The prosperity gospel is good business. The ministry of antinomian charismatic preacher, Joseph Prince, just purchased the Star Vista shopping center in Singapore for a new church location.
Prince’s church bought the building from CapitaLand Limited for $217 million dollars to house their 33 thousand worshippers as they gather to praise a god of opulence and health-and-wealth promises each Sunday.
In a press release, Rock Productions (which owns The Star Performing Arts Centre that is inside the mall and already used for church services) says the sale is a part of the company’s “asset recycling program.”
For the sake of clarity, the mall will still operate as a mall, which will be fully owned by the church. Prince’s church has stated that it purchased the facility so as to not risk another buyer purchase it instead, and risk the possibility of having a company own the mall who is less friendly to the church.
So now, Prince’s church – already meeting at the amphitheatre located inside the shopping mall (which they owned, and had previously paid 366 million dollars for) – will now own the rest of the property, including the retail space they’re purchasing for an additional 217 million.
They will now own the entire building and not just the church space inside. Prince’s organization will have invested well more than half a billion dollars invested in the space.
The mall currently has a 7-11 convenience store, a Pizza Hut, Carls Jr., a Subway restaurant and at least one bank.
