Weekly Review
ECFA Membership Changes, MinistryWatch Database Changes, What’s on the Podcast? On This Date at MinistryWatch
ECFA Changes. The following organizations have had membership status changes in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. ADDITIONS: Footbridge (Welcome, N.C.), Shirley’s House of Home (Marshfield, Wisc.), Education for Life (Ocala, Fla.), Gate Pregnancy Resource Center (Harrisburg, N.C.), Christ’s Body (Denver. Colo.) REMOVALS: Highlands Church (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Church Doctor Ministries (Corunna, Ind.),
On This Date at MinistryWatch. NINE YEARS AGO: On Feb. 27, 2014, MinistryWatch reported that Bill Gothard would go on “administrative leave” from the ministry he founded. He later resigned amid allegations of sexual abuse. Read more here. THREE YEARS AGO: On February 19, 2020, MinistryWatch reported that two executives associated with Olivet University and The Christian Post pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering. Read more here. ONE YEAR AGO: A newly released report on the internal culture at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries found leaders at the ministry were blinded by loyalty to the founder, overlooked Zacharias’ misconduct for years, used ministry funds to sue an abuse survivor, and misled the public. Read more here.
On the Podcast: On today’s program, the revival at Asbury University in Kentucky is entering a new phase, but it is also spreading to other locations. We also have updates on the Southern Baptist Convention’s struggles with one of its former presidents, Johnny Hunt. And in MinistryWatch’s quarterly survey of ministry executives, we’re seeing a shift. Leaders are becoming slightly less concerned about finding qualified staff, and more concerned about finding donors. We’ll have details later in the program. We begin today with a story that Saddleback Church, founded by Pastor Rick Warren, has been kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention for ordaining women. You can hear the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast apps, or you can simply click here.
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MinistryWatch Database Changes. MinistryWatch now has more than 1,000 ministries in its database. These ministries represent more than $38-billion in total revenue, most of that donor revenue from evangelicals. The following ministries have their profiles updated with the most recent year’s financial data. The Financial Efficiency rating of each ministry is in parenthesis. If this rating represents a change from the previous year, that change is noted: Campus Outreach SERVE (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Criswell College (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), International Messengers (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 90), JH Ranch (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Liberty Ministries (5 Stars, Transparency rade: A, DCS: N/A), Light of Life Ministries / Light of Life Rescue Mission (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Patrick Henry Family Services (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), SOS International (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Teen Challenge of Southern California (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), The Kaleo Foundation (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A). The following ministry has been added to the MinistryWatch database with the most recent year’s financial data: Central Ohio Youth for Christ (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), CrossPurpose (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), God’s Bible School & College (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Gospel Volunteers / Camp of the Woods (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Jubilee Ministries (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Katy Christian Ministries (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Kids for the Kingdom (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Loving Shepherd Ministries (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Middle East Bible Outreach (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Morning Cheer Inc dba Sandy Cove Ministries (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), No Longer Bound (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Phil Waldrep Evangelistic Association (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Resourcing Christian Education International / RCE (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Rio Grande Bible Institute (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Siloam Health (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Spring Hill Camps (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), The Potter’s House (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Vapor Ministries (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Wellspring Living (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), ZOE International (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A)
MinistryWatch and Sex Crimes. We’ve written a larger than normal number of stories this week about pastors and ministry leaders involved in sex crimes. That’s why I thought it might be a good time to re-post this story, which explains why we think covering these crimes are necessary: Why MinistryWatch Reports on Sex Crimes. As always, your feedback is welcome.
Drop A Dime On Us. Do you have a story idea for MinistryWatch? If so, send us an email. A lot of the stories we do originate from our readers and listeners. They send us news tips, press releases, emails, questions, and links. So, if you have a story you’d like us to cover, or a ministry that you think needs a closer look, please email us. Our email is [email protected]. That will come directly to my desk, and we’ll take it from there.
Salary Data Now In MinistryWatch Database. We now have salary information for 4,000 executives in our database posted in our profiles. So check out this new addition by clicking on the red button at the top of this page, or here. That takes you to our database. The search engine is right there, and you can type in the name of a ministry you’re interested in and our profile will pop right up – now, with compensation information for the top executives.
If you’d like to see who the highest paid executives are, take a look at our recently published lists of Highly Paid Ministry Executives and Highly Paid Christian College and University Executives.
A Guide To Giving For Turkey and Syria. When disaster hits, Christians give. But where they give can make a big difference? Which organizations are most effective in these post-disaster situations? MinistryWatch has published a list of organizations that are doing relief work and which have an “A” Transparency Grade and a 3-, 4-, or 5-star rating for Financial Efficiency. It’s a list of about 30 ministries, and you can find it on the front page of our website. I’ll also include a link in the show notes to this program. Link to list HERE.
Audio Version of Faith-Based Fraud Now Available. Thanks to those of you who made my new book Faith-Based Fraud a best-seller in several Amazon categories this week. It’s now available in paperback and e-book versions. To get your copy, click here. This week, the new audio version released. You can get that from Audible by clicking here.
MinistryWatch Video. In closing, a reminder that we have created a new, short (3.5 minutes) video that explains what we do here at MinistryWatch, and why. If you’re new to MinistryWatch, I hope you’ll check it out. To find it, click here.
