The Elimination Of Greed: $3 Million Lottery Winnings Donated To Church

A non-denominational church that was busting at the seams had its prayer answered when a church member handed the pastor a $3 million winning lottery ticket. The only stipulation was the member remain anonymous.

A Long Island, New York's Port Jefferson church was the recipient of an anonymous tithe of $3 million, according to the church's pastor, Bertrand Crabbe. However, this was no ordinary tithing. To many Christians, gambling may be frowned upon. And the lottery? Well, it's right up there with slot machines and poker tables as far as lady luck goes. And whether the donation was to clear a guilty conscious or a fulfillment of a true intent, one scratch-off ticket winner has definitely won the lottery for good Samaritan. According to an ABC local news report:

In three short years, the True North community church in Port Jefferson swelled to 650 members and outgrew their small space.

They shuffle church members in and out of four Sunday services each week.

So two weeks ago, Pastor Bert Crabbe decided the congregation had to rent a bigger space unless they got a miracle.

And the Lord does work in mysterious ways. Pastor Crabbe was quoted as saying that "I was joking I said unless God drops a couple of million that's what we're going to do," and then $3 million dropped on his desk in the form of a Ba Da Bling winning scratch off lottery ticket! The money will be distributed to the church in yearly increments of $150,000, with the church giving the first distribution to charity. The original winning ticket holder and church member wishes to remain anonymous, telling only the pastor that the donations was "...why God put the ticket in his hands."