Weekly Review
In The Ministry Spotlight. Each week, MinistryWatch selects a ministry from our database to spotlight. We do this so you can see some of the powerful information we have in our database, information we hope will inform your giving decisions. Because MinistryWatch is also increasing our coverage of the Bible translation industry, we shine the Ministry Spotlight this week on SIL International. SIL International (formerly known as Summer Institute of Linguistics) began in 1934 as a summer training program in Arkansas with two students, with the enrollment of these summer classes growing each subsequent year. SIL International says it works with more than 1,600 ethnolinguistic communities to develop language solutions that expand their possibilities for a better life. It’s 2018 revenue was about $42-million. To read this week’s Ministry Spotlight, click here.
On-Line Training For Ministry Leaders. Thanks to a partnership with Dunham + Co., MinistryWatch is now able to offer on-line training “short courses” in such topics as change management, fundraising, and the use of cryptocurrencies such as BitCoin. To read more about these courses, click here.
On Today’s MinistryWatch Podcast. Each week, MinistryWatch brings you news about Christian ministries, as well as the latest in charity and philanthropy, news that we examine from a Christian worldview perspective. On today’s program, we take a close look at Youth With A Mission and the possible financial liability Ravi Zacharias International Ministries may have toward victims of its founder’s sexual abuse. We begin today with news of a women’s conference that raised $1.5-million for Bible translation. But questions remain about where the money is going. You can hear the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast apps, or you can simply click here.
Warren Smith Discusses MinistryWatch’s Mission On The “Extra” Podcast. Regular listeners to our podcast know that our “MinistryWatch Extra” episodes are a chance for us to “go deep” with some of our editorial partners. But this week, I’m bringing you something a bit different, because the guest today is…well, it’s me. My friend Dan Burrell, who is a teaching pastor at Life Fellowship in suburban Charlotte, had me on his podcast called “Life Talks.” We recorded three 20-minute episodes discussing MinistryWatch, our work, why we do what we do, and some of our recent stories. The conversation turned out so well that I asked Dan if I could air them on the MinistryWatch podcast. Dan graciously gave us permission to do so. This week, we aired the first episode. We’ll be airing the other two in the weeks ahead. You can hear our conversation by clicking here.
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ECFA Changes. The following organizations have had membership status changes in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. ADDITIONS: Middle East Ministries (Nashville, Tenn.), Institute for Global Engagement (Arlington, Va.), South Tampa Fellowship (Tampa, Fla.), Connect Christian Church (Concord, N.C.) REMOVALS: None
MinistryWatch Database Changes. MinistryWatch now has more than 800 ministries in its database. These ministries represent more than $30-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: Heifer Project International (1 Star, Transparency Grade: Global Service Network (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Good Samaritan Network of Hamilton County (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Grace School of Theology (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Living Proof Ministries (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), The Seed Company (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Eastern University (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Fellowship of Christian Athletes / FCA (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Home School Legal Defense Association (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), HopeKids (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), John M. Perkins Foundation (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: From C to A), Ohio Christian University (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Open Doors with Brother Andrew, Inc. (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Partners Worldwide (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Preemptive Love Coalition (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), SafeHouse Outreach, Inc. (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Samford University (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Seattle Pacific University (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission) (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), The King’s College (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Youth for Christ USA, Inc. (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A). The following ministries have been added to the MinistryWatch database with the most recent year’s financial data: Institute for Creation Research / ICR (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Interserve, USA / International Service Fellowship (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Adventist Development & Relief Agency (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: From D to C), Amazima Ministries International (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Andrew Wommack Ministries (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Back2Back Ministries (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A)
Salary Data In MinistryWatch Database. We now have salary information for 3,000 executives from about 500 of the 800 ministries 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.
