Joel Osteen says his megachurch didn't open to Harvey victims earlier because Houston 'didn't ask'

Pastor says his church was not prepared to host people displaced by storm

Lakewood Church is run by televangelist Joel Osteen (Wiki Commons/RobertMWorsham)

The pastor of a Houston megachurch rebuked for not doing enough to help storm victims said he was slow to open the facility’s doors because city officials hadn’t asked him.

“The city didn't ask us to become a shelter”, Joel Osteen, pastor of the enormous Lakewood Church, said in an interview on the Today show, adding that “there were safety issues” and that the church lacked enough volunteers and staff.

“If they would have asked us to become a shelter early on, we would have prepared for it all and been ready to help”, Mr Osteen said.

Mr Osteen and his church faced intense criticism after his church posted on its social media account that it was “inaccessible due to severe flooding”.

Amid a backlash, Mr Osteen released a statement saying the church had “never closed our doors” and would serve as a “distribution center”. He spurred further criticism by saying the church “would house people once shelters reach capacity”.

On Tuesday, Mr Osteen went further by explicitly saying: “Lakewood’s doors are open and we are receiving anyone who needs shelter."

Reporters on the scene subsequently described hundreds of cars arriving at the church bearing supplies and people seeking shelter.