Weekly Review
ECFA Membership Changes, MinistryWatch Database Changes, Former Christianity Today Editor Mark Galli on the Podcast
ECFA Changes. The following organizations have had membership status changes in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. ADDITIONS: Catalyst Church (Chevy Chase, Md.), Trinity Bible Church (Richardson, Tex.), Cherish Uganda (Lakeway, Tex.), Disciples Made (Shawnee, Kans.), eMite (Belmont, N.C.), Habitat for Missions (McCordsville, Ind.), Leadership Edge (Durham, N.C.), KidWorks (Santa Ana, Calif.), Skylark Camps (Bedford, Tex.), First Baptist Church Belton (Belton, Tex.) REMOVALS: The Source for Women of Houston (Houston, Tex.), Leader Formation International (Dallas, Tex.), Pregnancy Help Center of Concho Valley (San Angelo, Tex.)
On the 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, a lawsuit brought by indigenous people against New Tribes Mission could force many missionary organizations to re-think the way they do their work. And a new study highlights the vital role churches play in helping those with food insecurities. We begin today with more news from Liberty University. The way Liberty University has handled sexual assault incidents has come under scrutiny in recent months. This week, a new report by the investigative journalism organization Pro Publica alleges that Liberty has discouraged women from coming forward with their stories because to do so could get them expelled.You can hear the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast apps, or you can simply click here.
MinistryWatch EXTRA Episode: Former Christianity Today Editor Mark Galli. Mark Galli was a part of the evangelical elite for more than 20 years, first as the editor of Christian History magazine, and for seven years as editor in chief of Christianity Today. But on December 19, 2019, a day after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to file two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, Galli wrote an editorial entitled, “Trump Should Be Removed from Office.” The publication noted that the criticisms of Trump were consistent with the magazine’s approach to the impeachment proceedings of presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Maybe so, but the editorial created a firestorm. A few weeks later, Galli retired from Christianity Today, and in 2020 he announced that he had departed evangelicalism and become a Roman Catholic. However, Galli’s voice is still being heard in the evangelical world. He has continued his popular article “The Galli Report,” and over the past few weeks he has struck a chord again, with a series of articles about what it means to be an “Elite Evangelical.” Who are the evangelical elite? What do they stand for? Is it a good thing or a bad thing to have evangelical elites defining issues and setting agendas for the church? Listen here.
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MinistryWatch Database Changes. The MinistryWatch 1000 tracks 1000 of the largest Christian ministries in the country. These ministries represent more than $35-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: Bethesda Lutheran Communities (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Bethesda Mission (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Beyond (previously Mission to Unreached Peoples & Act Beyond) (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Bill Glass Behind the Walls (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), By The Hand Club For Kids (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Care Net (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Coalition for Christian Outreach / CCO (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Corporate Chaplains of America (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Eagle Village (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), Eastern Christian Childrens Retreat (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Every Generation Ministries (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Global Service Network (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Home of Grace (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C), International Students Inc. (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: C), Iris Global (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Lexington Rescue Mission (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Life Action Ministries (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Lifechangers, Inc. / Bob Mumford (3 Stars, Transparency Grade: From C to A), Literacy & Evangelism International (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: From C to A), Loaves and Fishes, Paso Robles (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: From C to D), Medical Ambassadors International (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Mercy Support Services, Inc. (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: D), Miami Rescue Mission (Down 3 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Mighty Oaks Foundation (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), Mission on the Move (Down 5 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), New Life Center Foundation (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), pureHope, fka Natl’ Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Rafiki Foundation (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Tech Team Advantage (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: D), Town and Country Manor (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A), Upward Unlimited / Upward Sports (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A)
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.
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.
On This Date. Harry Blamires, author of the seminal book The Christian Mind, was born this week (Nov. 6) 1916. On Nov. 2, 2013, MinistryWatch published a “Donor Alert” regarding Elevation Church and Steven Furtick. Read that story here. MinistryWatch has published other stories on Furtick and Elevation Church over the years. You can find them here.
