Ministry Spotlight: Whole Word Institute

Despite strong transparency scores and a growing student base, ministry's recurring financial deficit warrants a closer look.

Whole Word Institute, a MinistryWatch Shining Light in 2022, currently has a negative net worth, making it impossible to assign it a valid financial efficiency rating.

Photo via Facebook @Whole Word Institute

A negative net worth means the amount of a ministry’s liabilities exceeds the value of their assets. In most, but not all cases, a ministry with a negative net worth is in a precarious situation. It means that the organization has financial obligations — usually debt or accounts payable — that it doesn’t have the current ability to pay.

Whole Word Institute is a Bible translation ministry dedicated to providing access to God’s Word to people around the globe. Their mission statement centers on four T’s: “We Train in the language of the Bible to Translate directly into heart languages & Trust in the power of God’s Word to Transform.”

Stan Horst, Whole Word Institute’s comptroller and business manager, shared updates with MinistryWatch on the ministry and its current projects.

Since 2024, Whole Word Institute has been expanding with programs in Benin, Indonesia, South Africa, Mozambique, and the Philippines. “Our hope is to again have training in Israel, and our current plans are to begin a cohort in October of this year,” Horst said. “There really is nothing like learning the Hebrew language through an immersion-based program, while being able to see first-hand the sites where these biblical events occurred.”

In 2025 alone:

• 156 people were enrolled in training
• 148 unique language projects were represented
• Students came from 35 different nations
• The institute has now trained 469 students representing 503 languages

At the start of 2022, MinistryWatch recognized Whole Word Institute with a Shining Light award for earning a perfect database score. By the end of the year, the ministry was in a negative net worth deficit for the second time since 2020. The ministry returned to a positive net worth by the end of 2023, but has now fallen into a deficit for the third time in the last five years.

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Whole Word Institute now has a 78 Donor Confidence Score—still a “Give With Confidence” rating. It is only missing points for not posting audited financial statements on its website and because it has no financial efficiency rating. The Donor Confidence Score (DCS) is determined by answers to 14 questions, only one of which is based on financial numbers. The rest is determined by transparency measures, board composition, and other metrics. That’s why it’s important to look at all three components of a ministry’s scores—efficiency, transparency and donor confidence.

A negative net worth is not always an indication of financial inefficiency, but it should be a temporary condition.

Whole Word Institute is aware of its negative net worth. “We operate together with an Israeli subsidiary, and our audited consolidated financials only show a $58k negative net worth, while the 990 is strictly the US company financials,” Horst told MinistryWatch in an email.

“Of course, this is still not acceptable to us and we are working diligently to improve. This financial shortfall relates directly to the continuing conflicts in the Middle East… making individuals and organizations hesitant to send anyone to Israel for any length of time,” he said.

Whole Word Institute has a C Transparency Grade—it is a member of the ECFA and files a public Form 990, but does not post audited financial statements.

MinistryWatch Donor Confidence Score: 78 (out of a possible 100) “Give With Confidence”

MinistryWatch Financial Efficiency Rating: This ministry has a negative net worth, making it impossible to assign it a valid financial efficiency rating.

MinistryWatch Transparency Grade: C

ECFA Member? Yes

Revenue in Most Recent Year Available: $4,886,805

Five-Year Revenue Trend: Increasing (by about 98%)

Percent of Revenue Spent on Fundraising: 5%

Percent of Revenue Peer Group Spends on Fundraising: 7%

CEO/President: David Swarr

President’s Salary and Other Compensation: $157,048

A complete MinistryWatch profile for Whole Word Institute can be found here.