Philly Jesus says: 'GoFundMe'

Philly Jesus has started a digital collection plate for his ministries on GoFundMe.com, with a goal of raising $70,000.

"We chose 70 because the number seven is God's number," said Philly Jesus, whose real name is Michael Grant.

Grant, a 29-year-old recovering heroin addict, has been dressing as Jesus and hanging out at LOVE Park since April 2014. He's got a large following on Twitter and Instagram and said he dresses as Jesus as a way to get others to approach him so he can share the story of Christ.

After more than a year of "planting seeds for God" in Philadelphia, Philly Jesus said he's ready to take his PhillyJesusMinistry to "the next level" and across the country. But to do that he'll need a car and a way to pay for his "creative team," which now consists of two people who currently work "pro bono," he said.

"The holy spirit inside of me, it's leading me to take it outside of Philadelphia and take it across the nation and do speaking engagements where I can share my story of drug addiction and how Jesus saved me," he said. "It costs money to do that."

Philly Jesus also said he's also raising the money to conduct food and clothing drives for the homeless and to develop an office space for PhillyJesusMinistry.

When asked what he'd say to those who would question his intentions, Philly Jesus said what he does is "all for the glory of God."

"We live in a world that involves money. We deal with money day-to-day on a daily basis," he said. "God knows that people need money but he doesn't want it to have you, he wants you to have dominion over it.

"It says in the Bible that the love of money is the root of all evil, not money."

Though his GoFundMe site has only raised three donations totaling $40 since Wednesday, Philly Jesus is hopeful that those who believe in his work will visit the site and give "a love offering," also known as a monetary donation.

But how does Philly Jesus stop all the attention and money from going to his head?

"I just stay prayered up constantly," he said. "I ask God for his humility and peace and to remind me that I'm just a vapor in the wind."

Last week, however, Philly Jesus was reminded of his humanity when he suffered a foot injury while performing his ministry at LOVE Park. He tweeted out a photo of himself being put into an ambulance on a stretcher. Philly Jesus said he was doing his "walking in the water" routine at the fountain at LOVE Park and stepped on what he believes was a piece of glass.

"It looked like a shark bit me!" he said. "The whole water turned red."

Philly Jesus said he got a tetanus shot and was put on an antibiotic but was back out performing his ministry within two days. He's now wearing sneakers instead of his Jesus sandals, but just until the wound heals.

"It's a little pain but it's not going to stop me. The devil won't stop me!" he said. "I'll be back in the fountain, but I'll probably get some water shoes."