PUBLISHED SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18, 1997
Copyright 1997 The Pensacola News Journal. All
rights reserved
Hill settles down
on
40 acres in Alabama
By John W.
Allman
staff writer
Evangelist Steve Hill assures the
audiences at Pensacola's Brownsville Revival that
everything he makes from the revival goes into
his nonprofit corporation, and not into his
pocket.
Even the house that Hill, 43, and his wife
Jeri live in is owned by his corporation,
Together in the Harvest Ministries Inc., he
emphasizes.
The only thing the couple owns on the 40 acres
in Lillian, Ala., is the furniture in their
house, he said in a recent interview.
Hill relocated his ministry to south Alabama
in 1996.
So far, Hill's ministry has spent $887,931 on
property and buildings in Lillian, including
$429,931 in cash, for:
- A remodeled farmhouse and 29 acres for
$390,000. Hill has taken out a $290,000
mortgage on the land, for which he pays
$1,726 monthly.
- A main office building for $125,000.
There is no mortgage on this property.
- A missions/distribution center and nine
acres for $209,700. Hill has an
outstanding mortgage of $168,000, for
which he pays $1,654 monthly.
- A duplex for $131,603, which houses four
female staff members. There is no
mortgage on this building.
- A barn converted into apartments for
$31,628, which houses one male staff
member. There is no mortgage on this
building.
There is also a stable for Hill's two horses
and a playground for his three children.
"This ministry is not rich," Hill
told the News Journal. "I've never been into
hifalutin' things."
According to an informal financial statement,
released through Hill's attorney, Walter
Chandler, the ministry spent $260,117 between
Aug. 1, 1996, and Aug. 1, 1997, for eight
fulltime staff, including Hill, and five
part-time workers.
Of the staff, five full-time employees live on
the property through a housing allowance included
with their salary.
Hill said in the statement that he makes
$78,000 annually, not including what he is paid
for speaking engagements outside the revival and
a percentage of royalties from his book sales.
The ministry's 1996 IRS return, however, lists
$172,795 for staff salaries and benefits,
including Hill's salary, which is listed at
$82,374. Hill also got $34,000 from royalties and
speaking engagements.
Neither Hill nor his attorney can say whether
the IRS return is for the same time period August
to August as the ministry's financial statement.
It was received by the IRS on Aug. 19.
"I could be a millionaire right
now," Hill said. "Personally, I could
be a millionaire because of book sales and
speaking engagements. Period. That's just the way
it is. But everyone has to make choices in
life."
Hill said he has a life insurance policy
through the ministry to protect his family.
He said he plans for everything the homes,
business and profits to be turned over to his
friend, Jim Summers of Outreach Ministries of
Alabama Inc., if Hill should die.
One concern Hill has is the accessibility of
his ministry to motorists passing by. The
property has an electric gate, but Hill said
several people have wandered onto it on foot.
When he first arrived in Pensacola and
realized the revival was not going to end
overnight, Hill said, he had to move his family
eight times to ensure their privacy.
Once, while staying at the Residence Inn,
hotel employees alerted him to forming crowds, he
said.
"People were trying to get into the hotel
at 2 in the morning for prayer and things like
that," Hill said.
"The whole idea of living in Pensacola
with the attention we were getting was out of the
question."
Hill lived for nine months in a house on Ono
Island near Gulf Shores, Ala., that a friend
allowed him to use.
Hill said he liked the security of the island
with its guard-controlled access.
He said he would like some day to build a
compound someplace similar in order to shelter
his ministry from public scrutiny.
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