Transparency Grade falls to "F"; Reiterates call for new leadership
Contact: Warren Smith, MinistryWatch.com, 800-930-6949 x 711
MATTHEWS, N.C., April 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- MinistryWatch.com has issued a Donor Alert on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), lowering its Transparency Grade to "F", because of TBN's continued questionable financial practices and due to its apparent attempt to mislead donors in its response to criticism of TBN's use of donor funds raised by a recent episode of the ABC News program 20/20.
MinistryWatch.com founder Rusty Leonard, CFA, was featured on the 20/20 segment, which aired Mar. 23. During the broadcast, 20/20 highlighted TBN's failure to fully disclose its financial information and its lavish spending for the benefit of TBN's leadership. The Donor Alert provides a detailed rebuttal to TBN's flawed response to the 20/20 segment, and reiterates MinistryWatch.com's call for the current leadership of TBN to step down and be replaced with an independent commission of respected Christian leaders.
TBN's press release contained numerous inaccuracies and resorted to unsubstantiated name-calling of its critics. MinistryWatch.com's Donor Alert seeks to inform donors about these distortions so that donors might not be confused by TBN's response. The Donor Alert rebuts TBN's contention about 20/20 misrepresenting the facts, answers its statement that 20/20 used unreliable sources of information, refutes TBN's claims of MinistryWatch.com theological bias and addresses TBN's questionable assertions about its financial transparency and accountability. Furthermore, it responds to Paul Crouch's quote contained in the 20/20 program that TBN's critics just want Christians to be poor.
This Donor Alert can be found by clicking on this link: www.ministrywatch.com/mw2.1/pdf/MWDA_041607_TBN2.pdf
In the days immediately following the airing of the 20/20 program, traffic to MinistryWatch.com increased from 4,000 user sessions per day to almost 80,000 user sessions per day as donors, hungry for unbiased information on Christian ministries they support prepared from an independent perspective, became more aware of the free information available to them on MinistryWatch.com.
"We're gratified that both the media and the public continue to be interested in our work to help donors," said Leonard. "It's our prayer that the recent increased interest will result in Christians becoming more effective stewards of the money God has entrusted to them. There is no reason that even one penny of the Lord's money should be diverted to store up worldly wealth for ministry leadership that has forgotten the Lord's teaching about the dangers of wealth and greed. It's our further prayer that MinistryWatch.com will help people see that true Christian ministry service is not about money, power, and material possessions as seen in a very visible, yet fortunately few, ministries. We are happy to report, however, that the vast majority of Christian ministries operate with integrity, humility and faithfulness thereby bringing honor and glory to our Lord."
