Grandson Follows Copeland's Footsteps, Raises Money For Private Jet
Like father, like son — or in the case of Kenneth Copeland, like grandfather, like grandson.
Which may be why Jeremy Pearsons, Copeland’s grandson, is “believing God” — and his Legacy Church congregation in a tiny Colorado mountain town — for a $2 million private jet.
“Lord, if you would enable us to, we would spend millions and millions of dollars to get the Word to people in far-off places,” Pearsons prayed at last Sunday’s church service.
Legacy Church meets in tiny Green Mountain Falls, population 875, located in the shadow of Pikes Peak, 10 miles west of Colorado Springs.
Pearsons is the son of Terri Copeland Pearsons, Kenneth Copeland’s oldest daughter. Kenneth Copeland is a Texas-based prosperity evangelist who in 2017 said God had set aside a luxury Gulfstream V jet for his ministry. Copeland is reputedly the richest pastor in America, with a net worth of $750 million reported in 2021.
In last Sunday’s service, Pearsons posted a photo of a Cessna Citation Bravo jet and told his church that donors have already given $500,000 for this “fully equipped airplane project.” The project title is based on the verses from II Timothy 3:17. “That you may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.”
The reason? “To get the Gospel preached all over the world,” Pearsons told his members.
Pearsons made the announcement after just returning from a two-and-a-half-week family “mission trip” to Europe. His wife and kids joined him on the trip that cost “tens of thousands of dollars,” he said.
It included stops in six cities in multiple countries, including scenic world capitals like London and Vienna and Bratislava, Slovakia, he said. Pearsons preached at churches, met with pastors, and the family made visits to a cathedral, a castle and Big Ben, according to the slideshow the couple presented.
“I want to thank you for sending us on a trip like this,” Pearsons said. “To get to take our kids was a dream come true for us.”
Pearsons also asked his congregants to give more for a private jet.
“We’re believing God for some big things around here,” Pearsons said. “If you want to give by cash or credit card, raise your hand. Our ushers have envelopes for you. ... Just do as the Lord leads you and we’ll see big things getting done quickly.”
Pearsons is a guest instructor at Kenneth Copeland Bible College and will be a speaker at KCM’s Southwest Believers Convention in July. Fifteen years ago, Pearsons started his own ministry, Pearsons Ministries. His sermons are aired on the Victory Channel of Kenneth Copeland Ministries.
In 2020, Pearsons began building Legacy Church, which he described \Sunday as a “local church but we have a global call.”
His wife, Sarah, said that means some people will be called to go somewhere, and some are called to give.
“You could be a part of sending someone and that’s a part of being part of this church,” she said.
On June 8, 2025, Jeremy and Sarah Pearsons preach at Legacy Church in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado. (Video screengrab)
Waste vs. transparency
Kenneth Copeland’s ministry owns multiple jets, which he justifies as saving him time in a work that he claims has brought 122 million people to Christ, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported. A 2023 telethon at his ministry allowed other prosperity preachers to raise money for a new jet, TRR has reported.
However, Copeland been criticized for using his jets for personal vacations, WFAA-TV reported in 2007.
People can legally ride their employer-owned private jet for personal use if the users reimburse the organization for the cost, or pay a tax based on a specific IRS formula, explained Barry Bowen. Bowen is lead analyst at the Trinity Foundation, a nonprofit religious watchdog group.
However, as to whether it’s considered fiscally wasteful to use a private jet for ministry use rather than flying on commercial airliners, that depends, Bowen told TRR. Chartering a plane for a big team could be cheaper than buying individual airline tickets, for example. Also, if the missions trip take place where commercial airlines don’t reach, using a private airplane may make sense, Bowen added.
But, “I think most of it’s illegitimate or a waste,” Bowen said. “It’s poor stewardship, in my opinion, most of it.”
As far as the church paying for kids’ travel expenses with their parents’ ministry trip, Bowen believes the IRS wouldn’t have a problem with it.
Children sometimes participate in ministry activities like helping with a church service, he said. However, donors like to know where their money’s going, so churches and ministries should have transparency and accountability measures in place.
“I want the ministry or church to do things in a way that it would be seen a good financial stewardship,” Bowen said. “Do they conduct their business in such a way that it’s transparent? So, do they inform the church about what the costs are, where the money went?”
Legacy Church appears to be part of Pearsons Ministries International, according to its website. Pearsons Ministries doesn’t have to file 990s, the IRS’s financial statement for nonprofits, because it’s classified as a church, which is exempt.
The last 990 that Pearsons Ministries filed was for 2014, when its expenses were $1.4 million. At that time, Pearsons earned a salary of almost $73,000 and Sarah made $63,000. The ministry had four board members, two of whom were the couple themselves.
The church’s and ministry’s websites don’t list board members or financial statements.
TRR contacted Legacy Church and Pearsons Ministries International to ask if they have boards, financial statements, and board-approval requirements for budgets and expenditures. Neither ministry immediately responded.
Transparency aside, on his donation page, Pearsons makes donors a promise. If they give to his ministry, they’ll get rich, too.
It reads: “As you give your offering, we stand in agreement with you that every need you have is met, every bill you have is paid, every debt you have is eliminated, and that God is causing you to increase more and more, you and your children.”
This piece is republished from The Roys Report.
Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado.