Weekly Review
ECFA Membership Changes, MinistryWatch Database Changes, On This Date in MinistryWatch
On This Date at MinistryWatch. EIGHT YEARS AGO: On Feb. 24, 2014, MinistryWatch reported on concerns about Steven Furtick’s so-called “Spontaneous Baptisms.” Read more here. TWO YEARS AGO: On February 10, 2020, MinistryWatch reported that the Acts 29 church planting network had removed Steven Timmis as CEO following accusations of spiritual abuse. Read more here. ONE YEAR AGO: On Feb. 12, 2021, the law firm Miller & Martin released its report find that Ravi Zacharias had engaged in inappropriate sexual activity. Read more here.
Don’t Blow Up Your Ministry. MinistryWatch will be holding a webinar on Feb. 16 at 3 pm ET with Michael MacKenzie, author of the new book Don’t Blow Up Your Ministry: Defuse the Underlying Issues That Take Pastors Down. This webinar is designed for pastors, church leaders, elders, deacons, and others who want to understand how to protect church leaders from the kinds of implosions that damaged the ministries of such leaders as Bill Hybels, Mark Driscoll, Ravi Zacharias, and others. The webinar is free, but you must sign up. To do so, click here.
ECFA Changes. The following organizations have had membership status changes in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. ADDITIONS: None REMOVALS: Christian Adoption Services (Charlotte, N.C.)
On the Podcast: On today’s program, Natasha Smith and I discuss a generation gap among evangelical givers. We’ll take a closer look at a new survey. And victims of a church shooting receive a massive financial pay out from the US Government. We begin today with the story of a Tennessee pastor, Tavner Smith, returning to the pulpit just weeks after he was removed for having an inappropriate relationship. You can hear the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast apps, or you can simply 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.
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MinistryWatch 1000 Database Changes. MinistryWatch now has more than 1,000 ministries in its database. These ministries represent more than $36-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, Transparency Grade, and Donor Confidence Score of each ministry is in parenthesis. If this rating represents a change from the previous year, that change is noted: Ambassadors For Christ, Inc. (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 90), Christian Encounter Ministries, Inc. (1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, Donor Confidence: N/A), Fellowship International Mission, Inc. / FIM (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, Donor Confidence: 75), India Gospel Outreach (1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: N/A), International Fellowship of Christian and Jews / Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, Donor Confidence: 60), Joni and Friends / Joni Eareckson Tada (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 85), Plant With Purpose (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 80), Quiet Hour (1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, Donor Confidence: N/A), SafeHouse Outreach Inc. (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: N/A), The Global Orphan Project (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 85), Tim Tebow Foundation (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 80), Trinity Forum, Inc. (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: From C to A , Donor Confidence: N/A), UnfoldingWord (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 100), World Emergency Relief / Children’s Food Fund (5 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, Donor Confidence: 70), World Impact, Inc. (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, Donor Confidence: 75), Wycliffe Associates Inc. (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, Donor Confidence: 70), Aglow International (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: C, Donor Confidence: N/A), Bethesda Lutheran Communities (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 75), Bible Project (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, Donor Confidence: 40), Center for Christian Growth / T Bar M Camps (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 80), Christian Motorcyclists Association (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 90), Deer Run Retreat Center (Up 3 to 4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: N/A), Family Guidance, Inc. (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: C, Donor Confidence: N/A), Fellowship of Christian Athletes / FCA (4 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: Up 85 to 90), Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: N/A), Harvey Cedars Bible Conference Inc. (Up 1 to 2 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: N/A), Key Life Network, Inc. (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: N/A), Living Free, Inc. (Down 2 to 1 Star, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: N/A), Pearlstone Conference & Retreat Center (Up 4 to 5 Stars, Transparency Grade: D, Donor Confidence: N/A), Rafiki Foundation (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 95), Renewanation (Down 4 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: N/A), Samaritan’s Purse/ Operation Christmas Child/ Franklin Graham (Up 2 to 3 Stars, Transparency Grade: A, Donor Confidence: 80), Save The Storks (2 Stars, Transparency Grade: From C to A, Donor Confidence: 85), Transport for Christ / TFC Global (N/A Stars, Transparency Grade: From F to C, Donor Confidence: 50), Wheeler Mission Ministries (1 Star, Transparency Grade: From C to A, Donor Confidence: 95)
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 nearly 5,000 executives from more than half of the ministries in the MinistryWatch 1000 database. So check out this new addition by clicking on the red button at the top of this page, or click 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.
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. A reminder that we have created a 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.
MinistryWatch EXTRA Episode: A Q&A With Warren Smith About MinistryWatch. I answer some of the questions I hear most about MinistryWatch, including why and how we do what we do. Listen here.
