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:
- Set Free Alliance jumped into the top 60% for financial efficiency within the Foreign Missions sector, raising its Donor Confidence Score to 100—the highest “Give With Confidence” designation. It also earns an A Transparency Grade.
- Christian Health Service Corps, Groundwire, and Renewanation all dropped in financial efficiency within their respective sectors, but they still rate highly within our database in each of the three categories MinistryWatch evaluates. Two of them—Christian Health Service Corps and Groundwire—both earn perfect 100 Donor Confidence Scores while Renewanation comes in at a high 94.
- Six ministries were added into the MinistryWatch database, including Chapman University, Portland Rescue Mission, and RiverWorks.
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 (this week, there were no new additions/removals). Check it all out below.
With that, here are three top stories on the MinistryWatch website from this past week:
A Chronological Explainer: The Archbishop Steve Wood Controversy
By Warren Cole Smith. ANALYSIS–The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), founded in 2009 as a conservative alternative to the more progressive Episcopal Church and Anglican Church of Canada, has long positioned itself as a beacon of orthodox Anglicanism.
WA Soup Kitchen Sues City for Revoking Permit, Ending Operations
By Kim Roberts. Lighthouse Christian Ministries is suing the City of Wenatchee, Washington, claiming the city violated its constitutional rights by revoking its conditional use permit to operate a soup kitchen for needy persons.
War Zone Aid Group Mixes Medicine and Munitions
By Tony Mator. David Eubank doesn’t play by the rules of global humanitarian aid. The former U.S. special forces officer and Fuller Theological Seminary-trained minister’s Free Burma Rangers (FBR) skirts the line between humanitarian and paramilitary in a way that makes some observers wince.
Here’s what else is new at MinistryWatch this week.
MinistryWatch Database Changes
MinistryWatch now has more than 1,000 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:
Chapman University (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 48)
Children’s Ministry Resources International (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 93)
Portland Rescue Mission (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 51)
Reflejo (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 63)
RiverWorks (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 86)
TRIAD (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 29)
Ministries with upgraded ratings:
Appalachian Bible College (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 69)
Now in top 20% for financial efficiency in Colleges/Universities sector.
Feed The Children (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 69 to 71)
Makes audited financials available on website.
Loving Shepherd Ministries (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 94)
Now in top 40% for financial efficiency in Community Development sector.
National Camps for Blind Children (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: N/A to 48)
Files Form 990 with the IRS, amongst other criteria related to donor confidence.
National Day of Prayer Task Force (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: N/A to 98)
Meets all criteria for donor confidence except for making audited financials available on website.
Palm Beach Atlantic University (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: Up 51 to 71)
Now in top 60% for financial efficiency in Colleges/Universities sector, also raising its donor confidence score by 20 points.
Set Free Alliance (formerly known as Water of Life) (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 80 to 100)
Now in top 60% for financial efficiency in Foreign Missions sector, also raising its donor confidence score by 20 points.
Sojourners (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: N/A to 48)
Files Form 990 with the IRS, amongst other criteria related to donor confidence.
Ministries with downgraded ratings:
Christian Health Service Corps (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 100)
Now in top 40% (down from top 20%) for financial efficiency in Community Development sector.
Groundwire (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 100)
Now in top 60% (down from top 40%) for financial efficiency in Community Development sector.
International Servants (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: F, DCS: Down 33 to 13)
Does not file a Form 990 with the IRS.
Renewanation (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 94)
Now in top 40% (down from top 20%) for financial efficiency in Christian Growth sector.
On The MinistryWatch Podcast
A Round-Up of the Top MinistryWatch Stories of the Year
On this week’s special year-end episode, Natasha Cowden and Warren Smith look at the top 25 stories of the year as voted on by you, the MinistryWatch reader. These are the stories that got the top number of page views for the year.
Of course, the number of page views is not the only way to measure the impact of a story. So Warren will be sprinkling in some commentary throughout the episode that we hope will put some of these stories in a larger context.
We’ll also talk about a few surprises in this year’s list. For example, none of the Robert Morris stories made this list at all. We did a lot of reporting on Robert Morris this year, but the most read story on Morris came in at No. 48 on our list. Also, the Dave Ramsey story — our number one story — got more than 200,000 page views, which is by far the most page views an individual story has ever gotten here at MinistryWatch.
Speaking of numbers, we have some metrics related to MinistryWatch. Our website got four million page views this year. That is by far the most page views we have seen in our 26-year history. I also wanted to mention that Kim Roberts wrote 11 of the 25 stories on this year’s list, and I wanted to commend her for her excellent reporting this year. Christina Darnell, our managing editor, edited every single one of the nearly 900 stories that went on our website this year, and she compiled this year’s Top 25 list.
Drop A Dime On Us. Do you have a story idea for MinistryWatch? If so, send us an email. A lot of the stories we do originate from our readers and listeners. They send us news tips, press releases, emails, questions, and links. So, if you have a story you’d like us to cover, or a ministry that you think needs a closer look, please email us. Our email is info@ministrywatch.com. That will come directly to the desk of MinistryWatch President Warren Smith, and we’ll take it from there.
MinistryWatch and Sex Crimes. We write a lot about pastors and ministry leaders involved in sex crimes. That’s why we thought it might be a good time to re-post this story, which explains why we think covering these crimes are necessary: Why MinistryWatch Reports on Sex Crimes. As always, your feedback is welcome.
MinistryWatch Video. In closing, a reminder that we have created a short (3.5 minutes) video that explains what we do here at MinistryWatch, and why. If you’re new to MinistryWatch, we hope you’ll check it out. To find it, click here.
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.