Weekly Review Sept 2023 MinistryWatch Updates: World Vision Director Sentenced, New Faith Advisory Board Launched, and Perry Stone’s ‘Inappropriate’ Behavior Revealed

ECFA Membership Changes, MinistryWatch Database Changes, On This Date at MinistryWatch

On This Date at MinistryWatch

ONE YEAR AGO: On Tuesday, the director of Christian ministry World Vision’s work in Gaza was sentenced to 12 years in prison for allegedly transferring ministry funds to the terrorist organization Hamas. Mohammad El Halabi, who has already spent six years in prison as his trial waged on, plans to appeal the decision. World Vision defended its employee, saying the charges were designed to hinder humanitarian work in Gaza and the West Bank. Read more here 

TWO YEARS AGO:  Donald Trump’s faith advisors, including Paula White-Cain, launch a new faith advisory board.  Read more here.

THREE YEARS AGO:  Televangelist Perry Stone admitted to “inappropriate” behavior with females, blaming the behavior on weariness and non-stop travel.  His ministry placed him on a sabbatical.  Read more here.  

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO:  Lawsuits fly at the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Read more here.

On The MinistryWatch Podcast: Christian College Under Scrutiny, Prosperity Gospel on the Rise, and John Blanchard’s Criminal Record Expunged

On today’s program, a closer look at a Christian college offering courses to prisoners raises more questions than answers. Plus, a new LifeWay study suggests that prosperity gospel beliefs are on the rise among churchgoers. We’ll have those details later in the program. And thieves swipe a massive air conditioner unit of an Atlanta church…in the sweltering heat of summer.

We begin today with news that Virginia Beach Pastor John Blanchard has had his criminal record expunged after he was arrested a couple years back in an underage prostitution sting. Blanchard is the lead pastor of Rock Church International in Virginia Beach, and he was one of 17 men arrested in October 2021. Each of the men corresponded with undercover detectives posing as minors and set up a time and place to meet for sex. They were all arrested on site at those meeting places, including Blanchard.  Just two days after his arrest, Blanchard led worship at his church. It wasn’t until his arrest became public that he stepped away from church duties temporarily.  Listen here.

ECFA Changes

The following organizations have had membership status changes in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.   

ADDITIONS: NONE

REMOVALS:  NONE

MinistryWatch Database Changes

MinistryWatch now has more than 1,000 ministries in its database. These ministries represent more than $41 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:

Gospel Volunteers / Camp of the Woods (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A)

Grace Adventures (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96)

Hal Lindsey Website Ministries (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 55)

Hope is Alive Ministries Inc.  (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A)

InFaith FKA: American Missionary Fellowship (-2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 92)

International Friendships, Inc.  (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96)

Kanakuk Ministries (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 54)

Kids for the Kingdom (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A)

Love a Child (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 72)

Love One International (Down 3 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Down 92 to 88)

Maranatha Volunteers International (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 65)

Mission Arlington / Mission Metroplex (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 82)

Mission Eurasia (formerly Russian Ministries) (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96)

Museum of the Bible (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 70)

Olympia Union Gospel Mission (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, DCS: 83)

One For Israel (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A)

Orange County Rescue Mission (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: Down 96 to 92)

Raleigh Rescue Mission (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96)

Redwood Gospel Mission (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 100)

ServeNow (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A)

Set Free Alliance (formerly known as Water of Life) (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 92)

SOS International (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: N/A)

Standing Stone Ministry (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96)

Students for Life of America (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 79)

Sunrise Children’s Services (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, DCS: 73)

The Global Orphan Project (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 92)

The Pocket Testament League (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 90)

Timber Bay / Youth Investment Foundation (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 88)

Tri-City Union Gospel Mission (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 96)

Women’s Resource Medical Centers of Southern Nevada (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 88)

Zoe Empowers (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, DCS: 82)

Access to MinistryWatch content is free.  However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts.  To make a donation, click here.

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.

Maui Giving. If you want to give specifically to ministries working to provide relief in Maui, click here.

MinistryWatch In The News. MinistryWatch is often called upon by Christian and secular media to comment on what is going on in the evangelical world. You can find some of these news reports here.