On This Date: Examining Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge Success

Plus, Calvary Chapel congregation shocked to learn church building listed for sale, a Houston church’s radical generosity, and more.

ONE YEAR AGO: On August 4, 2025, MinistryWatch examined a report of the success of Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge after 15 years. Apparently, only one couple had fulfilled their commitment. Read more here.

TWO YEARS AGO: On August 8, 2024, MinistryWatch reported that the congregation of Calvary Chapel Cary in Apex, North Carolina, was shocked to discover its own church listed for sale online for $11.5 million with a pending buyer. Pastor Rodney Finch confessed to the church that he had secretly conspired with the board of elders to find a buyer for the church building and nearby parking lot, keeping it secret until a deal was brokered. The property was sold for $7 million in February 2025. Read more here.

THREE YEARS AGO: On August 10, 2023, MinistryWatch reported about the radical generosity of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas. Generosity has been part of MDPC’s DNA since it was founded in 1954. By radical generosity, MDPC means matching “dollar for dollar” the money spent each year on church operations with money given to those in need. MDPC’s Outreach Director Amy Delgado said that was about $6.8 million in 2022. Read more here.

FOUR YEARS AGO: On August 8, 2022, MinistryWatch reported that prominent Wisconsin pastor Stuart Briscoe, recognized for founding the broadcast ministry series “Telling the Truth” and authoring over 40 books, died on Aug. 3. Briscoe died of “natural causes unexpectedly,” according to a social media post from his son, Peter “Pete” Briscoe. Stuart Briscoe was 91. Read more here.

FIVE YEARS AGO: On August 5, 2021, MinistryWatch began its reporting about translation service providers as a new paradigm for Bible translations. Strategic Resource Group decided to conduct an experiment. Through its Unreached People Groups Initiative, it has asked a translation company, LinguaLinx, to translate the Bible — Old and New Testament, both written and oral versions — into three Middle Eastern dialects. Since then, MinistryWatch President Warren Smith has checked in with SRG about the project’s progress. Read more here.

SEVEN YEARS AGO: On August 6, 2019, MinistryWatch reported that leaders of an evangelical ministry based in Montana resigned following allegations of abuse and misappropriation of funds earmarked to help feed impoverished children. The new head of Potter’s Field Ministries (PFM), a 27-year-old nonprofit that was previously affiliated with Calvary Chapel, announced the organization’s founders, Michael and Pam Rozell, stepped down from their day-to-day leadership roles with both PFM and Potter’s Field Ranch. Read more here.

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