Weekly Review
Trail Life USA, A Recap of the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, Teen Challenge Rating Drops
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. Our goal is to help us become better stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us. On today’s program, the Southern Baptists met in Nashville this week. We’ve got extended coverage of the event. Also, a new study on giving in the US indicates that giving is up, but religious giving is not. We’ll unpack the numbers. We begin with the story of an alternative to the Boy Scouts of America. The name of the group is Trail Life USA, and it’s growing significantly. You can hear the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast apps, or you can simply click here.
ECFA Changes. The following organizations have had membership status changes in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. ADDITIONS: NONE. REMOVALS: Bella Women’s Center (Warren, Ohio), Capital City Rescue Mission (Albany, N.Y.)
MinistryWatch Database Changes. MinistryWatch now has more than 930 ministries in its database. These ministries represent more than $34-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: Abilene Christian University (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Adult & Teen Challenge, USA (Down 3 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A), Advent Christian Village (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), AGAPE Network (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Alaska Christian College (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Alpha USA (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Ambassadors for Christ International, Inc. / AFCI (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Americans United for Life (1 Star, Transparency Grade: C), Anderson University (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Answers in Genesis / AIG / Ken Ham (Up 1 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Arrow Child & Family Ministries (1 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Asbury Theological Seminary (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Asbury University (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Asheville Christian Academy (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A), Ashland University (Up 3 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Asia Harvest (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Atlanta Mission (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Azusa Pacific University (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Bair Lake Bible Camp (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Baptist Church Loan Corporation (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Barnabas and Partners (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Baylor University (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Becket Fund for Religious Liberty (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Belhaven University (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Berean Bible Society (1 Star, Transparency Grade: D), Bethel University – Indiana (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Bethel University – Minnesota (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Bethel University – Tennessee (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Bible Pathway Ministries (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), Biola University (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Boston Rescue Mission (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), Bread for the World Institute, Inc. (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), Bread of Life Mission (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Bread of Life Mission of Holbrook Arizona (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), Brother Bryan Rescue Mission (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), Brunswick Christian Recovery Center (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), Bryan College (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Buffalo City Mission (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A), By The Hand Club For Kids (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A). The following ministries have been added to the MinistryWatch database with the most recent year’s financial data: Cannon Beach Conference Center (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A), Lionheart Children’s Academy (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), The Master’s Academy of Central Florida (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), The Woodlands Christian Academy (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Timothy Christian Schools (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Trinity Christian Academy – Addison, TX (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Trinity Christian School of Fairfax (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Western Christian Schools (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A)
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Salary Data Now In MinistryWatch Database. We now have salary information for 3,000 executives from about 500 of the 850 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.
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, social media, and the use of cryptocurrencies such as BitCoin. To read more about these courses, click here.
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. I also want to let you know that I was a guest on the podcast and YouTube program “William Ramsey Investigates.” You can watch that interview here.
New 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.
