Televangelist defends his calls for his parishioners to buy him a fourth private jet worth $54m

AMERICAN evangelist Jesse Duplantis has defended his recent asking of his followers to donate towards buying him a fourth private jet arguing that if Jesus were on earth today he would not be riding a donkey.

In a video posted to his website last week, Louisiana televangelist Pastor Duplantis called upon believers to pray about becoming a partner to his mission to purchase a $54m Dassault Falcon 7X private plane. Pastor Duplantis, 68, whose sermons are broadcast around the world, said God had not only spoken to him but also specifically identified the three-engine business jet by name.

He said: "I want you to believe in me for a Falcon 7-X. I've owned three different jets in my life and used them and used them and just burning them up for the Lord."

Falcon 7-X jets are selling for about $54m when purchased brand new, although second hand ones are listed online for as little as $20m. If purchased, the Falcon 7X would be the TV preacher’s fourth private plane since founding the Jesse Duplantis Ministry in 1978.

Pastor Duplantis acknowledged that the fundraising drive might ruffle feathers. He added: “Some people believe that preachers shouldn't have jets but I really believe that preachers ought to go on every available voice, every available outlet, to get this gospel preached to the world.

“If the Lord Jesus Christ was physically on the earth today, he wouldn’t be riding a donkey. He’d be in an airplane flying all over the world.”

Pastor Duplantis preaches prosperity gospel, an interpretation of Christianity which holds that God rewards the faithful with material wealth. He has an estimated net worth of $40m and has previously called God his sugar daddy.

Fellow prosperity gospel ministers Creflo Dollar and Kenneth Copeland have also come under fire in recent years for calling on fellow Christians to fund multi-million dollar private jets. In 2015, Pastors Duplantis and Copeland, defended their use of private jets, arguing that commercial planes were full of a bunch of demons that will bog down their busy schedules with prayer requests.