Ministries Making a Difference Ananias House celebrates church growth in MENA region, new home for Echoing Hills, supporting rural churches, donuts lead to Bible study

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.

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Last year, the pastor of Passion Church in Parrish, Florida, saw a handful of kids from a nearby low-income apartment complex milling outside a Dunkin’ Donuts, salivating over donuts on the other side of the window…so he bought one for each of them. That decision led to a weekly children’s Bible study held at the Dunkin’ Donuts, dubbed the “DD for JC club.” Since then, nearly 20 children have made professions of faith, and the apartment complex invited the church to hold events, including a fall festival and Christmas party.

 

 

The Lilly Endowment has awarded Evangel University a $7.5 million grant to develop resources for rural pastors and churches, including educational resources, internships, and region-specific programming. EU is one of 20 organizations to receive a grant as part of Lilly Endowment’s Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns Initiative to support rural churches throughout the U.S. Evangel University has 4 stars and a “D” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 63.

 

Feed the Children in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has tapped Emily Callahan to lead the nonprofit as its new president and CEO. She replaces Travis Arnold, who announced his retirement in June 2024. According to The NonProfit Times, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital became the Most Trusted Brand of any brand in America (per Morning Consult) during Callahan’s previous tenure as chief marketing officer at ALSAC, the fundraising/awareness arm of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Before that, she worked at Susan G. Komen. Feed the Children has 5 stars and a “C” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 71.

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