Ep. 642: Steve Wood on Trial, Voice of the Martyrs Accusations, Samaritan’s Purse’s Low Ratings
Below is a script for today’s podcast. Links to resources mentioned in the episode are included in the script.
Christina
Hello, everyone, I’m Christina Darnell, the managing editor of MinistryWatch. Welcome to the MinistryWatch podcast.
In today’s extra episode, I talk with Warren Smith about some news items that are slightly (even significantly) outside of our normal charity and philanthropy “beat.”
So, Warren, what’s up first?
Warren
The trial of Anglican Archbishop Steve Wood concluded last Friday, Sept. 11. The trial included five days of testimony from 38 witnesses. Acting Archbishop Julian Dobbs released a statement asking for “patience and prayer as we wait on an opinion from the Court.”
Christina
By church law, the court has up to 101 days to issue its decision.
Warren
My sources tell me that even if he is acquitted, he will have a hard time leading the denomination, given the serious “hit” his credibility has taken by this process.
Christina
Missy Hanks of The ELM Foundation in Huntsville, Ala., and Misty Kelso of Watered Gardens Ministries in Joplin, Mo., recently testified before the U.S. House of Representatives at a hearing on federal welfare programs.
Warren
I’ve become a fan of both these organizations. We’ve written about Watered Gardens here at MinistryWatch. They are both a part of the True Charity Network, which we’ve also written about here.
Christina
So what did they say in their testimony?
Warren
Hanks described an “effort-based” model in which participants work, set goals and build education and job skills. She said assistance should be a bridge, not a source of dependency, and argued that work provides more than income. It builds confidence, skills, social connections and dignity.
Christina
Kelso works with women experiencing homelessness, addiction and poverty.
Warren
She drew on her own recovery in her testimony. She said people need more than immediate material assistance. They need relationships, redemption, hope and human dignity. She described work as something that eventually gave her purpose rather than merely a paycheck. Both women argued that effective assistance should address individual barriers while helping people move toward stability and independence.
Watch their testimony here. Missy begins at 22:00 and Misty begins at 33:05.
Christina
One of the most common complaints we get here at MinistryWatch is about our low rating for Samaritan’s Purse. The ministry has earned a “Withhold Giving” rating from MinistryWatch.
Warren
I get emails regularly from people telling me what great work the ministry does, asking why the low rating.
The answer, I often say, “It’s not magic. It’s math.” In other words, a close look at Samaritan’s Purse reveals that it spent nearly $100 million on fundraising alone last year. It now has more than $2.4 billion in assets, with nearly $1.4 billion of that in cash.
Christina
But don’t they need that much cash to do the things they do?
Warren
Samaritan’s Purse is remarkable in many ways. It is large enough to be able to do things that no other ministry can do. But it is sitting on mountains of cash while still spending another mountain of cash trying to get people to give them more. I think their behavior is questionable, at best, and I think they well deserve the low rating we give them. (Though it grieves me to say so.)
I should also add that the organization just withdrew from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, after being a member for decades. This action should be another “red flag” for donors.
Christina
But didn’t Samaritan’s Purse recently turn down $300 million from the federal government?
Warren
They did. And when they did, Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse president, said the organization “always relied on God, not government, for funding.” It’s a laudable statement. It is also simply not true. They’ve been taking government money for years, including $75 million in 2024. I think Samaritan’s Purse did the right thing by turning down that money. I just wish Graham had told the truth about why.
So, for all of these reasons, MinistryWatch stands by its rating of Samaritan’s Purse, and it’s our hope that it will take steps to but more transparency and accountability into its operations.
Christina
Another common email we get here at MinistryWatch regards Voice of the Martyrs.
Warren
The emails we get are nearly identical, leading me to believe they are part of a campaign. The emails complain about VOM’s $28 million expenditure on a headquarters campus, expenditures that took place 15 years ago. Also, in 2012, the president of VOM, Tom White, was credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor girl. When the charges became public, he committed suicide.
Christina
That’s a horrible story.
Warren
It is, so let me take the Tom White story first. It does raise some concerns about how a man could have gotten to be president of a major Christian organization with such a character, but I investigated this case pretty hard around 2013 and 2014. I interviewed the chief of the police department in Bartlesville, and reporters who had covered the story, in addition to some of those who were accusing White and VOM of wrongdoing.
Christina
What did you find?
Warren
I could find nothing that led me to believe there was anything systemically wrong at VOM. To be clear: The fact that I found no wrong-doing doesn’t mean there WAS no wrong-doing (other than Tom White’s obvious wrongdoing), but I looked hard and couldn’t find it.
Christina
So what about the headquarters building?
Warren
I don’t have an opinion about whether the building is extravagant or not. It is certainly nice, and it did cost a lot of money. But I would also note that according to VOM audits, the property is now worth as much as $50 million, nearly twice what they paid for it.
Whether it was extravagant or not is not up to me to decide. It does, however, seem to have been a pretty good investment.
Besides, what I think is kind of beside the point. That decision was made by the board and it appears to have been fully disclosed to its donors. None of this was done in secret. I found nothing inappropriate about the way the organization communicated with donors or the public about its headquarters building.
Christina
What does our profile of Voice of the Martyrs say?
Warren
You can read our profile of Voice of the Martyrs here. It shows an organization that is not perfect in terms of financial management. And it no longer releases a Form 990, which we think is a huge red flag. We give VOM an “Exercise Caution” rating.
I’ll be honest. I wouldn’t give to the ministry myself. There are too many other ministries in our database that does what it does, with much higher ratings.
But I am reluctant to endorse or condemn a ministry. We try to find information and make it available to donors and to the public and let them decide. So, while I would not give VOM a completely clean bill-of-health, I can say that we looked hard at the accusations and couldn’t find anything that we thought rose to the level of wrongdoing.
Christina
Any final thoughts before we go?
Warren
MinistryWatch on YouTube. If you have not discovered our YouTube channel, check it out here. We now have 200 videos there, and they have attracted tens of thousands of views. Subscribe, like, and share to spread the word about our work.
Christina
The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. I’m Christina Darnell, along with Warren Smith.
Until next time, may God bless you.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
