The Pettreys were believed to be renting a $1,200,000 home for around $5,600 a month prior to packing up their belongings into storage and moving into their recently purchased (vacation?) home in FL toward the end of 2020, a home that cost $350,000 according to public record. A mortgage for this purchase is not found on record, so it is possible they bought the home outright.
Storage is exorbitant to rent in NYC. How much were they paying to store “all of their belongings in a storage unit” and how can they afford such high NYC rents plus purchasing a (vacation?) home?
Claire got married in July 2021 (who paid for the wedding?), then she and Luke set up the GoFundMe in September, asking those associated with the church to raise $25,000 in donations, people who in many instances have much less money and could never afford rents and purchases of homes like the Pettreys have done. The plea for money was positioned as, the Pettreys have done so much for the people, now is time for the people to give back to the Pettreys, positioned as an opportunity: “We want to give our community the opportunity to bless them because we know that there are many reading this whose lives have been touched beautifully by theirs.” (taken from the original GoFundMe fundraiser post.)
Less than 24 hours later, and almost $10,000 in donations received, the fundraiser was disabled. However, the damage was done, as they could not escape that they had the gall and audacity to ask for money to begin with, knowing that they have so much more than many in their congregations ever will.
What kinds of salaries are the Pettreys receiving from the church that affords them the ability to have huge budgets for rent and home purchases? Members have the right to know the salaries of every staff member, including pastors and their compensation packages. Why aren’t members and donors asking? Do they realize they are donating to an organization that unfairly and unethically benefits the Cymbala, Toledo, and Pettrey families, who have an abundance? Why is this okay with the members?