,000 plus raising around $200, Winans told her that she was not following directions.

“Now that’s only $1,200,” Winans said in response, with her agreeing with his statement. “Y’all not listening to what I’m saying. If you have a thousand plus a thousand.”

When McCoy said that she was “going to work on the other 800,” Winans immediately replied, “That ain’t what I asked you to do,” with some laughs and applause from the congregation.

In an interview with WXYZ-TV Detroit, Winans said the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding, as he had wanted people to come forward based on their levels of giving.

“I was calling because the whole church was giving, and it was our day of giving, and the whole church was coming, and we didn’t want people standing, the mothers and all that, so I was calling them by increments,” Winans said.

“And we had someone that had given out of [order], and I corrected it, and I told everybody to listen and come when you call, and that’s all that was.”

McCoy, who has been a member of the church since 2013, told WXYZ that Winans personally apologized to her and denied claims that the pastor “rebuked” her. She claims she was “corrected” for coming up at the wrong time.

A member of the notable Gospel music family that founded Perfecting Church, Winans garnered headlines in 2018 when a former housekeeper sued him and his church, alleging they fired her for refusing to pay tithes.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, the suit was dismissed with prejudice in 2021, with both sides agreeing to pay their own costs.

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/marvin-winans-responds-to-video-showing-him-correcting-woman.html