I-TEAM investigates legal dispute involving Celebration Church & founding pastors

This News4JAX Drone 4 photo shows Celebration Church in Jacksonville. (Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.)

Today’s forecast: Mostly sunny ☀️

The first day of spring is today, and it will be mostly sunny and in the seasonal mid-70s. Stay updated on your forecast by visiting News4JAX.com or downloading the WJXT Weather app for iPhone or Android.

Recommended Videos



This News4JAX Drone 4 photo shows Celebration Church in Jacksonville. To contribute a photo for Morning Blend, use the SnapJAX feature on News4JAX.com or inside the WJXT Weather app.

Weather report for Sunday, March 20. (Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.)

Sunday reads 🗞️

The News4JAX I-TEAM reports that the founders of Celebration Church, one of the largest churches in the Jacksonville area, are in a legal dispute with the church that involves allegations of financial misconduct and fraud.

Stovall and Kerri Weems, who founded Celebration Church in 1998, filed a lawsuit for injunctive relief against Celebration Church on Feb. 23, alleging a church trustee was improperly billing the church and was setting the scene to oust Stovall Weems from the church he built. The Weemses also said they’ve been threatened with arrest if they come onto church property.

Celebration Church responded saying this is the “latest chapter in a campaign of deception, manipulation, distraction, and abuse of power by Stovall and Kerri Weems against Celebration.”

Celebration’s motion also alleges the couple improperly used over $1,000,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds to fund an entity they managed and to purchase TurnCoin, a digital security. A spokesperson for the founding pastors says the couple did not misuse government PPP money as the church alleges in the court filing.

Here are the I-TEAM reports:


More top stories 📰

In case you missed any of these headlines, here’s what’s grabbing our viewers’ attention:


Spring begins 🌷

At 11:33 a.m. Sunday, spring arrives in the Northern Hemisphere. That’s when the vernal (spring) equinox happens, with the sun’s direct light precisely on the equator, meaning equal periods of day and night all across the Earth. As the “Farmers’ Almanac” explains, “after the vernal equinox, the direct rays of the sun migrate north of the equator (with hours of daylight steadily growing longer).”

For ideas for fun weekend activities, take a look at our Community Calendar.


Capture the moment 📷

SnapJAX user "Aibtsally" in Fernandina Beach uploaded this photo with the caption: "Beautiful morning with lots of colors." (Submitted)

SnapJAX user “Aibtsally” in Fernandina Beach uploaded this photo with the caption: “Beautiful morning with lots of colors.”

Want to see your picture featured in our newsletter? Download the News4JAX Weather Authority App (Apple, Google), or log in to your Insider profile and upload your pics to SnapJAX.


Want more? 📺

The news doesn’t stop here. The Morning Show is live every Sunday until 9 a.m. Watch us.


Loading...