Ep. 403: Hurricane Helene Relief, Barnabas Aid, Ethnos 360

MinistryWatch Podcast

On today’s program,, Christian ministries are on the forefront of relief efforts as cities in Western North Carolina grapple with loss after Hurricane Helene. We’ll take a look.

And, a Georgia congregation locked out of their own building after splitting from its parent church. We’ll have details.

Plus, the missions organization Ethnos 360 faces a lawsuit after a victim alleges that another missionary child abused her…and the ministry is continuing to allow the perpetrator access to other children.

But first, the United Kingdom has launched an investigation into Barnabas Aid.

The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Bob Smietana, Tony Mator, Brittany Smith—and you, Warren.

Until next time, may God bless you.

MANUSCRIPT

FIRST SEGMENT

Warren:

Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Christina:

And I’m Christina Darnell, in for Natasha Cowden, also coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina. And we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast.

Warren:

On today’s program, Christian ministries are on the forefront of relief efforts as cities in Western North Carolina grapple with loss after Hurricane Helene. We’ll take a look.

And, a Georgia congregation locked out of their own building after splitting from its parent church. We’ll have details.

Plus, the missions organization Ethnos360 faces a lawsuit after a victim alleges that another missionary child abused her…and the ministry is continuing to allow the perpetrator access to other children.

Christina:

But first, the United Kingdom has launched an investigation into Barnabas Aid.

Warren:

Barnabas Aid — also known as Barnabas Fund, which aids persecuted Christians — is being investigated by the Charity Commission in the United Kingdom. On Sept. 17, the commission opened a statutory inquiry into the ministry based on allegations of a “£15m ($20 million) hole in the finances of its global network,”

Christina:

Additionally, Barnabas Aid is almost three months late in filing its latest financial accounts, according to the Charity Commission’s website.

Warren:

In August, Patrick Sookdheo, founder of Barnabas Aid, was suspended from his role in the organization due to concerns about financial mismanagement and a toxic work culture.

Noel Frost served as chief executive of the international organization, according to the Church Times. He also was removed from his position earlier this year due to allegations of misconduct and financial impropriety.

A Barnabas spokesperson told The Telegraph the investigation is ongoing, and “if it reveals that there has been any financial wrongdoing, then we are committed to recovering it.”

Christina:

Barnabas Aid has offices in several countries, including the United States, and also has an international office called Nexcus International.

Warren:

Nexcus was previously called Christian Relief International (CRI), but the name was changed to enable Barnabas Aid to “provide aid to countries where Christianity is prohibited,” according to Barnabas Aid USA CEO Jeremy Frith.

A letter dated August 14 by self-described interim international chief executive of Nexcus, Colin Bloom, said an independent investigation has found “serious and repeated contraventions of internal policies” and had brought “evidence of serious financial impropriety” to light.

According to the Barnabas Aid website, Nexcus (formerly CRI) serves as the international office for all Barnabas Aid ministries worldwide. Nexcus is registered in the US, but has an office in the UK.

Christina:

Our next story hits close to home for us, Warren.

In North Carolina, our neighbors to the west of Charlotte are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and Christian ministries are on the front lines.

Warren:

In the days since Hurricane Helene swept through mostly rural areas of nine states, Kevin King, executive director of Mennonite Disaster Service, has been working to make plans for how to best respond, despite spotty phone service due to downed cell towers and roads and bridges that have been washed out or blocked by fallen trees.

On Tuesday (Oct. 1), King was cheered as disaster relief workers from Mennonite communities around Ohio and Pennsylvania arrived outside Asheville, North Carolina, with chainsaws and earth-moving equipment to help clear the back roads as government services focus on main thoroughfares as well as search and rescue. “It’s good to hear sounds of chainsaws bringing hope,” he said.

Six more Mennonite heavy equipment operators are expected to start work Wednesday, bringing the total volunteers on site to about 30.

Christina:

And they’re not the only ones providing relief

Warren:

Other groups, such as Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and Samaritan’s Purse, have also been active in North Carolina.

Tom Beam, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief’s director for North Carolina, reported that volunteers are working in eight counties in that state.

Water Mission, a South Carolina-based engineering nonprofit that helps supply clear water around the world, has staff that live in storm-affected areas. In response, the nonprofit, which has recently begun doing disaster relief in the U.S., sent six water filtration systems and 175 generators to affected areas.

Christina:

And World Vision is active there too.

Warren:

That’s right, World Vision, has been sending truckloads of water as well as muck-out kits, generators, phone chargers, blankets, coolers and blankets to Florida and North Carolina. Reed Slattery, national director for U.S. programs at World Vision, said the supplies are being distributed from local churches, such as St. John Baptist in Arden, North Carolina, just south of Asheville.

“Our goal is to get supplies to the whole region,” said Slattery, who will head to the Southeast later this week to assess additional needs.

Christina:

Next, A big win for Pregnancy Centers in New York

Warren:

Pregnancy resource centers (PRC) in New York will continue offering abortion pill reversal assistance after they won a preliminary injunction in federal district court last week.

Summit Life Center and Evergreen Association — doing business as EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers — won an injunction preventing New York Attorney General Letitia James from enforcing New York statutes against them to keep them from informing the public about Abortion Pill Reversal (APR), its safety, and its effectiveness.

Christina:

The injunction will remain in place until the underlying lawsuit is fully resolved.

Warren:

According the federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the pregnancy centers by the Thomas More Society, James began threatening PRCs and the national Abortion Pill Reversal Network in April with notices-of-intent-to-sue, claiming that “recipients’ truthful noncommercial statements about APR constituted commercial fraud under two state statutes.”

James threatened to silence the promotion of APR, but not the procedure itself.

They filed a lawsuit to defend their free speech, free exercise, and due process rights to continue speaking about APR.

Thomas More Society Vice President Peter Breen said in a press statement, “This injunction marks a critical victory for New York’s pregnancy help organizations.”

Christina:

Warren, let’s look at one more story before we take our first break,

Warren:

A missions agency that has faced allegations of historical abuse within its ranks is now being sued by an alleged victim.

Ethnos360, formerly New Tribes Mission, is being sued by a minor female, identified in the lawsuit as A.W., and her parents George Grant Whidden and Tracey Whidden in the 18^th Judicial Circuit Court in Seminole County, Florida. The plaintiffs reside in Florida, and the Ethnos360 headquarters is located there.

The lawsuit says AW was abused by another child while they were living at a missionary training center, but that neither Ethnos nor Missouri authorities, where the training center was, took adequate steps to investigate.

Ethnos360 did not reply to a request for comment before the time of publication.

Christina:

Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, deaf people have been gathering at a Dallas-area church for 40 years to worship in their own service.

I’m Christina Darnell, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and we’ll have that story and much more, after this short break.

BREAK

SECOND SEGMENT

Christina:

Welcome back. I’m Christina Darnell, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch podcast.

Next, the story we promised before the break, the deaf community is considered by some to be one of the most unreached people groups in the world.

Warren:

In 1981, Terry and Cindy Heidecker, both of whom are deaf, began the ministry to provide an opportunity for deaf members of the community to worship in a way that is more familiar to them rather than having to adjust to a service geared toward the hearing.

Legacy offers Bible classes and a worship service in sign language, with interpretation for those who are hearing. The worship service is also streamed online for those who are homebound.

Christina:

According to the U.S. Census, at least 13% of the population is deaf or experiences some kind of hearing loss. And yet, this group remains one of groups that is considered most unreached with the Gospel.

Warren:

McTee encourages more churches to pick up the mantle of outreach to the deaf. He acknowledges that it comes with challenges, but says it will be worth it. Challenges include a lack of ministers who are deaf nor enough qualified American Sign Language interpreters.

Legacy is trying to increase its outreach to the deaf in the surrounding community, especially

children and teens. They have started hosting a deaf festival in early November with food and games.

They want to reach the whole family by showing the parents that Legacy is a safe, caring place for their children where they can learn more about God.

Christina:

Next up, a Georgia congregation is locked out of its building after a church split.

Warren:

On Sept. 25, the pastors of Winder Church (formerly War Hill South) found themselves locked out of their own sanctuary in Winder, Georgia.

The move to have the locks changed came, they said, without warning, but was not entirely unexpected.

Christina:

Why is that?

Warren:

Five months prior, the small satellite campus, which draws an average of 45 people on a typical Sunday, had disassociated from its parent organization, War Hill Church, due to a string of scandals previously covered by MinistryWatch, including an alleged robbery cover-up and abusive treatment of PTA moms.

Associate Pastor Johnny Hicks from Winder Church, told MinistryWatch that War Hill never formally asked the Winder congregation to vacate the building, and no eviction notice was posted. Hicks also raised questions about the use of funds by War Hill.

Christina:

So what’s next for Winder Church?

Warren:

Though Winder Church is currently a flock without a home or an alternate plan to obtain one, Price has no regrets.

“Winder Church, we counted the cost and paid it,” Price posted Thursday on social media. “If any one of you has been helped by this, it was worth it! Setting our eyes on what God has in store for us! No turning back, no turning back.”

War Hill Church did not respond to requests from MinistryWatch for comment.

Christina:

Next, Protestia Founder J.D. Hall has been found guilty of embezzlement.

Warren:

Two years after losing his pulpit and popular polemics ministry due to “serious sin,” J.D. Hall has been found guilty of embezzling his former church, Fellowship Baptist Church (FBC) in Sidney, Montana.

A deferred sentencing agreement filed Sept. 10 in Richland County District Court requires Hall to pay $15,454 to FBC to restore funds he misused while serving as its pastor.

If Hall complies with all the requirements of the plea agreement over the next three years, the felony embezzlement verdict will be wiped from his record. Those requirements also include reporting to a probation officer, abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and honoring a ban on weapons ownership.

Christina:

Warren, we’re going to take another break. When we return, our lightning round of ministry news of the week.

I’m Christina Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith. More in a moment.

BREAK

THIRD SEGMENT

Christina:

Welcome back. I’m Christina Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch Podcast.

Warren, we like to use this last segment as a sort of lightning round of shorter news briefs.

What’s up first?

Warren:

In July 2021, Spoken Worldwide announced it had launched a three-year program with the Seed Company to provide 20 Bible translation projects for language groups whose primary means of communication is oral, not written.

As of March 2024, all of the 20 languages have been chosen and the translation projects started, according to Ed Weaver, president and CEO of Spoken Worldwide.

Weaver told MinistryWatch a number of the projects are taking place in countries that are hostile to the Gospel and thus cannot be revealed, but he named several others including Nigeria, Ghana, South Sudan, Zambia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

To determine which languages it chose for oral translations, Spoken used The All Access List from Every Tribe Every Nation—a list of those without a Bible of any kind in their heart language.

Weaver said he expects that the New Testament equivalent of the first four translations will be completed by 2026.

Christina:

And what’s our next story?

Warren:

It’s a new month, and we have a new list.

We have a list of the 50 largest evangelism and discipleship ministries, according to the MinistryWatch database.

We typically see little movement among the top ministries on this year’s list. Cru is so much larger than the others, so it has been in the number one spot for the five years we have been publishing this list.

However, number two Young Life continues to grow significantly, though its rate of growth slowed from the dramatic $100 million growth spurt it showed last year. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes also increased by $20 million, or more than 10 percent from the previous year.

We also see seven new ministries on this year’s list. They are Crossway/Good News Publishers (20), Orange/The Rethink Group (25), Josiah Venture (32), Revival Today (45), Community Bible Study (46), Cadence International (48), New Song Ministries (49), and Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex (50).

That means, of course, a like number of ministries fell off the list. They include Anabaptist Foundation, Mennonite Brethren Foundation, Operation Mobilization, Tim Tebow Foundation, Crown Financial Ministries, Institute for Creation Research, and Youth for Christ International.

You can see the complete list at MinistryWatch.com

Christina:

And who is in our Ministry Spotlight this week?

Warren:

Kairos Prison Ministry. We focused on this ministry because it has dropped out of the ECFA. The nonprofit also does not release its Form 990s to the public.

In light of the organization’s ECFA membership change and lack of 990 information, Kairos now has a MinistryWatch Donor Confidence Score of 48, an “Exercise Caution” designation.

While the organization does make some audited financial statements available on its website, these statements don’t provide the full scope of financial information a 990 would, like the salaries of its board members and executives.

According to its 2023 audited financial statement, Kairos had revenue of $6.8 million.

Kairos declined to provide a comment for the story.

Christina:

And who did we highlight in Ministries Making a Difference?

Warren:

Samaritan’s Purse has committed to donate an additional 20 armored ambulances to Israel’s emergency services system in honor of three American Israeli men killed by Hamas. This is on top of the 22 ambulances and two medic stations already committed. Samaritan’s Purse is also deploying tractor trailers with disaster relief supplies to five U.S. cities hit hard by Hurricane Helene.

Trail Life, a Christ-centered scouting program that aims to “grow godly men,” continues to see a massive growth surge in new members after Boy Scouts of America changed its name to Scouting America back in May. This fall, as students head back to school and Trail Life gears up for a new season, 5,000 new members have joined the ranks, eclipsing the ministry’s 60,000-member mark. Trail Life is one of our top rated ministries, with a donor confidence score of 98.

Christina:

Warren, any final thoughts before we go?

Warren:

Webinar: October 24. Understanding MinistryWatch’s Rating System.

Christina:

The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Bob Smietana, Tony Mator, Brittany Smith—and you, Warren.

I’m Christina Darnell, in Charlotte, North Carolina, in for Natasha Cowden this week.

Warren:

And I’m Warren Smith, also in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Christina:

You’ve been listening to the MinistryWatch podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.