East Texas church wins mineral royalties battle

DE BERRY – After nearly 80 years without any payments, an East Texas church is finally receiving compensation for minerals being extracted from their land.

“Man, that was a long journey. That was a real long journey,” Deacon at Zion Hill Holiness Church of God, Anthony Price Sr. said.

Church historian and relative, Johnathan Matthews, said for 78 years, an unknown amount of money in mineral royalties have not been paid to Zion Hill Holiness Church of God. He said the money could have helped the church and family for generations.

“To finally figure out that they have stopped, you know, paying the wrong people for church minerals is a joyous day for us,” Matthews said. While Matthews is relieved for his ancestors, Price said he wants to be satisfied until they start receiving payments. “They stopped paying the wrong people until they started paying the right people. I want to be relieved until they cut that check,” Price said.

“This was a life journey for us, it was we would never stop. It was never going to stop. So as long as I had breath in me, this was going to be a fight that was going to be fought,” Matthews explained.

In the last few years, Matthews fought in federal court and said Chevron, who owns the wells on the land, has finally suspended the payments being made to the wrong people. Our news partner, KETK, reached out to the company who said, “Chevron does not publicly comment on an individual’s mineral ownership nor the outcome of a title review.”