Churches Await Trickle-Down Effect From Lottery Winner

One of the Church of God’s basic tenets is the tithe -- the donation of 10% of one’s earnings to the parish. In Summers County, where the median income is $21,147 a year, that doesn’t necessarily add up to big bucks.

But 10% of $170 million -- that’s another story.

On Saturday, two days after Powerball jackpot winner Andrew “Jack” Whittaker announced plans to donate $17 million to three pastors, two of the likely recipients said they’re excited -- and nervous -- and are wondering about the details. How will the donations work? Can they use the money for their own parishes or will it be a fund they simply administer?

And most fundamentally: Did Whittaker -- who mentioned the places where his donations would go but not the pastors -- really mean them?

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” said Bishop Cecil Welch, the pastor of the parish in Hinton, where Whittaker grew up.

Said C.T. Mathews, senior pastor at the parish in nearby Hurricane where Whittaker now attends: “The whole world’s looking at West Virginia.”

Hinton is a rail-stop town of about 3,000 in Summers County near the Virginia border. Welch said all of his 50 members tithe to the church, including Whittaker, whom he has known for 19 years.

Whittaker hasn’t contacted Welch since winning Wednesday’s $314.9-million jackpot -- the largest single lottery ticket in U.S. history -- and Welch declined to speculate in depth. But he said the parish needs a new gym and an after-school center for its youth.

Founded in 1886, the Church of God claims 6 million members in 150 countries. Among its principles are evangelism and an individual experience of God, which can include speaking in tongues.

Whittaker still donates to the Hinton church, though he and his family attend the Hurricane church. The Whittaker family lives in Scott Depot.

Mathews said Whittaker hasn’t contacted him either. But he said Whittaker, a millionaire contractor before the lottery hit, already has been generous in helping the church.

“We know him real well -- real good people,” Mathews said. He said Whittaker’s wife, Jewell, teaches at a “children’s church” on Wednesday nights.

Mathews said he wants to create a youth worship center and Christian school for his church, as well as a day-care center and drug counseling program for teens. He said any donation would be welcome.

“Oh, it’d help,” he said. “If we could get this off the ground, we’d just be blessed.”

The third pastor with ties to Whittaker is Gerald Abreu, for 12 years a pastor in Hurricane and now in Torrance. Abreu couldn’t be reached for comment Saturday.

Whether the pastors Whittaker eventually names even get to decide what to do with the money isn’t yet clear.

On Thursday, Whittaker said he intended to give 10% of his $170-million, single-payment gross winnings to three Church of God pastors -- one in Hurricane; another at a parish near Jumping Branch, Whittaker’s hometown; and a third in California -- to administer a fund to help the poor. He didn’t give details.

John Auge, who is acting as Whittaker’s spokesman, said details wouldn’t begin to be worked out until Monday.

He said that after jetting to New York for media appearances, Whittaker is back home in West Virginia, resting and “prayerfully” contemplating his next move.