Weekly Review
ECFA Membership Changes, MinistryWatch Database Changes, On This Date At MinistryWatch.com
MinistryWatch In The News. Before we get started, I wanted to share quickly that I was on NBC Nightly News on Thursday to discuss a story we’ve been following: Aslan International allegedly defrauded the government of millions in Payroll Protection Plan funds. You can see that segment here.
MinistryWatch 1000 Database Changes. MinistryWatch now has more than 1,000 ministries in its database. These ministries represent more than $35-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: Acton Institute for the Study of Religious Liberty (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 70), Americans United for Life (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 80 to 75), Baylor University (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 50 to 55), Catholic Relief Services (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 55 to 50), Denver Rescue Mission (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 95 to 100), Elna M. Smith Foundation / The Great Passion Play (-2 Stars, Transparency Grade: From A to D, DCS: 75), Grand Canyon University (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 60 to 70), Jewish Voice Ministries International (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 90 to 95), Kids Alive International, Inc. (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 90 to 95), Liberty University (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 35 to 50), Living Free, Inc. (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 85 to 90), MAP International (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 80 to 85), Medical Teams International (MTI) (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 85 to 90), Mission Possible (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Down 95 to 90), Pioneers, Inc. (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 40 to 75), Rapha International (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 90), ReFrame Ministries pka Back to God Ministries International (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 55 to 75), Reliant Mission (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 65 to 80), Samaritan’s Purse / Operation Christmas Child / Franklin Graham (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Down 80 to 65). The following ministry has been added to the MinistryWatch database with the most recent year’s financial data: Shepherd’s Hope (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: N/A)
Question of the Week. We’ve started a new feature here at MinistryWatch. Lawyer and non-profit expert Don Kramer answers a reader question about non-profits each week. This week’s question: If a ministry leader receives royalties from a book he wrote for the ministry, is that private inurement? This is a question that is relevant both to Christian leaders and to donors.
ECFA Changes. The following organizations have had membership status changes in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. ADDITIONS: None REMOVALS: None
On This Date At MinistryWatch.com. TWO YEARS AGO. Megachurch pastor Darrin Patrick’s cause of death has officially been ruled a suicide, according to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Patrick died May 7, 2020, in Pacific, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis. The cause of death was a gunshot wound. Patrick was a teaching pastor at Seacoast Church, a multisite megachurch based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and the founding pastor of the Journey Church in St. Louis, where he lived. Read more here. ONE YEAR AGO: A petition calling on Kanakuk Ministries to show greater transparency and accountability reached 15,000 signatures. (Today, the petition has more than 25,000 signatures.) Read more here.
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On the Podcast: David Platt, TV Preachers and Book Royalties, and Pregnancy Resource Centers in the Post-Roe Era. On today’s program, a lawsuit against well-known preacher David Platt and the church he pastors, McLean Bible Church, has been dropped. We’ll have details. We’ll also talk about TV preachers and their books. Who should get the royalties? We’ll have the answer. And Explo 72, took place 50 years ago. An event took place in Dallas last week that tried to capture some of the spirit of Explo. We’ll have a report. We begin today with some of the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. You can hear the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast apps, or you can simply click here.
Send Us Your News Tips. 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 my desk, and we’ll take it from there.
Salary Data Now In MinistryWatch Database. We now have salary information for nearly 6,000 executives from more than half of the ministries in the MinistryWatch 1000 database. So check out this new addition by clicking on the red button at the top of this page, or click here. That takes you to our database. The search engine is right there, and you can type in the name of a ministry you’re interested in and our profile will pop right up – now, with compensation information for the top executives.
75 Red Flags. MinistryWatch has released a new free booklet, “75 Red Flags To Consider Before Donating For A Christian Ministry.” To read more, and to download your free, printable copy of the 18-page booklet, click here.
MinistryWatch Video. 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, I hope you’ll check it out. To find it, click here.
