Citing the impact of the ongoing federal government shutdown on the economy and his members, megachurch Pastor Jamal Bryant has suspended his church’s Exceedingly Giving Campaign until the first Sunday after the shutdown ends.
Speaking to congregants at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, Bryant, a longtime progressive critic of President Donald Trump, accused Trump of being the first president to “starve his own citizens.” The allegation comes as Democrats and Republicans are blaming each other for the possibility that millions of Americans could lose their benefits this week under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, popularly known as SNAP, due to the government shutdown.
Approximately one in eight American residents depends on the entitlement program for an average of $187 a month in food aid. The federal shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year.
“I was arrested by the Holy Spirit in prayer on Friday. And it really shook me, but I got peace knowing that I was hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit and what God was calling us to do, and I hope that you’ll come in agreement with me in prayer and in faith,” Bryant explained to his congregants.
“Knowing that since March, 300,000 black women have lost their jobs, knowing that this is the highest unemployment rate for black people in over 15 years, knowing that the government workers and government contractors have been furloughed and have not received a check, even while senators and congresspeople are receiving theirs, knowing that 43 million people are not receiving food benefits, the Holy Spirit arrested me in prayer,” he continued. “I didn’t feel in good conscience or … in good faith, that it would be appropriate today for me to do an over-and-above offering.”
The over-and-above offering referred to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s Exceedingly Giving Campaign, which challenged supporters to give beyond their usual tithes and offerings.
Supporters are encouraged to make an annual pledge of at least $250 and up to $5,000. The church also allows supporters to pledge amounts outside that range through an “Other” option. This year’s campaign aims to raise $1,000,000 to support the church’s debt reduction, bookstore revamp, and lobby repair.
“I didn’t feel like it would be right to ask people to march down with $5,000, $2,000 $3,000 and $1,000, when people don’t know how they going to pay their rent, they don’t know how they’ going to take care of their kids, don’t know how it is that they gonna eat,” said Bryant. “I know that this ain’t popular, I know this ain’t going to go viral. They always talk about the negative stuff churches do. But I felt like we had a higher responsibility.”
Even though he told his congregants they could suspend their campaign donations until the government shutdown was over, many still walked to the stage to fulfill their pledges.
Bryant’s gesture comes in the wake of pastor and Grammy-winning singer Marvin Winans recently coming under fire for scolding a woman for making a donation in the wrong donation tier.
In addition to suspending the Exceedingly Giving Campaign, Bryant also urged members to donate canned goods to support the church’s food bank ministry, The King’s Table.
He said his church opened The King’s Table privately last Thursday and served 120 people who work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While FBI agents continue getting paid during the shutdown, support staff are reportedly working without pay.
Bryant said the ministry is usually prepared to serve about 1,500 people on the designated Saturdays, but because of the shutdown’s impact on SNAP benefits, the church now has to prepare to serve about 2,000.
“We are looking really as a church in dire straits, because we did not see this happening. This is going to be the largest, the longest government shutdown in American history. … As a consequence, we’re going to need somewhere in the orbit of $75,000 to $100,000 just to keep up with the need because it wasn’t a budgetary items,” Bryant explained.
On Tuesday, a coalition of more than two dozen Democratic attorneys general and Democratic governors from three states filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts against the Trump administration over its decision to suspend federal food benefits during the government shutdown.
The Trump administration, however, has blamed Democrats for the suspension of the food benefits. On its website, the USDA points the finger at Senate Democrats for the SNAP suspension.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA website states. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a memo cited by NPR that SNAP contingency funds “are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits.” Those contingency funds, which currently total just under $6 billion, are intended by law “for use only in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations.”
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