Living Proof Ministries Drops to Zero Stars for Financial Efficiency

Plus, other notable ministry happenings from this week.

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.

A few notable changes in the database this week:

• The City School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a K-12 college prep school with a mission to “train students’ minds, disciple their hearts and bring light to the city-one child at a time.” The school’s financial efficiency dropped from 3 Stars to 1 Star, primarily due to a big jump in net assets from 2024 to 2025.
• Living Proof Ministries, led by author and speaker Beth Moore, no longer files a Form 990 with the IRS, making it impossible to assign it a financial efficiency rating. Because of that, it dropped from 4 Stars to zero Stars, its Transparency Grade dropped to a D, and its Donor Confidence Score fell by 45 points.
• Four ministries jumped to 5 Stars this week, meaning they are all in the top 20% for financial efficiency compared with other ministries in their respective sectors: Key Life Network (Educational Media), Missionary Air Group (Mission Aviation), National Christian Foundation Real Property Inc (Christian Foundations), and The CALL (Adoption/Foster Care).

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 this week’s three top stories on the MinistryWatch website:

James Robison, Televangelist and Founder of Life Outreach International, Dies at 82

By Bob Smietana. James Robison, a televangelist, author, friend of politicians and key figure in the Moral Majority movement who later led a humanitarian organization, died Sunday (May 17). He was 82.

TX Jury Awards Southwestern $7M From Insurer

By Mark Wingfield. The already twisting legal case involving Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s defense of claims it failed to protect a female student from sexual abuse took another turn May 7 in a Fort Worth, Texas, courtroom.

The New Paradigm of Mission is the Future of Great Commission Work

By Warren Smith. MinistryWatch has long been a proponent of what some call the “New Paradigm” of missions. This New Paradigm has several components, but at its core is the notion that well-trained indigenous missionaries are better positioned to evangelize their neighbors than American missionaries who come from thousands of miles away with little knowledge of the language or culture of the people they hope to evangelize.

 

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

MinistryWatch Database Changes

MinistryWatch now has more than 1,500 ministries in its database. These ministries represent more than $55 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 into the database:

Arkansas Baptist Children and Family Ministries (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 68)

Children’s Hope Foster Family Agency (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 70)

Christian School of Castle Hills (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 53)

Colleyville Covenant Christian Academy (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 78)

Community Missions of Niagara Frontier (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 71)

Covenant Christian Academy in Peabody (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 76)

Covenant Christian School of Conroe (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 78)

Daily Bread Ministries (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 73)

Dallas Christian School (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 66)

Eden Christian Academy (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 73)

Evansville Christian School (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 51)

GAP Ministries (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 50)

Indiana United Methodist Children’s Home (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 75)

 

Ministries with upgraded ratings:

Key Life Network (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 79)

Now in top 20% for financial efficiency in Educational Media sector.

Life in Abundance International (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 97 to 100)

Now earns perfect Donor Confidence Score as calculated by answers to 14 questions about financial efficiency, transparency, board composition, etc.

Missionary Air Group (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 98)

Now in top 20% for financial efficiency in Mission Aviation sector.

MorningStar Mission Ministries (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 78 to 98)

Now in top 60% for financial efficiency in Rescue Mission/Homeless Shelters sector, also raising its Donor Confidence Score by 20 points.

Museum of the Bible (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 68 to 73)

Board contains at least 5 members and no more than 12 members.

National Christian Foundation Real Property Inc.  (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 58)

Now in top 20% for financial efficiency in Christian Foundations sector.

Reflejo (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: Up C to A, DCS: Up 78 to 80)

Makes audited financials available on website.

The CALL (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 95)

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

The Palau Foundation For World Evangelism (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 52 to 72)

Now in top 60% for financial efficiency in Christian Foundations sector, also raising its Donor Confidence Score by 20 points.

 

Ministries with downgraded ratings:

Living Proof Ministries (Down 4 to 0 Stars, Transparency Grade: Down C to D, DCS: Down 85 to 40)

Organization does not file Form 990, dropping it down from 4 Stars to zero Stars for financial efficiency and dropping its Donor Confidence Score by 45 points.

Presbyterian Children’s Homes & Services (Down 2 to 1 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 50)

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

Santa Fe Christian Schools (Down 2 to 1 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 71)

Now in bottom 20% for financial efficiency in K-12 Schools/Academies sector.

Summit Christian Academy (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 78)

Now in top 60% (down from top 40%) for financial efficiency in K-12 Schools/Academies sector.

The City School (Down 3 to 1 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 93 to 73)

Now in bottom 20% for financial efficiency in K-12 Schools/Academies sector, also dropping its Donor Confidence Score by 20 points.

 

On The MinistryWatch Podcast

Teen Challenge, Zoe Ministries, and Remembering James Robison

On this week’s program, the Central Indiana Teen Challenge—associated with the widely known Adult & Teen Challenge addiction recovery ministry—is facing allegations of trafficking and forced labor. Nine young women have filed a lawsuit claiming they were victims of abuse. We’ll have details.

And, a look inside Zoe Ministries. Led by self-proclaimed “Master Prophet” E. Bernard Jordan, the ministry operates a digital pipeline for prophecy and donations while offering limited transparency.

Plus, the value of a volunteer. A new report says the value of a volunteer hour has jumped to $36.14, surpassing the rise of inflation.

But first, televangelist James Robison died this week at age 82. He was a friend of politicians and a key figure in the Moral Majority movement who later led a humanitarian organization. James Robison is the founder of Life Outreach International, a TV and evangelistic ministry that also works in humanitarian aid, drilling water wells and providing disaster relief.

Listen here.

 

ECFA Membership Changes

Removals

Christian Union (Princeton, NJ)

Doulos Partners (Vestavia, AL)

Cornerstone Fellowship (Livermore, CA)

Bernie Moore Ministries (McKinney, TX)

Harvest Vineyard Church (Ames, IA)

Tzedakah Ministries (Midlothian, TX)

Heartlight Ministries Foundation (Hallsville, TX)

 

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 [email protected].  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.