Echoing Hills Village Earns Top Scores, Rises to Shining Light Status And other notable ministry happenings from this week.

Christina Darnell

5 months ago

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. Each week, we highlight ministries in our database that have had rating changes, plus a brief explanation about why it matters.

A few notable changes in the database this week:

Last week, we said Reasons to Believe had dropped in donor confidence because it did not post audited financials on its website—however, they DO in fact post audited financials, and you can find them here. That said, please know it is always our intent to fairly represent the ministries in our database. We appreciate Reasons to Believe reaching out to us to correct our mistake.
Becket Fund for Religious Liberty also posts audited financials on its website, raising its Transparency Grade to a C and its Donor Confidence Score to 68. It is not a member of the ECFA.
Echoing Hills Village, a Christian camp in Warsaw, Ohio, rose to a 100 Donor Confidence Score. It is now a Shining Light, having earned top scores in all three categories that MinistryWatch tracks.
White’s Residential and Family Services, an Indiana-based network of services for families involved in the foster care system, dropped to a D Transparency Grade and a Donor Confidence Score of 78 after resigning from the ECFA last year. It also does not post audited financials on its website.

We also highlight stories from our podcast, where you can catch up on the week’s news in less than 30 minutes—perfect for a commute or walk. We highly recommend ministries join the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), which is why we list organizations that have either joined ECFA in the past week or been removed. Check it all out below.

With that, here are three top stories on the MinistryWatch website from this past week:

LCMS District President Arrested, Charged With Child Pornography

By Kim Roberts. The president of the Central Illinois District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod was arrested on a federal child pornography charge on Wednesday, January 28, and appeared in court on Thursday.

The Kaeb Family Redefines Success

By Marci Seither. Clint Kaeb always remembers wanting a boat. It became a life goal. But being a parent means sacrifice—and having eight kids can drain the bank account quickly, regardless of how much was in there. Especially since Clint and Jami Kaeb’s family continues to grow.

Donors Overestimate Their Generosity

By The NonProfit Times. Americans think highly of their own altruistic leanings — much more highly than facts warrant. First, the percentage of their household income they donate has fallen from 1.95% to 1.22% between 2017 and 2025, or a roughly 37.5% decrease in eight years. And second, when asked to estimate how much they give, their guesses are on average 277% more than their actual donations.

Here’s what else is new at MinistryWatch this week.

MinistryWatch Database Changes

MinistryWatch now has more than 1,300 ministries in its database. These ministries represent more than $44-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:

Ministries recently added to the database:

The Forgotten Initiative (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 80)

Ministries with upgraded ratings:

Becket Fund for Religious Liberty (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: Up D to C, DCS: Up 66 to 68)

Makes audited financials available on website.

Compass (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 80)

Now in top 20% for financial efficiency in Adoption/Foster Care sector.

Cornerstone Television Network, Inc. (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: Up D to C, DCS: Up 43 to 45)

Makes audited financials available on website.

Echoing Hills Village Inc. (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 95 to 100)

Is now a Shining Light ministry, having earned top scores in each of the three categories MinistryWatch tracks.

Family Life Ministries (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: Up C to A, DCS: Up 78 to 80)

Makes audited financials available on website.

Holt International Children’s Services (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 68 to 88)

Now in top 60% for financial efficiency in the Adoption/Foster Care sector, also raising its Donor Confidence Score by 20 points.

International Cooperating Ministries / Rosser Foundation (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: Up C to A, DCS: 75)

Earns an A Transparency Grade by filing Form 990s, posting audited financials on website, and being a member of the ECFA.

Olive Crest (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 97)

Now in top 40% for financial efficiency in Adoption/Foster Care sector.

Ministries with downgraded ratings:

Atlantic Gateway Communications (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 72 to 70)