MinistryWatch’s Top 10 Stories for November

The following stories had the most page views at the MinistryWatch website during the month of November. We present them here in a “countdown” format, from 10 to 1. The first few sentences of each story are reproduced below. To read the entire story, click on the link. To read the Top 25 stories of 2024, click here.

10. Assemblies of God Draws Attention for Allegations of Abuse Spanning Decades

By Kim Roberts. The Assemblies of God has had multiple allegations of protecting abusers and failing to take adequate measures to protect children lodged against its congregations and leadership.

9. ACNA in Crisis

By Warren Cole Smith. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a small but mighty denomination. To use an expression from boxing, it is a denomination that “punches above its weight.” Founded just 15 years ago, it has grown to more than 1000 congregations and a membership of 120,000. But the denomination is facing challenges on many fronts, some of them self-inflicted.

8. TX Supreme Court Rules Against Bill Gothard and the Institute for Basic Life Principles

By Isaac Wood. The Texas Supreme Court ruled on June 27 that a lawsuit against the Institute for Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and its founder Bill Gothard could continue, despite the defendants’ petition to dismiss the lawsuit under the First Amendment and the Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine.

7. Duluth Vineyard Affirms Integrity of Interim Pastor John Kliewer After Investigation

By Kim Roberts. The Duluth Vineyard Church posted a public statement on October 30 to Pastor John Kliewer, acknowledging that allegations against him were unfounded. The church went on to “affirm [his] integrity, [his] leadership, and [his] faithful service to the Duluth Vineyard community.” However, a social media post by Kliewer’s wife, Lauralyn, indicated she was not satisfied with the Duluth statement or the settlement Kliewer received from the church.

6. MinistryWatch 1000 Database: Largest Christian Ministries in the US

By Kim Roberts. Below is a list of the 50 largest Christian ministries curated from the MinistryWatch 1000 database as of October 29, 2025. The ministries are listed in order of total annual revenue, which ranges from almost $89 million to nearly $1.6 billion.

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5. Samaritan’s Purse Falls Into Withhold Giving Category

By Christina Darnell. Here at MinistryWatch, one of our goals is to equip donors with the information they need to make wise decisions with their giving. That’s why we manage our database, which rates more than 1,000 of the country’s largest ministries based on their financial efficiency, financial transparency, and their donor confidence score. Each week, we highlight ministries in our database that have had rating changes, plus a brief explanation about why it matters.

4. OK Pastor was Fired After Reporting Missing Church Funds—His Bishop Just Got Arrested

By Bob Smietana. When the Rev. Jerry Beeson discovered financial irregularities in his new church’s bank accounts, he tried to do the right thing. In October 2024, Beeson had moved up from Texas to become pastor of Living Waters Tabernacle Church in Meeker, Oklahoma, after his predecessor, the Rev. Michael Hall, had been made a bishop in the Pentecostal Church of God. As Beeson looked at the bank accounts, he now alleges, he found that Hall and his wife had misused church funds. Following church protocol, and not wanting to cause a public scandal for the church, Beeson, a former newspaperman turned preacher, reported what he had found to denominational officials. He is still paying for his actions.

3. Chicago-Area Megachurch Sued in Sexual Abuse Case

By Kim Roberts. Plaintiff John Doe has sued First Baptist Church of Geneva, Ill., — also known as Chapelstreet Church — its interim pastor Brian Coffey, and the alleged abuser Don Vanthournout for the sexual abuse of a minor from 2011 to 2018. According to the lawsuit, Vanthournout was placed in positions of leadership, such as youth leader and discipleship group leader at Chapelstreet, where he had access to children.

2. Reformed Baptist Pastor Confesses to Adultery, Resigns

By Isaac Wood. Samuel Renihan has confessed to adultery and resigned from his position at Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in La Mirada, California. He was ordained by the church in 2012. “This past week it was discovered that I have committed adultery,” Renihan wrote in a blog post. “To my great shame, I did not bring it to light.”

1. United Methodists Ratify Plan to Restructure Denomination

By Yonat Shimron. After years of controversy over LGBTQ issues that split their denomination, United Methodists have ratified a plan to restructure the 57-year-old church to give regions around the world equal standing and greater freedom to tailor church life to local customs and traditions.

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