By Beth Moreton
Kris Jenner founded a church, but was it an entirely altruistic action?
Kris Jenner is the world-famous momager to the Kardashian-Jenner family and is known for providing everyone with lots of laughs on the family's hit reality TV shows, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and their latest series The Kardashians. But these shows aren't the family's only success.
Not only is she seen to be working hard on screen with multiple business ventures and managing her daughters' and son's lives, but there is one other venture that the momager undertook years ago that many might not know about. Kris founded her own church a few years ago, but all is not as it seems.
What Church Did Kris Jenner Found?
Kris founded the California Community Church in 2009. It was previously known as the Life Change Church, and its lead pastor is Brad Johnson. He is a family friend of the Kardashians and KUWTK viewers might remember him for officiating Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom's wedding.
Some may see it as a shock that Kris founded her own church, however, the family has a long-standing association with religion and is regularly seen on their shows making prayers, and they also make posts about it on their social media too.
Related: Kris Jenner's Life Was Much Different Before Her Family Rose To Fame
On the church's website, it states that they welcome people who are 'messy' and makes it clear that if anyone is wanting to join their church that they don't have to have their life together to be a part of it; with a full emphasis on them being all about finding redemption for past (or current) mistakes.
What Church Do The Kardashians Go To?
Given that Kris founded her own church almost fifteen years ago, it would be thought that this would be the Kardashians' church of choice when it comes down to which church they decide to attend. However, in the past, they were seen to be going to Kanye West's Sunday services and have also previously been known to go to Hillsong Church, which is based in Los Angeles.
Taking this into consideration, it's unknown if there's any other specific church the Kardashians go to or even whether any of them attend Kris' church (or any other church) at all. But given that many of them have shared insights into their faith, it's more than likely that they will attend a church of some sort, either from time to time or regularly.
Is California Community Church A Tax Write-Off?
The main issue a lot of people seem to have with Kris having her own church is that there has been some speculation over the years over the authenticity of her having a church. The main concern of this is if Kris decided to found her own church so that she could use it as a tax write-off.
Within the church, there is a practice that is known as 'tithing', which is where it is customary to give 10% of one's earnings back to the church. This set a lot of tongues wagging regarding Kris because it's widely known that she takes 10% of all of her children's earnings and many found this far too much of a coincidence to believe that there was nothing fishy behind her founding her own church.
Related: Does Kris Jenner Make Her Guests Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements Before Entering Her House?
This may not seem like anything that anyone necessarily needs to be skeptical about at this point, particularly as many managers will often take somewhere around 10% of their client's earnings. However, it was reported by Radar Online that the California Community Church was involved in a tax scandal after it failed to pay any taxes during its first few years.
Kris' church not paying any taxes might confuse some as to why this was a tax scandal as it's also widely known that churches are exempt from paying federal, state, and local taxes; however, they do have to pay taxes on their payroll expenses, which seems to be what Kris failed to do in this instance. Doesn't sound like something a business-savvy woman like Kris would do!
Kris Jenner's Church Charges A Monthly Membership Fee
There are some other issues regarding money and Kris' church that also come into play here. One of which is that there have been a few occasions where the Kardashians have been involved in some charity auctions on eBay and have given the money made from these sales to the California Community Church, which would get them out of having to pay any tax on that money.
The other issue is the membership fee that the church charges. Many churches will vary what they charge for their churchgoers. Some will charge a mandatory fee, some will ask that members pay 10% of their earnings but won't make this mandatory, and others will ask for a small contribution whenever someone attends their church.
However, the California Community Church charges $1000 per month in order to be able to attend their church, so it certainly seems like something that is more for the rich and wealthy. But overlooking that, it would also seem that this membership fee gives Kris even more money than what she currently makes, which many aren't happy about.
Related: Kris Jenner's Relationship With Her Mysterious Sister Is Not As Glamorous As The One She Has With Her Daughters
Of course, Kris using the church as a tax write-off can only be speculation at this point as the Kardashians have appeared to be very tight-lipped on this matter. It can only be hoped that the church was founded and continues to run out of the purest of intentions and nothing else at this time.
