Weekly Review
ECFA Membership Changes, MinistryWatch Database Changes, What’s on the Podcast? On This Date at MinistryWatch
On the Podcast: Assemblies of God Ministry Under Scrutiny, Christian Adoption Agency Gets Big Win, and More PPP Fraud
On today’s program, a Christian college group, Chi Alpha, which is associated with the Assemblies of God and operates on 60 campuses, is under scrutiny because some of its leaders sexually abused students. We’ll have important details.
And a Christian adoption agency in New York has won important religious liberty protections that will allow it to continue to place children only in families with one-man, one-woman marriages.
We begin today with a strange story from right here in North Carolina. Southern Baptists have been dogged by leadership scandals for years. Now they have a different kind of abuse scandal on their hands. A Baptist leader in North Carolina resigned this week after he and his wife were charged earlier this month with three counts of felony animal cruelty and a misdemeanor offense of communicating threats.
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: Focus on the Family (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 100), Food For The Poor, Inc. (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 53), Freedom in Christ Ministries (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96), Grand Canyon University (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 75), Great Falls Rescue Mission (1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 71 to 75), Habitat for Humanity International (1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 61), Haven of Rest Ministries – Anderson (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 90), Heifer Project International (1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 57), Homeof Grace (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 83 to 79), InterAct Ministries, Inc. (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 92), A3, formerly Asian Access Life Ministries (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 88 to 92), Agape International Missions (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 87), Ankerberg Theological Research Institute (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 96 to 71), Bibles for the World (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 88 to 92), Blue Letter Bible (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A), Bread for the World Institute, Inc. (1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Up 65 to 69), Christian Blind Mission / CBM (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 88), Christian Community Action (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 86), Christian Community Foundation, dba WaterStone (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 88), Coalition for Christian Outreach / CCO (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 90), D. James Kennedy Ministries / Coral Ridge Ministries Media, Inc. (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 88), Deaf Bible Society (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 96 to 100), Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools (FOCUS) (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 78 to 82), Globe International Ministries (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 55 to 51), Good News Communications Inc / MOVIEGUIDE (1 Star, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: Up 75 to 79), Good News Jail and Prison Ministry (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 67 to 63), Good News Productions, International (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 73 to 69), Greater Europe Mission (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 77), Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc. / IMA World Health (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 65), JAARS (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Down 92 to 88), Marketplace Ministries, Inc. / Marketplace Chaplains (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 92), Mennonite Brethren Foundation (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 53), Museum of the Bible (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: Down 74 to 70), New Life Family Services (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 79 to 83), Orlando Union Rescue Mission (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 78 to 82), Persecution Project Foundation (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 86), Pioneers, Inc. (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 71), Proverbs 31 Ministries (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96), RealOptions Obria Medical Clinics (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 86), Shelter For Life International Inc. (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96), Shelter KC: A Kansas City Rescue Mission (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 88 to 92), The Christian Academy (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: Up 92 to 96), The Pocket Testament League (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 82 to 86), Third Millenium Ministries / Thirdmill (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Up 88 to 92), WaterStone Support Foundation Inc (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 88), Wayside Christian Mission (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: Up 65 to 69)
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MinistryWatch and Sex Crimes. We write a lot 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: Help for Christian Nationals (Duncanville, Tex.), Doulas Ministries (Independence, Mo.), Clarks Summit University (Clarks Summit, Penn.), Orphan Relief and Rescue (Burien, Wash.), South Asia Access (Wheaton, Ill.), Restoration Hope (Madison, Miss.), Life Focus Communications (Chicago, Ill.)
On This Date at MinistryWatch
EIGHT YEARS AGO: In June 2015, one of the three Executive Elders at the recently dissolved Mars Hill Church has publicly apologized for his behavior there. In a series of blog posts published over the past few weeks, Sutton Turner has taken responsibility for not his role in a book-buying scandal, as well as to helping perpetuate a culture of fear and intimidation at the Seattle megachurch that dissolved earlier this year. Read more here. THREE YEARS AGO: A woman Ravi Zacharias sued in 2017 is now asking for release from a non-disclosure agreement she signed as part of the settlement of that lawsuit. Lori Anne Thompson claimed Ravi Zacharias solicited nude photos of her after they met in 2014. Zacharias denied the claims and filed a lawsuit saying Thompson and her husband Bradley were attempting to extort funds from him. The lawsuit was eventually settled, and Lori Anne Thompson signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of the settlement. Read more here. ONE YEAR AGO: Pro-life activist Jennifer Christie is under scrutiny for claims she and her ministry have made. Read more here.
