Ministry Spotlight: The Word Network Foundation
Church status, shifting corporate structures have let founder Kevin Adell avoid financial disclosure for years.
The Word Network, a religious broadcasting ministry based in Southfield, Michigan, has landed at the bottom of all three MinistryWatch scoring categories — at least in part because it provides no public financial information, including a Form 990.
Insert of Kevin Adell / Photo via LinkedIn
The Word Network Foundation has an F Transparency Grade: It does not file a Form 990, does not post audited financial statements, and is not a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
It has a Donor Confidence Score of 0 for failing to provide any financial data, placing it into the “Withhold Giving” category.
The Word Network describes itself as the “largest African-American religious network in the world.” Founded in 2000 by Kevin Adell and his father, the late Franklin Z Adell, the ministry says it reaches nearly 93 million homes in the U.S. through DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Cox, Cablevision, Charter, and a host of other cable operators.”
Owned by the for-profit Adell Broadcasting, The Word Network operates on cable and digital platforms, carrying a wide variety of ministries including Bishop TD Jakes, Joyce Meyer, Bill Winston, Rod Parsley, and Joseph Prince.
In 2023, Adell faced a federal lawsuit over claims that he owed nearly $18 million after failing to pay estate and gift taxes following his father’s death. However, the case was postponed until at least July 2026 due to a government shutdown, according to the Trinity Foundation.
A subsequent investigation by the Trinity Foundation found that Adell had also avoided filing annual financial disclosures by registering the The Word Network as a church.
The IRS requires most nonprofits to file a Form 990 each year, but exempts organizations classified as churches or an association of churches. MinistryWatch does not make that exception and believes every ministry should file a Form 990 and strive for financial transparency.
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.
This isn’t the first time Adell has taken this approach. In 2015, after the IRS began auditing the network — then known as World Religious Relief — Adell incorporated Church of the Word, registered the trade name Word Network Church to it, and incorporated a for-profit company, Word Network Operating Co., in Delaware. The result: a nonprofit and a for-profit corporation both operating under the name of Word Network Church.
The creation of the church allowed Adell to legally avoid filing a Form 990, and it meant financial data from Work Network Operating Co. no longer had to be disclosed.
According to the last Form 990 filed by World Religious Relief, in 2012, the ministry generated $18.2 million in revenue, with $15.1 million of that going to International Broadcast Services, an independent contractor operated by Adell.
In 2024, Adell announced intentions to retire and sell WADL-TV (Channel 38), radio station WFDF (910 AM), and The Word Network. But the $75 million deal with Mission Broadcasting fell through after the Federal Communications Commission approved the sale in April with several conditions Mission Broadcasting was unwilling to accept.
A Form 990-EZ is listed on ProPublica for the Word Network Foundation, but not for the network itself.
MinistryWatch made multiple attempts to contact The Word Network Foundation. It did not respond.
MinistryWatch Donor Confidence Score: 0 (out of a possible 100) “Withhold Giving”
MinistryWatch Financial Efficiency Rating: This ministry has not been rated.
MinistryWatch Transparency Grade: F
ECFA Member? No
Revenue in Most Recent Year Available: Financials for this ministry have not been collected.
Five-Year Revenue Trend: Unable to calculate.
Percent of Revenue Spent on Fundraising: Financial ratios for this ministry have not been calculated.
Percent of Revenue Peer Group Spends on Fundraising: 6%
CEO/President: Kevin Adell
President’s Salary and Other Compensation: Compensation data for this ministry has not been collected.
A complete MinistryWatch profile for The Word Network Foundation can be found here.
