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There is a big difference between kneeling down

And bending over...

-- Frank Zappa

Behold the Faith Check. It is written on the Bank of Heaven. Bank President: God, the Father; Vice President: Jesus, the Son; Secretary and Treasurer: The Holy Ghost.

Written instructions: Place the Faith Check in your wallet and keep it there until the blessing unfolds. Whisper the name of Jesus three times as you write your name on the back of the check. Send it to a Tulsa PO box along with your prayer request.

Unwritten instructions: Scrape up whatever cash is on hand and send it to some dude in Beverly Hills. Have a smoke, 'cause you've just been screwed.

For nearly 50 years, Kaufman native James Eugene Ewing has been the reigning "seed faith king," high priest of a direct-mail empire that critics say preys on the poor and vulnerable. After undergoing myriad name changes, it is known today as Saint Matthew's Churches, Inc.

In addition to the Faith Check, Ewing's empire has stuffed mailboxes with Faith Shower Caps, Faith Handkerchiefs and Covenant Napkins. According to financial records uncovered in investigations by The Dallas Morning News and the Tulsa World, the mail blasts net Ewing and his associates millions -- tax-free -- annually. The Dallas Morning News's investigation also uncovered an internal memo indicating that Saint Matthew's used a sophisticated software program to target some of the poorest ZIP codes in the country. ("The size of each special area is about two to four city blocks," the memo states, "and thank God there are tens of thousands of them across the nation.")

The corporation is headquartered in the Tulsa office of attorney J.C. Joyce, who has represented Oral Roberts and disgraced Dallas televangelist Robert Tilton. However, the organization did not have a brick-and-mortar church until 2004, when it purchased the former Memorial Baptist Church on 9101 Airline Drive, near Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

This church doesn't receive any of the prayer requests and donations from the mail blasts. Those go to Joyce's office, where the donations are shucked from the envelopes. According to a 2005 civil suit filed in a California federal court, the prayer requests are forwarded to a warehouse in Chatsworth, California, the porn capital of the world.

Their final destination, according to the suit, is an incinerator.

Memorial Baptist Church stood at 9101 Airline Drive for 78 years.

In the last few years, as the neighborhood became predominantly Hispanic, the church saw its membership dwindle, according to Senior Pastor Cliff Mayton. The ministry just didn't have the resources to serve the community, so they put the building up for sale. Mayton was approached by Joyce, a charming man with a friendly country accent, and was impressed by what Joyce said Saint Matthew's could bring to the area.

Services are only in Spanish. Today, according to Joyce, Sunday worship regularly draws 1,000 members. Getting to the church is no problem -- calling it is. The phone number provides only a recorded message, which, before it concludes, says English services are coming soon.

When asked for a working contact number by the Houston Press, Joyce said he wasn't used to receiving such a "strange call."

"Churches aren't in the business of contacts and telephones and calls," he said. "Churches are in the business of preaching and praying."

"The church is open all the time," he said. "Just go out there and any of the priests will be glad to talk to you." He added that five or six priests were on duty all the time. But when the Press heeded his advice, a church receptionist said all the priests had gone to lunch and referred all inquiries to Joyce.

Joyce has proven to be a good attorney for the organization. After a years-long battle for tax-exempt status, the organization finally reached a stipulation agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2000 granting that status. Critics are still scratching their heads over that one, as the Fifth and Ninth circuit courts had denied tax exemption years earlier, citing board members' "excessive" salaries, which ran in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The courts also pointed out that Ewing's private printing and advertising businesses were paying for the mail blasts and ultimately recouping some of the donations. In 1999, the last year the organization made its financial records available, the group brought in $26 million.

It was an ingenious set-up by Ewing, a junior-high dropout born to a sharecropping family in Kaufman in 1933. After a stint in the Air Force, Ewing conducted tent revivals and ultimately developed a knack for "seed faith" mailings. He put on stadium shows where assistants brought a casket on stage and brought a "corpse" (often a scantily-clad female corpse) back from the dead. In the late 1960s, Oral Roberts credited Ewing for reviving his foundering ministry by writing copy for Roberts's own direct-mail campaign. Ewing soon became the go-to man for other preachers, earning the nickname "God's Ghostwriter" from the Dallas-based religious watchdog group the Trinity Foundation.

"Ewing is like a little kid trying to act like an adult," says Pete Evans of Trinity. "He's seen a number of different preachers in different denominations, and he's borrowed little crumbs of religion from each of them in order to justify his sleazy mail-order business by calling it a church."

Citing the potential for quotes like the one above, Joyce said he would not make Ewing available for an interview. According to its Web site, the organization perceives those who accuse Ewing as a con artist as "atheists; communists; drug dealers; criminals; the lunatic fringes of society; those who hate the United States, God and Christianity and those who hate us because we are gospel missionaries."

One of these alleged drug-dealing pinko heathens is a former employee named Valerija Kachavos, who is suing Saint Matthew's (as well as Ewing and Joyce individually) under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

According to the suit, Kachavos was a computer programmer for Saint Matthew's who began to question her employer's integrity after allegedly seeing the prayer requests hauled to an incineration company. Kachavos claims she was ultimately fired for asking too many questions.

While critics like the Trinity Foundation have accused Saint Matthew's of being a scam for decades, Kachavos's suit may be the broadest legal action taken against the organization.

The suit does not mention the church building on Airline Drive.

However, it does mention other so-called religious organizations Ewing has incorporated in the past. Perhaps the most telling is Reverend Ewing's Evangelistic Ministries.

Otherwise known as REEM.

Write Your Comment show comments (22)

  1. Very good story.

    Comment by steve malisow — March 28, 2007 @ 02:38AM

  2. I received 1 of these mailings just this month(march 2007)and knew it was the makings of a scam. Sadly he continues to get rich off the poor. Houston zip code 77071 evidently was 1 of his target areas. I would like to see a follow up story done.

    Thanks for keeping Houstonians informed.

    Comment by designcoordinator — March 29, 2007 @ 10:07AM

  3. I was searching for a story in Houston when I came to this article.I happen to have a letter from these crooks on a table waiting to be mailed. Not to worry I am a faithful member of the one true Church in the bible-The Church of Christ.I am only mailing them some information that wii saved their sinful souls if they would only obey.As for now the crooks need to be handled by the law.My letter has the address Saint Matthew's Churches, P.O. Box 21210, Tulsa , Ok 74121-9938

    Comment by Almedia Locklear — March 29, 2007 @ 10:58AM

  4. This organization is ridiculous.
    There are so many problems at the "church."
    No one knows what denomination it is, and both of the original priests quit.
    Plus one of my cousins was baptized there and then we found out that it is not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. The priests never told us that the Church
    does not recognize any of the sacraments done by Saint Matthew's Cathedral.
    I think they are dishonest.
    And another weird thing was that if we asked to do something with the church it was some lady that would make the final decision. She wasn't a priest or anything, but someone who was in charge of everyone including the bishops and priests. SO very weird!
    If you want to contact the church the number is 281-260-9622.
    9101 Airline Dr
    Houston, Texas

    Comment by Sarah — April 25, 2007 @ 01:14PM

  5. I keep receiving these mailings from this scam church. Does anyone know how to stop them from sending me these letters? Are they under the same regulations as spammers? It annoys me.

    Comment by Chelsea P. — May 3, 2007 @ 10:15PM

  6. I got a prayor rug and they got their envelope back with nothing but a warning that they won't go to heaven for sending out this kind of stuff. It's really sad that they can prey on poor people. Luckily, I am not poor, uneducated, or stupid and did not fall for this scam. However, I believe that some people are superstitious, or are desperate enough to fall for this scam, and it is really sad that our government doesn't shut them down.

    Comment by Debbie — May 6, 2007 @ 08:06PM

  7. I`ve been receiving letters from St Mathews churches for years and also sendig money as they call it seed harvest for prayer. From the time that I stared till now my life got worse and I was wondering why? untill I just read those comment about st mathews churches and I feel like that I lost my tongue, I beleive in God so deeply,and now I feel that I`ve been ridiculise. One more thing that I just realise it`s when I write to them I never get my answer back for what I asked for. I even asked them to stop writting me because I could not afford to send anymore money they still do.They need to find a way to stop them from reaping off poor people this outrageous, off limits I`m so shock.

    Comment by NANCY D LAPIERRE — May 13, 2007 @ 04:21PM

  8. No legitimate church tells folks to pray for their own, individual prosperity! The Lord answers prayer in His own time and His own way and in the best interests of the indivdual. The answer may likely be, "No". The Lord knows best! I am sending my "prayer rug" back with a message on the outside of the envelope. Where it says, "this is the next Morning", I wrote, "and you're S.O.L.". ("S... Out of Luck", i.e. no money for this scam!) Nancy, PLEASE don't send anymore money to these crooks!! Bless you all!

    Comment by Dot Michael — May 14, 2007 @ 01:26PM

  9. I have continued to receive these requests for donation, each time I get out my black magic marker and write "TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST" and then I stuff all the paper they sent me plus the envelope back into the return envelope. I also tell them if they do not cease and desist, that I will be contacting the State Attorney Generals Office. So far, it has been over a month that I haven't received anything! Whew, what a pain!

    Comment by LORI — May 22, 2007 @ 02:36PM

  10. I have been receiving mail from Saint Matthew's for years but I never send money to them.I have asked them over and over to take my name off of their list but they don't.I don't know how they got my name and address in the first place.I know that they don't care for anything but the money because I was a single mom of three when they started writing to me and I explained that to them.I know they never even read that because the letters and the begging never changed.I know to that God's blessings are not based on money as they stress.I wish simeine would tell me how to stop them from writing to me.I am so sick of these people.

    Comment by Carrie — May 31, 2007 @ 11:22AM

  11. i aske God forgiv to heam they don,t now whot they are doing .i am from other country and i am one of vectam of this group.i got thear letter 4th time,s a week on my po. box.for the last 3-4 mounthes contenuucely they seand to me .and giving me fols hoppe, interpration of bibilical wordes for ther value . 1st week a start suspeusious obut tham ond tray to aske some qowsion to make sour if they are exested church or not .i seant letter bake several times.bout they dasent respond the right anseur directely as i asked. thean i start mor suspetious abut theam and start searching on iternat.finaly i find more peoples vectemised like me .i hoppe this group one day pay the price back tow wayes becous whote they done. whote kind of time we ore living now?.

    Comment by abraham — August 9, 2007 @ 07:12PM

  12. This guy is doing EXACTLY what all the so-called "mainstream" religions do - bilking people out of cash using emotional blackmail. In fact I got a doozy in the mail just today addressed to the former owner of my home who has been dead for 10 years form "The Catholic Community Foundation". Guess what - They want my money. Oh yea - they've never take advantage or ripped anyone off have they? LOL. Get off of your high horses. Don't give money to churches. DO something real in your community instead!

    Comment by Rev Barky — November 20, 2007 @ 01:15PM

  13. The actions of Satan, throughout the Bible, are to undermine God's greatness. To deceive every person, especially those seemingly susceptible to his lies. Satan's mission is to establish doubt, and disbelief in even his pathetic existence. This is exactly the problem that I have with scam artists like Saint Matthew's Church and their "phophetic" letters. I find them to be instruments of Satan, in that they take under false pretenses, & they do so under the cover of Christ's Church. Pray for them, until their swindling stops, pray for the Holy Spirit to open their eyes, that they may soften their hearts, and that Satan's grip on them be broken. Even in the worst possible circumstances, God CANNOT do Wrong He is GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

    God Bless You All.
    Thank you Lord.
    Deuteronomy 18:20-22

    Comment by Eric C in California — November 26, 2007 @ 11:39PM

  14. The actions of Satan, throughout the Bible, are to undermine God's greatness. To deceive every person, especially those seemingly susceptible to his lies. Satan's mission is to establish doubt, and disbelief in even his pathetic existence. This is exactly the problem that I have with scam artists like Saint Matthew's Church and their "phophetic" letters. I find them to be instruments of Satan, in that they take under false pretenses, & they do so under the cover of Christ's Church. Pray for them, until their swindling stops, pray for the Holy Spirit to open their eyes, that they may soften their hearts, and that Satan's grip on them be broken. Even in the worst possible circumstances, God CANNOT do Wrong He is GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

    God Bless You All.
    Thank you Lord.
    Deuteronomy 18:20-22

    Comment by Anonymous — November 26, 2007 @ 11:40PM

  15. The actions of Satan, throughout the Bible, are to undermine God's greatness. To deceive every person, especially those seemingly susceptible to his lies. Satan's mission is to establish doubt, and disbelief in even his pathetic existence. This is exactly the problem that I have with scam artists like Saint Matthew's Church and their "phophetic" letters. I find them to be instruments of Satan, in that they take under false pretenses, & they do so under the cover of Christ's Church. Pray for them, until their swindling stops, pray for the Holy Spirit to open their eyes, that they may soften their hearts, and that Satan's grip on them be broken. Even in the worst possible circumstances, God CANNOT do Wrong He is GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

    Comment by Anonymous — November 26, 2007 @ 11:42PM

  16. Good Evening. I am daughter to a 55-year-old man who has been sending his last dime to this St. Matthew's Church for the past 20+ years. My father sends every cent that he gets to this man and gets letters in return. He is a very depressed person, as he is just about to hit rock bottom, the lowest of lowest in his life. He and my mother divorced about 6 years ago and since that time he has really gone down hill. My sisters and I never see him, and when we do all he talks about is craziness that these people write to him and how in the end he will be forgiven of all sins for sacrificing for them. We tried to show him some of these things online but he is so out there that he thinks that it is just us telling him lies. I do not know what to do, as he is very sick and I am afraid that he is going to hurt himself, as he has fallen into such a deep depression. Now he has received 2 gold credit cards in his mailbox, which he never applied for,as God sent them to him, and he is using them I am afraid. I wonder if these people actually filled out paperwork for him and had them sent to him so that he can withdraw and send them more money. It is very easy to tell people to wake up and stop sending money, that is if they are normal thinking persons and can see this as a scam. But, this group is going after people who have absolutely nothing and are looking for anything to give them hope in this world that we live in, and I am seeing firsthand what they are doing to my father. What can I do? Has there been anything else discovered or pursued agains tthis church since this article.

    Comment by Roberta — December 30, 2007 @ 08:28PM

  17. Good scam coverage. " RE " not only in Texas or OK area. I see lots of these mailing in this side of the country. You are right he is targeting vulnerable people in this post 911 testing times. Someone really have to put a brake on these scams and send this " RE " to jail and also any one assisting him that includes his attorneys.

    Comment by queennyresident — January 8, 2008 @ 05:15AM

  18. I received one of his mailings today. I have faith in God. So if I do what is asked I just might be blessed. I won't send him any money. But, at least I did get $0.02 from him.

    Comment by Sonya — March 31, 2008 @ 07:04PM

  19. I have been getting mailings from these folks for some time now. I always open them to see what is in them. I have received numerous "prayer rugs", communion wafers, packets of oil or water, swatches of fabric, but most interestingly--shredded money. I am an avid scrapbook artist, so some of the things they send wind up in my books. I have never however been foolish enough to send them money. It is an interesting scam they have. I do find their letters encouraging from time to time, especially if I have been sick or am feeling particularly discouraged. I think it's interesting that God still takes the things of this world meant for evil, and uses them for His purposes!

    Comment by Melody Strahan — April 29, 2008 @ 01:02PM

  20. How can I file a class action suit against this scam
    I have sent many checks in the belief that it was money being used to help less fortunates. and I believed that they spoke the word of God.

    Comment by Lisa M. Scrima-Castelli — May 9, 2008 @ 12:37PM

  21. There is a warm place in hell for people like this who take advantage of the poor and gullible in Christs name.

    Comment by Satin — May 24, 2008 @ 06:23AM

  22. It seems this "church" can be identified by the address on the mailings. -- Saint Matthew's Churches, P.O. Box 21210, Tulsa, OK 74212 -- From now on anything I get from this address, will go directly in the garbage.

    It seems that this scam has "reached out" to all of America. I live in Jackson, MS.

    Comment by James Scott — May 25, 2008 @ 10:33PM

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