News / People
Evangelist Paula White Gets Divorced
According to news outlets in Tampa, evangelist couple Randy and Paula White, the pastors and founders of Without Walls International Church in Tampa, are getting a divorce. The Whites announced their breakup at an evening service Thursday night.
The split appears to be mutual as they stood side-by-side during the announcement. Randy White said he took "full responsibility" for the breakup. He will continue to be the pastor of the 23,000-plus- member church, while Paula White will pursue other ventures, both nonprofit and for-profit.
There had been rumors the marriage was in trouble for months.
Without Walls in Tampa purchased the huge Carpenter's Home Church sanctuary in Lakeland in 2004 and established a satellite congregation, Without Walls Central, there. No word yet how the Whites' divorce might affect that congregation, if at all.
Paula White was by most accounts a more popular preacher than her husband and had her own TV ministry. And although Without Walls is an independent Pentecostal church, not bound by denominational standards on divorce, some of which are quite strict, divorce is still generally frowned on by Pentecostals. This is the second divorce for both Randy and Paula White.
This is the second piece of breaking news within the evangelistic marital community. On Wednesday, evangelist Juanita Bynum was attacked by her husband, Bishop Thomas Weeks, in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel.
