Weekly Review
ECFA Membership Changes, MinistryWatch Database Changes, What’s on the Podcast? On This Date at MinistryWatch
On This Date at MinistryWatch 
ONE YEAR AGO: A Montana Baptist pastor who has spent years critiquing pastors and warning of liberal drift within evangelical churches, was arrested on DUI and weapons charges. Jordan Daniel “J.D.” Hall, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, and publisher of the online Christian polemics site Protestia, was arrested on May 11 after a traffic stop. According to a copy of the initial offense report obtained by Religion News Service, Hall was charged at 11 p.m. with driving under the influence and carrying a concealed weapon while intoxicated. The DUI charge is a first offense, according to the report. A Sidney police officer observed Hall driving in a bike lane and pulled him over. Read more here.
TWO YEARS AGO: Saddleback Church, one of the largest churches in the Southern Baptist Convention and home to influential pastor Rick Warren, ordained three women as staff pastors this past weekend, a move that critics say violates the denomination’s statement of faith. Read more here.
On the Podcast: Community Foundations Exclude Christian Groups, Southern Baptist Membership Drop, and More Hillsong, UMC Drama
On today’s program, we look at the Lancaster Pennsylvania Community Foundation, which has implemented restrictions that could keep Christian groups from receiving funds. It’s not the only community foundation in the nation to use non-discrimination policies to exclude Christian groups. We’ll have details.
And we also have updates on two stories we’ve been covering for a while: Hillsong, and the breakup of the United Methodist Church.
We begin today with news of significant membership declines in the Southern Baptist Convention.
You can hear the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast apps, or you can simply click here.
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MinistryWatch Database Changes
MinistryWatch now has more than 1,000 ministries in its database. These ministries represent more than $38-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: Blue Letter Bible (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), But God Ministries (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Children’s Shelter of Cebu (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 100), Christian Worship Hour (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96), Crista Ministries (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 76 to 80), Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (From 4 to N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Family Life Communications Inc (previously Family Life Broadcasting System) ( Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Down 78 to 74), Fellowship of Christian Athletes / FCA (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 90), Liberty University (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 47), Orphan Outreach (Down 5 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 90), Samaritan’s Feet International (Down 4 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 73), The Pocket Testament League (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 82), Victory Junction Gang Camp (1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 67), World Missionary Press (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 86), World Vision, Inc., U.S. (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 78), Advent Christian Village (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Down 78 to 74), Agape International Missions (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 87 to 83), All Nations Family (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: From A to C, DCS: N/A), Ambassadors For Christ, Inc. (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 82 to 86), Anderson University (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 69), Biola University (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 63), Black Diamond Camps (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: From A to C, DCS: 96), Catholic Charities USA (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: Down 42 to 38), Center for Arizona Policy (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Chestnut Mountain Ranch (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96), Children of the Nations (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96), Christian Camps Inc / Deerfoot Lodge (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Down 86 to 82), Compassionate Hope Foundation (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), D. James Kennedy Ministries / Coral Ridge Ministries Media, Inc. (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 88), Denver Seminary (From 2 to N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 71 to 67), Destiny Rescue USA (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 88), Ethnos 360, Inc. pka: New Tribes Mission, USA (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 47), FaithBridge Foster Care (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 100), Family Connections Christian Adoptions (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 92), Geneva Camp and Retreat Center (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 74 to 78), Houston Christian Broadcasters / Keeping Him Close By (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 92), International Christian Adoptions (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96), Life Action Ministries (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96), Lifesong for Orphans (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 100), Marketplace Ministries, Inc. / Marketplace Chaplains (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 92), Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 69 to 73), New Life Family Services (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Down 83 to 79), Phoenix Rescue Mission (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 100), ServeNow (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), The CALL (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), The Firs Bible & Missionary Conference (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), TWR (aka Trans World Radio) (From 1 to N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 67), World Relief (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 86)
MinistryWatch and Sex Crimes. We’ve written a larger than normal number of stories this week about pastors and ministry leaders involved in sex crimes. That’s why I 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.
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 my desk, and we’ll take it from there.
Salary Data Now In MinistryWatch Database. We now have salary information for 4,000 executives in our database posted in our profiles. So check out this new addition by clicking on the red button at the top of this page, or 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.
If you’d like to see who the highest paid executives are, take a look at our recently published lists of Highly Paid Ministry Executives and Highly Paid Christian College and University Executives.
Audio Version of Faith-Based Fraud Now Available. Thanks to those of you who made my new book Faith-Based Fraud a best-seller in several Amazon categories this week. It’s now available in paperback and e-book versions. To get your copy, click here. This week, the new audio version released. You can get that from Audible by clicking here.
MinistryWatch Video. In closing, a reminder that we have created a new, 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.
A Guide To Giving For Disaster Relief. When disaster hits, Christians give. But where they give can make a big difference? Which organizations are most effective in these post-disaster situations? MinistryWatch has published a list of organizations that are doing relief work and which have an “A” Transparency Grade and a 3-, 4-, or 5-star rating for Financial Efficiency. It’s a list of about 30 ministries, and you can find it on the front page of our website. I’ll also include a link in the show notes to this program. Link to list HERE.
Ukraine Giving. If you want to give specifically to ministries working in and near Ukraine, click here. We posted this link before, but we’ve added a few new ministries recently.
ECFA Changes
The following organizations have had membership status changes in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. ADDITIONS: NONE REMOVALS: NONE
