Photo by: FRED FOX
Melvin B. Jefferson and his wife, Brenda, live in a 9,796-square-foot house with 10 bedrooms and four baths valued at $581,000, according to property records.

graphic in my pictures deeper_life_jefferson_wife...

TAMPA - The Bentley.
A status symbol in the world of automobiles unlike any other. The choice of British royalty. A vehicle that trumpets wealth and prestige.

Brand new, the luxury sedan can cost more than $250,000. Even used, one isn't cheap. A 1999 Bentley Arnage, mileage unknown, starts at $155,000, according to an Internet search of available cars in the Tampa area.

Bishop Melvin B. Jefferson drives a 1999 Bentley Arnage. It's one of nine vehicles, including two Mercedes- Benzes, a Cadillac and a Lincoln, owned by his Deeper Life Christian Church.

For longer trips, the Jeffersons travel in a private jet, a British Aerospace HS 125-700A.

Jefferson professes not to have money. He tells his congregation he once was ``too broke to pay attention,'' that he and his wife slept on a floor surrounded by rats, that they continue to live simply without benefiting from Deeper Life church.

But what the bishop says conflicts sharply with how others say he and his family live and with public records.

Jefferson owns a 9,796-square-foot house with 10 bedrooms and four baths in Brandon valued at $581,000, according to property records. He lives there with his wife, Brenda, and other family members.

The house, shielded from the public by a 6-foot-high privacy wall, was the site of a home invasion robbery in November. Police records show the robbers made off with at least $12,600 in cash, a Rolex watch, and a 6 1/2-carat diamond bracelet Jefferson bought his wife for an anniversary present.

Crime scene photographs show the house is richly furnished, has three dining rooms, at least two bars (although no alcohol is visible) and an indoor pool.

At the church, Jefferson and his wife park in a gated area where workers can be seen washing the cars. The bishop typically arrives, former church members say, in the Cadillac or a Mercedes. On special occasions, he is chauffeured in the Bentley.

Both Jefferson and his wife wear tailor-made clothing and flashy jewelry, former members say. Jefferson also likes Mauri alligator shoes, which are made in Italy and cost $600 to $800 a pair.

His tailored suits and fancy cars are an incentive to his congregation, Jefferson often says, showing that they, too, can live well. The best way to ensure this, he adds, is by giving to the church.

``It don't take money to buy things,'' Jefferson told his congregation during a Sunday service in August. ``It takes God to give them to you.''

What The Papers Say

Jefferson is quick to say that very few material possessions actually belong to him.

And few do - on paper.

None of the vehicles, including the Bentley, is registered in his name. Nor is the run-down housing off Nebraska Avenue where many of Deeper Life's members live. All are owned and paid for by his ministry.

The compound in Brandon is in his name. So is a house in north Tampa near Lake Magdalene where his daughter, Kenya, lives.

The facts behind the plane are more difficult to pin down; Jefferson has provided varying accounts.

In a June sermon, the bishop said he received the plane from an anonymous benefactor after positive prayer.

During another Sunday service in August, he told church members that he had recently moved to a nicer aircraft because his wife wanted something more luxurious.

But in a subsequent interview, Jefferson turned aside questions about the aircraft by challenging whether he even had one.

``Oh, do I now?'' he said.

Purchase Deal Outlined

Instead, Charles Hellier, a Bradenton businessman and Deeper Life supporter who sat in on the interview, said the plane Jefferson uses is being purchased by a charter flight service that Hellier owns, Airfleet Resources of Florida. The church leases the plane from Airfleet at a discount and may one day purchase it, Hellier said.

Hellier pledges 25 cents to Deeper Life from every gallon of jet fuel he sells. The church, during services, encourages people to send Hellier more business.

The plane has been a focal point of church fundraising for at least the past three months. During Sunday services and on taped sermons sold by the church, a video announcement appeals to supporters to raise $100,000 to help Deeper Life buy a plane so the bishop can ``carry out God's calling on his life.''

Jefferson refused during the interview to answer questions about the video. Hellier said the $100,000 was needed for a different plane that Deeper Life had considered buying, then ruled out.

Church finances are not public records, so how much money the appeal raised can't be determined.

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