The Potter’s House of Denver, a megachurch in Denver, Colo., led by pastors Touré Roberts and his wife, Sarah Jakes Roberts, is selling its property and going fully remote. Touré Roberts says the decrease in giving the church has experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic is a key reason behind the decision.
“Due to the inability to gather and the economic instability of the pandemic, our church, like many other churches in the nation, experienced declining donations,” Pastor Touré Roberts told The Denver Post. “We decided that the best way forward would be to sell the property, continue our online offering that had proven a successful alternative and maintain our hands-on community outreach operations, which includes our food bank that feeds thousands of families per year.”
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Touré Roberts is the son-in-law of The Potter’s House founder Bishop T.D. Jakes. Jakes, who is also a best-selling author, is a controversial figure due to being associated with the prosperity gospel and his views on the Trinity.
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T.D. Jakes’ daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts, co-pastors The Potter’s House of Denver and The Potter’s House at OneLA in Los Angeles with her husband. When the COVID-19 pandemic took off in the U.S. in March 2020, lockdowns compelled church leaders to take services at The Potter’s House Denver entirely online. In a Facebook post on March 14, 2020, the church said:
In light of our government officials suggestion to postpone or cancel large gatherings due to COVID-19, we’re doing our part to help #FlattenTheCurve by moving forward with ONLINE services. We are beyond grateful for the opportunity technology affords us to STILL be able to gather in the name of Jesus!!!
On March 25 of that year, Sarah Jakes Roberts told Spectrum News 1 that meeting virtually was a positive experience for Potter’s House members: “I think this has created a unique opportunity for people to recognize they have the ability to turn their homes, their spaces, their cars into actual sanctuaries.”
The 137,000-square-foot church building served as the home of a different megachurch, Heritage Christian Center, before The Potter’s House of Denver took it over 11 years ago. Touré Roberts told the Post that with church giving declining, it did not make sense to retain and maintain the building, which “needed significant repairs.”
