Without Walls International Church The Tampa Christian Center was founded in
Tampa, Florida, by the then-married Paula and
Randy White in 1991. The church struggled financially and could not afford to pay the Whites a salary for the first two years of its existence. From 1991 to 1998, the church changed locations three times. It was eventually renamed
Without Walls International Church. In 2004, Without Walls International Church reported a congregation of 20,000, making it the largest congregation in the area and the seventh-largest church in the
United States. An audit showed that Without Walls received $150 million from 2004 to 2006. On July 12, 2009, White became the senior pastor of the church. She replaced her former husband, Randy White, who stated that he was stepping down as pastor for health reasons but would remain connected with the church in a different position. On January 1, 2011, White became the senior pastor of the
Without Walls Central Church in
Lakeland, Florida and thus became the pastor of both locations of the church. In August 2011, services ceased at the Lakeland campus when electricity was disconnected after the church failed to pay over $50,000 in bills. In 2011, U.S. Senator
Chuck Grassley issued a report outlining his committee's findings regarding Without Walls, but took no additional action. On June 20, 2012, Randy White resumed leadership of the Tampa location. Without Walls filed for bankruptcy in 2014. In a 2017 interview, White stated that she had already resigned from Without Walls at the time of the bankruptcy filing and had played no role in the bankruptcy.
New Destiny Christian Center On December 31, 2011, the New Destiny Christian Center board in Apopka, Florida, announced it had appointed White to succeed Zachery Tims as its senior pastor. New Destiny Christian Center had been searching for a replacement since Tims's death in August 2011. Tims' ex-wife Riva filed a lawsuit against the board of directors but quickly dropped it, citing a
hold harmless clause in her 2009 marital settlement agreement. During a service at New Destiny Christian Center, White made the following remarks to the congregation: "I'm not asking you to like me. I'm not asking you to love me or respect me, because I'll do the work to earn that. I always ask people to give me one year of your life, and I promise you will be changed."
Paula White Ministries White recorded the first broadcast of
Paula White Today in December 2001. By 2006, her show appeared on nine television networks, including
Trinity Broadcast Network,
Daystar, and
Black Entertainment Television.
Ebony magazine said of White, "You know you're on to something new and significant when the most popular woman preacher on the Black Entertainment Network is a white woman." White considers
T. D. Jakes her spiritual father. Jakes invited her to speak at his 2000 "Woman Thou Art Loosed" conference. White also participated in the Mega Fest, hosted by Jakes in
Atlanta, in 2004, 2005 and 2008. White has ministered to
Michael Jackson,
Gary Sheffield, and
Darryl Strawberry. White is the "personal life coach" of
Tyra Banks and appeared on her show, the
Tyra Banks Show, in an episode on promiscuity on October 4, 2006. She is a leader in the movement. In March 2020, amid the
COVID-19 pandemic, White said, "We are a hospital for those who are soul sick, those who are spiritually sick."
Donald Trump White became a personal minister to
Donald Trump after he watched her television show. White said he first contacted her by telephone in 2002. Trump brought White to
Atlantic City on multiple occasions for private Bible studies and has appeared on her television show. White was part of Trump's Evangelical Advisory Board during his 2016 campaign for president, and she provided the invocation prayer during Trump's inauguration ceremony. White is the first female clergy member to deliver an inaugural invocation. Beginning in June 2016, White served as one of Trump's spiritual advisors. White supported Trump in his 2020 reelection campaign, delivering a prayer at his June 2020 campaign launch event. The clip went viral across the Internet, with some people expressing outrage at White. On January 6, 2021, at the
pro-Trump rally that preceded the
attack on the U.S. Capitol, White offered an opening prayer before Trump's speech. On February 6, 2025, shortly after his second inauguration, Trump announced the creation of a
White House Faith Office with White as its leader. The appointment of White to lead the White House Faith Office drew criticism from some Christian leaders, conservative evangelicals, and conservative anchor
Tucker Carlson. In April 2026, at an
Easter lunch event with Trump, White caused controversy when comparing Trump to
Jesus Christ, saying: “Mr President, no one has paid the price like you have paid the price.
It almost cost you your life. You were betrayed and
arrested and falsely accused. It’s a familiar pattern that our lord and savior showed us”. White's statement was criticised as being
blasphemous by a number of Christians, particularly as her statement was made during an event celebrating Easter. ==Political and theological views==