Prosperity Gospel and television evangelist Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church received a $4.4 million loan from the Paycheck Protection Program that was designed to help small businesses keep employees on the payroll, according to a clearinghouse of PPP monies.

Chron.com reports that the business, which broadcasts services from Lakewood weekly and solicits donations during those broadcasts, claims that the funds were used to help Lakewood employees, not the lavish lifestyles of Osteen and his wife, Victoria.

“Believing the shutdown would only last a few weeks, Lakewood did not initially apply for PPP assistance during the first half of the program,” Lakewood spokesperson David Iloff said in a statement.  “However, as the shutdown persisted month after month, given the economic uncertainty, Lakewood finally applied for the PPP loan and has been able to provide full salaries and benefits including health insurance coverage to all of its employees and their families.”

Osteen has faced criticism for the wealth he’s amassed from his ministry, which includes purchases of a personal jet and multiple properties.  The business was also criticised for blocking access to their property in Houston during natural disasters in recent years, banning people fleeing hurricanes and floods from their property.

The Chron noted that Lakewood received the third most money of any business in the Houston area, and it was not the only Houston-area religiously-affiliated organization to receive more than $1 million.