The local megachurch behind "Hookers for Jesus" is weathering some financial trouble of its own. It had some big plans -- and some big loans:

Perez, who founded the church with his wife in 2003, is no stranger to the limelight either, having made guest appearances on the “700 Club,” Trinity Broadcasting Network, Daystar Television Network and on both the NBC and ABC networks. Perez signed the church’s bankruptcy petition, which was filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas.

In court documents, attorneys for the church called it “one of the fastest-growing churches in the Las Vegas Valley.” But even with 3,500 members attending services weekly, the church couldn’t afford the both its expansion efforts and payments on a $9 million real-estate loan from First Bank it took out to buy some of its campus facilities.