The lavish wealth of a North Carolina megachurch pastor was laid bare in divorce papers filed over the summer of 2024. Gilbert Andre Thompson, Jr., who pastors the 15,000-member World Overcomers Christian Church in Durham, N.C., has a 2.8 million dollar home and a $1.3 million alimony agreement hanging over his head. Thompson, also known as “Pastor Andy,” filed for the divorce on June 10.
Reporters found that he was granted an “absolute” divorce on July 1 from his wife of 33 years, Dequilla LaShawn. According to the two-page divorce decree, the couple were legally separated in March 2023. An “absolute” divorce means the couple has been separated for at least a year and a day. The eye-watering $1.3 million alimony payment will be paid out as $12,000 a month for nine years.
The property agreement declares pastor Andy Thompson will retain ownership of the couple’s 58 acres in Lolly Lane, Mebane, N.C., which is located to the north of their current home. According to public records, the Thompson family lives in a 14,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, six-bathroom house in Mebane, North Carolina. The home is lavishly decorated.
According to Zillow, the house is worth $2.8 million. The property features a gym, theatre seating, an infinity pool, and a hot tub. World Overcomers Christian purchased Thompson’s residence from 2020 Properties LLC in 2018 for $1.53 million. A year later, the church deeded it to another non-profit organization, Restore Community Development.
According to North Carolina land records, no money was exchanged in this transaction. When reporters contacted a church employee overseeing media inquiries, she hung up. Other state records prove Restore Community Development is not utilizing the tax-exempt status of a non-profit organization’s parsonage. When she sells the 58-acre property, Dequilla Thompson will receive only $50,000.
Dequilla Thompson was given the couple’s modest rental house, a 1,600-square-foot house worth around $154,000 in Rocky Mount, NC. Andy Thompson assumed a $25,602 IRS debt and maintained control of his business, Thompson Communications Group, LLC. Dequilla Thompson will still own projects of Home Inc..
The pastor has registered the cars belonging to his adult children in his name. These vehicles include a 2021 Kia Forte, a 2024 Kia Seltos, a 2016 Jeep Cherokee, and a 2013 Cadillac STS. The pastor is also responsible for the payments associated with the Forte, Seltos, Cherokee, and his vehicle, a Ford F-150. Dequilla Thomson was awarded a 2010 Kia Soul.
On Pastor Thompson’s website, the couple described themselves as marriage counselors. Andy and Lashawn Thompson promoted the “wisdom and knowledge” that “helped them retain ‘Real Love’ for nearly 30 years.” His congregation, Overcomers Christian Church, was established in 2003. The website says it “is one of the fastest-growing churches in America.”
The church claims God is using Andy Thompson “to impact over 1 million people each week through his innovative, in your face, faith-filled television program called ‘The Truth.’” The website states, “Pastor Andy realized a need for pastors and leaders to be pastored. OCF is a place where pastors and leaders can come receive insight, fellowship with other leaders, and be ministered to.”