Another Duggar is at the center of controversy again. These past few months, Jill Duggar and husband Derick Dillard have been travelling to Central America as missionaries. Now, new reports from Inquisitr claim that the Duggar-Dillard's missionary work is not actually supported by official church organizations, particularly the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and International Mission Board (IMB), "for lack of qualifications."
This is contrary to Jill and Derick's social media posts, which made their supporters believe that they are "commissioned" missionaries under a larger and more official organization. On Sept. 6, Derick wrote on his Instagram account that they were officially commissioned during a service at Cross Church.
A photo posted by Derick Dillard (@derickdillard) on Sep 6, 2015 at 12:59pm PDT
The accompanying photo shows Jill and Derick with Pastor Ronnie Floyd at Cross Church, the largest church in Arkansas. However, according to Inquistr, the church, which has donated over $1 million to missionaries this year, has not given financial support to the Duggar-Dillards. Pastor Floyd also serves as a president of SBC, which has over 4,800 missionaries across the globe. Jill and Derick are not in that list.
Last Oct. 3, Derick posted again on his Instagram account, revealing a picture of a fundraiser held at the said church.
Thank you to all our prayer and financial support partners who were able to join us last night for an evening of ministry discussion and fellowship! Thank you also to our financial partners who were not able to attend last night! We can't do it without you! A photo posted by Derick Dillard (@derickdillard) on Oct 3, 2015 at 2:05pm PDT
This prompted a follower to comment on the post, "I don't really understand. Are they with IMB or not?"
Despite the picture, reports say that SBC's International Mission Board cannot officially commission Jill and Derick because technically, they are not missionaries. SBC and IMB requires their missionaries to have a bachelor's degree from an accredited university, with courses in Biblical Studies, Theology, Church History, Missions, and the like. Neither Jill and Derick have graduated from a Bible school.
Shortly after "19 Kids and Counting" was cancelled by TLC, Jill and Derick announced their missionary work to Central America and asked donations from fans. Last September, many fans complained of the couple's jet-setting lifestyle amidst their "missions," claiming that they have been scammed.
As per Raw Story, one fan wrote, "People wise up! Can't you tell when you're being scammed? They're taking trips to places that YOU can't afford and they're doing it with YOUR money. They have no credibility, they are NOT transparent with what they're doing with your donations and they could care less about you. If you want to donate to charities, start locally. I'm sure there are people in YOUR community that are more deserving than these scammers."
Jill and Derick are set to have their own TLC special later this year.
