On today’s program, The King’s College in New York City shut its doors in 2023 under a mountain of debt—now, it’s launching a ‘go-forward plan’ in an effort to reopen. We’ll have details.
And, a ministry in the U-K is urging Christians to stop giving to orphanages…and instead give to organizations that focus on family-based care. But when it comes to effective orphan care, is that the best way forward? We reached out to U-S based ministries to get their take.
Plus, a NC church is shutting its doors…and is leveraging an IRS mandate to donate its assets to more than 75 charities.
But first…a group of pregnancy resource centers in New Jersey is asking the Supreme Court to consider its case in protecting donor information. First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider its case about the state asking it to disclose information about its donors.
The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Elizabeth Coffee, Nathan Mayo, Tony Mator, Brittany Smith, Christina Darnell—and you, Warren.
A special thanks to Religion UnPlugged, Baptist Press, The Living Church, and Lifeway Research for contributing material for this week’s podcast.
Until next time, may God bless you.
MANUSCRIPT:
FIRST SEGMENT
Warren:
Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Natasha:
And I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado, and we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast.
Warren:
On today’s program, The King’s College in New York City shut its doors in 2023 under a mountain of debt—now, it’s launching a ‘go-forward plan’ in an effort to reopen. We’ll have details.
And, a ministry in the U-K is urging Christians to stop giving to orphanages…and instead give to organizations that focus on family-based care. But when it comes to effective orphan care, is that the best way forward? We reached out to U-S based ministries to get their take.
Plus, a NC church is shutting its doors…and is leveraging an IRS mandate to donate its assets to more than 75 charities.
Natasha:
But first…a group of pregnancy resource centers in New Jersey is asking the Supreme Court to consider its case in protecting donor information.
Warren:
First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider its case about the state asking it to disclose information about its donors.
In November 2023, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin demanded that First Choice turn over many documents, including information it provides to clients, statements about abortion pill reversal, documents about personnel and outside organizations with which it works, and donor information.
Natasha:
Platkin has openly expressed his hostility toward pregnancy centers. He issued a consumer alert—drafted with the help of Planned Parenthood—complaining that such centers do not provide or refer for abortion. He also signed an open letter pledging to take legal action against pregnancy centers.
Warren:
Alliance Defending Freedom, on behalf of First Choice, challenged the attorney general’s subpoena based on the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The subpoena chills the right to freedom of association and freedom of speech, the brief argues.
The federal courts dismissed the case, claiming it was not ripe until the state court enforced the subpoena. The attorney general then filed an enforcement action in state court.
There is a split in the U.S. Courts of Appeal about how to handle this question of whether a state investigatory claim has to be adjudicated in state court before a federal court has jurisdiction.
Natasha:
Next, an update from The King’s College.
Warren:
The King’s College – the four-year school forced to shut its doors to students in 2023 under a mountain of debt — is seeking to resume operations in an effort to “create a significant center for Christian higher learning.”
In a four-page request for proposal, the private Christian college’s board of trustees said it “intends to gift the college, including its charter and intellectual property … to likeminded evangelical Christians who propose the most compelling vision to resume the operations of the college to serve Kingdom purposes.”
Natasha:
The King’s College announced on July 17, 2023, that it would suspend operations starting that fall — after laying off its faculty — until further notice after failing to raise $2.6 million needed to stay open. The school’s fundraising efforts only raised $178,000
Warren:
Last year, The King’s College sold its dorm building for $15.25 million, which went toward paying creditors.
King’s must either dissolve or present a go-forward plan to the New York State Education Department by July 15, 2025.”
Natasha:
So what’s their plan for the next few months?
Warren:
King’s has put forth an aggressive timeline. Anyone interested needs to submit a letter by Feb. 7 summarizing “the proposed vision and affirm faith alignment, planning capacity and the adequacy of resources,”
In the document, King’s said it wants to have a finalist in place by July.
Natasha:
What’s our next story?
Warren:
The Washington Post has published a 5,300-word story about multiple allegations of sexual abuse against Jeff Taylor, a former employee of The Falls Church in northern Virginia. The story said the FBI may be investigating the allegations, but the FBI declined comment.
Taylor served as the parish’s director of youth ministries from May 1990 to August 1999 and director of adult discipleship from September 1999 until February 2002. The Falls Church was an Episcopal congregation then, but joined the Anglican Church in North America when the ACNA was formed.
Natasha:
What has happened to Taylor?
Warren:
Since his years with The Falls Church, Taylor worked for Church of the Apostles in Atlanta (a “non-denominational church with Anglican roots”) and Christ Church (ACNA) in Atlanta. Christ Church forced Taylor to resign in September 2009. He then worked for the East Georgia chapter of the Red Cross, the University of Cincinnati Foundation, and the Cincinnati Nature Center. Taylor was ordained to the priesthood while he worked for Christ Church.
Taylor’s oldest son, the Rev. Porter Taylor, was interviewed for the story. The rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Augusta, Taylor broke ties with his father after learning of the accusations in 2023, and has urged alumni of the Falls Church’s youth group to contact the FBI if they have allegations against his father.
“The abuse is horrifying in its own right, but what also concerns me is the number of times his behavior was overlooked, left unchecked and protocols broken, enabling him to move from church to church and gaining access to even more students,” Porter Taylor said.
Natasha:
Next, a retired pastor has been found not-guilty of murder.
Warren:
Police have acquitted a retired pastor accused of killing an 8-year-old girl whose remains were discovered in a Pennsylvania park nearly 50 years ago.
On January 18, following a four-day trial, a jury deliberated for an hour before finding 84-year-old David Zandstra—who now lives in Marietta, Georgia—not guilty.
In mid-2023, police arrested Zandstra on charges of kidnapping and murdering Gretchen Harrington, who disappeared in 1975 while walking alone to a Bible camp at a church where Zandstra was the pastor. A jogger found the girl’s remains two months later in a nearby park.
Prosecutors alleged that on the day Harrington vanished, Zandstra offered her a ride—an accusation supported by the (Delaware County, Penn.) district attorney when charges were filed.
Authorities also claimed the retired pastor confessed to the killing after detectives reopened the cold case upon receiving new information and then interviewed the retired minister.
Natasha:
So he confessed?
Warren:
Zandstra’s attorney, Mark Much, said detectives pressured and tricked Zandstra into confessing to a crime he didn’t commit.
The defense has maintained there was no physical evidence tying the Zandstra to the killing and emphasized that other suspects had drawn police attention and were more likely to be responsible.
Before issuing the decision, the jury reviewed the arguments from both parties and examined the confession video—which the defense had unsuccessfully filed a motion to suppress.
A jury acquitted Zandstra after deliberating for an hour following a four-day trial.
Zandstra spent nearly 18 months in police custody until the ruling.
Natasha:
Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, we look at effective orphan care.
I’m Natasha Cowden, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and we’ll have that story and much more, after this short break.
BREAK
SECOND SEGMENT
Natasha:
Welcome back. I’m Natasha Cowden, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch podcast.
Next, the story we promised before the break.
Warren:
Recently, a charity in the United Kingdom urged Christian donors to stop supporting orphanages and to instead focus their giving on family-based care.
MinistryWatch reached out to American ministries focused on orphan care to get their response.
Natasha:
What’d they say?
Warren:
Jedd Medefind, president of the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), told MinistryWatch that many ministries committed to caring for orphans are trying to navigate the tension between aiming for God’s ideal of a child having a permanent, safe family home and providing good residential care when navigating complex, broken situations.
CAFO was created in 2004 to help bring fiscal and governance integrity to the mission of helping orphans while helping to improve the standards of care.
In the global setting of developing countries, Medefind says CAFO member agencies are engaging with the culture to set the safe family model before them as the “north star,” but also making allowances for a continuum of care.
Natasha:
CAFO has established a Center for Applied Research for Vulnerable Children and Families led by Dr. Nicole Wilke. It aims to “connect the best available knowledge to frontline practice to see Christians caring with excellence for vulnerable children and families.”
Warren:
The center has done 23 original research studies, which repeatedly confirm that a loving, healthy family is the ideal place for children.
“The question is, ‘How do we get there?’” Wilke told MinistryWatch.
She cautioned against oversimplified “solutions” that suggest closing all orphanages. There are 5.3 million children in residential care worldwide, Wilke said, and closing the orphanages would be devastating to them.
The goal is to bring leaders of orphanages and other residential care programs along on a journey toward the ideal while valuing their knowledge, resources, and relationships, Wilke added.
The process of a full transition from residential care to family-based care can be long, anywhere between two and 14 years, Wilke said, but must account for the context and needs of the children in order to be successful.
Natasha:
Our next story looks at China adoptions.
Warren:
There are roughly 300 families who were in the final stages of bringing their children home from China when the communist country ended the program. While former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken advocated for China to allow the families to finalize the adoptions, some are placing new hope in the Trump administration.
Lifeline Children’s Services in Birmingham, Ala., the largest evangelical adoption agency in the U.S., is handling the adoptions for 48 families impacted by China’s decision.
Lifeline will urge high-level officials at the Chinese Embassy in Washington and at the U.S. State Department to encourage Trump to use appropriate communication channels to advocate for the 300 families before Chinese government officials, urging completion of the adoptions.
Lifeline Children’s Services has 3 stars and an “A” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 93.
Natasha:
Next – Ministries Say They’ll Help Refugees Despite Trump Order. But they’ll need help.
Warren:
Jalil Dawood, pastor of the Arabic Church of Dallas, thanks God every day for the U.S. government’s refugee resettlement program, which helped him settle in the United States after he fled persecution during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. Dawood, who said the program reflects the best of American values, believes he has President Ronald Reagan to thank for helping to change the course of his life.
On Friday, (Jan. 24) the Trump administration halted the current resettlement program for refugees, who are legal immigrants who have been vetted by the government, many of them after awaiting resettlement for years. A previous order put a stop to all new arrivals of refugees for the next 90 days.
Natasha:
Since the start of the federal fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2024, more than 32,000 refugees have arrived in the United States, as well as an additional 10,000 Afghans with special visas. They are all entitled to 90 days of housing and other basic support to help them resettle in the United States, find employment and enroll their children in school.
Warren:
Danilo Zak, director of policy at Church World Service, a faith-based refugee resettlement agency that contracts with the federal government to resettle refugees, said that in the week before Trump’s inauguration alone, more than 5,000 refugees and 1,000 Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas were resettled across the country.
The administration then canceled flights that were supposed to bring in refugees before the Jan. 27 pause. Then it ordered a halt to all assistance for those already here.
Natasha:
Ben Marsh, pastor of First Alliance Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said his church has no plans to stop its volunteer work with refugees, which includes support groups for refugee families.
Warren:
His church receives no government funds. And a lot of people are saying that government support of Christian groups is problematic for a number of reasons.
Marsh says he doesn’t need government funds to meet and love families, and his church’s efforts will continue.
Natasha:
Warren, we’re going to take another break. When we return, our lightning round of ministry news of the week.
I’m Natasha Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith. More in a moment.
BREAK
THIRD SEGMENT
Natasha:
Welcome back. I’m Natasha Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch Podcast.
Warren, we like to use this last segment as a sort of lightning round of shorter news briefs.
What’s up first?
Warren:
In 2024, a century-old church chose to close and sell its property, including its 40,000-square-foot facility, and give their earnings to charity.
Immanuel Baptist Church in Greenville, North Carolina disbanded last fall due to an aging congregation and declining attendance. The church used the building’s sale proceeds—about $1.5 million—to make significant donations to nearly 70 charities supporting causes like food security, education, hospice care, and domestic violence prevention. Recipients expressed profound appreciation, noting the funds would enable them to expand programs and help more people in need.
Natasha:
The church’s donation of its assets to other charities is a direct response to a federal mandate.
Warren:
Under Federal law, when a charitable nonprofit dissolves, it must direct any leftover resources solely to another tax-exempt organization or a government body for a public purpose. As a result, the dissolution process requires identifying appropriate nonprofit or government entities to receive the assets.
Although Immanuel members grieved the loss of their church, one of the leaders of the church said having the opportunity to contribute to so many other organizations “was a beautiful and powerful experience.”
“It’s very sad closing the church that’s been in operation for 109 years, but then you can take the money and spread it around to people that are doing great things in this community helping people,” she said. “It was a way to continue to bless people in this community, which is what the church is all about. The church is about loving people and sharing love.”
Natasha:
What’s next?
Natasha:
And who’s in our Ministry Spotlight this week?
Warren:
Trinity Broadcasting Network’s (TBN) Donor Confidence Score recently fell from 45 to 25, placing it in the “Withhold Giving” category. Its overall financial efficiency rating is now 2 stars.
TBN’s financial efficiency rating changed, in part, because of its low asset utilization score. According to its 2023 Form 990, the organization has $189.3 million in net assets.
From 2019 to 2023, the organization had only one year where it did not have a deficit — 2021, during which TBN had a surplus of almost $30 million. In 2019, on the other hand, the organization’s total expenses were $935.1 million and its revenue was $81.5 million. In 2020, 2022 and 2023, the deficits were between $1 million and $10 million.
Much of the drop in TBN’s Donor Confidence Score is because the organization is not a member of the ECFA, and because of its board structure. It consists of a 3-member board, according to information from 2023. Two of the members are CEO Matthew Crouch and his wife Laurie. The third member is TBN Director Colby May. Together, the three earn nearly $2 million a year.
In 2023, the organization paid Matthew Crouch a salary of $969,002. It paid Colby May $617,868.
TBN claims to be the largest Christian television network in the world. In the U.S., “TBN is available in approximately 100 million television households, making it America’s most-watch (sic) faith channel, according to Nielsen ratings,” according to its website.
TBN’s media department did not respond to our multiple requests for comment.
Natasha:
And who did we feature in Ministries Making a Difference?
Warren:
Looking back on its work in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region throughout 2024, Ananias House is celebrating 2,360 Christian leaders being trained in the Muslim-majority region and 800 gatherings of believers. In mid-January, the ministry called for three days of fasting and prayer for Syrian believers facing persecution under the new Islamist regime. Ananias House has 4 stars and a “C” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 95.
Four residents of Echoing Hills of Northeast Ohio last month moved from a larger residential facility into a new home with their own kitchen, bedrooms, and living room. Echoing Hills was started as a summer camp for people with disabilities, and has since grown to provide residential services throughout Ohio. Echoing Hills Village has 5 stars and an “A” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 97.
Natasha:
Warren, any final thoughts before we go?
Warren:
A Lover’s Quarrel With The Evangelical Church is donor premium for January.
Natasha:
The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Elizabeth Coffee, Nathan Mayo, Tony Mator, Brittany Smith, Christina Darnell—and you, Warren.
A special thanks to Religion UnPlugged, Baptist Press, The Living Church, and Lifeway Research for contributing material for this week’s podcast.
I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado.
Warren:
And I’m Warren Smith, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Natasha:
You’ve been listening to the MinistryWatch podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.
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