In 1989, Winans founded The Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan. According to the official website, the church started very humbly, with just eight members in the basement of Pastor Winans' home, before moving to the Michigan Inn for its first official service. In 2012, Marvin delivered the eulogy at Whitney Houston's funeral at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.

In 2012, Winans released "Marvin L. Winans Presents The Praise and Worship Experience" on MLW Productions Inc's record label. The album was recorded at Winans' Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan, representing a different offering from the gospel singer. Pastor Winans was quoted as saying, "The first thing I hope people walk away with from this experience is the joy and the presence of the Lord. I also hope people walk away more intelligent concerning Gospel music; that it's not just one genre, but a broad spectrum of praise and worship." In 2017, Marvin Winans produced a documentary titled "The 40 Year Journey of Marvin L. Winans", in which he tells the story of his faith and the personal struggles he faced in his life, seen from the perspective of those who knew him best. Winans is a pastor and uses Twitter to deliver his Christian message. Recently Winans tweeted, "When we see and understand how God operates, we see consistency; "Faith comes by hearing." But how you perceive the Word is how you receive the Word." Another tweet aimed to give faith to his followers, "When you begin to speak what God has done, you prophesy over your life. Therefore speak it in faith, send the Word in your future and see God operate in your circumstance as He has promised." For his important work and contribution to gospel music, Winans has been awarded three Dove Awards (Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year - 1988, 1986 and Recorded Song of the Year – 1991) and several Grammy Awards (Best Gospel Album – 1993, Best Gospel Performance By A Duo Or Group, Choir Or Chorus - 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985 and Best Gospel Performance, Male – 1985).

Legal Problems

Marvin's church, The Perfecting Church, faced a scandal because of a lawsuit filed by a housekeeper. Lakaiya Harris claimed the gospel music star and church officials shook her down for money. The case claimed that they required her to donate money toward birthday gifts for supervisors and managers using a percentage of her salary to the church. According to the suit, Harris said she was exhausted from working long hours and not being paid and complained that her job was being threatened for refusing to donate birthday gifts to supervisors. At a meeting Ms. Harris had with Winans and another church official, Winans mentioned the issue and said they would deduct ten percent of her annual salary. Harris did not want to comply, so, according to the lawsuit, Winans responded: "Well, that pretty much terminates your employment with us; you can go ahead and proceed with the exit interview." Harris was fired that day.

In 2012, Marvin Winans had a warrant out for his arrest on driving-related offenses when he was carjacked. The warrant was issued for failing to appear in a Hazel Park court after being ticketed for driving with a suspended license and impeding traffic. In the carjacking episode, Winans was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for a fractured finger, and other bruises suffered when the thieves pulled him from his SUV, threw him on the ground, and started kicking him. Detroit police found Winans's 2012 Infiniti QX56 car a few days after it was stolen. According to DetroitNews.com, Winans has been ticketed eleven times since 2009.