On This Date at MinistryWatch

RZIM continues to operate, saving St. John Church in FL, Jenna Ellis appears before grand jury, and more.

ONE YEAR AGO: On August 27, 2024, MinistryWatch reported about the continuing operations of RZIM and discovered it continues to exist, but with little transparency or accountability. RZIM still has a website, but no financial information or grant applications are posted there. It also has an operational phone system with a staff directory. Read more here.

TWO YEARS AGO: On August 22, 2023, MinistryWatch reported that one of Miami’s oldest Black churches, St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church in Overtown, Florida, had until September 11 to pay back a $1.6-million mortgage taken out in the church’s name by its former pastor. Three days before it was to be auctioned off, it was saved by the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency. Read more here.

THREE YEARS AGO: On August 19, 2022, MinistryWatch reported that Jenna Ellis, the evangelical attorney who had positions with several Christian organizations before landing a job with President Trump, was ordered to appear before the Georgia grand jury who was investigating efforts to overturn 2020 election results in the state. She was also subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 House committee, along other members of Rudy Giuliani’s “crack legal team.” Ellis, Giuliani, and more than a dozen others were indicted in Georgia for conspiracy and related charges. In June 2024, Ellis was suspended from practicing law in Colorado for three years. Read more here.

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FOUR YEARS AGO:  On August 24, 2021, MinistryWatch reported that Rev. Thomas McKenzie, the rector of a prominent Anglican congregation in Nashville, Tennessee, and his daughter were killed in a car crash. He was 50. Read more here.

FIVE YEARS AGO:  On August 26, 2020, MinistryWatch reported that Jerry Falwell Jr., the embattled president of Liberty University, resigned from the evangelical Christian university founded by his father. Days later, the school announced it had paid Falwell more than $10 million in severance compensation. Recently, Falwell Jr. and Liberty reached a settlement of all outstanding lawsuits. Read more here.