MinistryWatch Podcast

MinistryWatch has published more than 30,000 words about ACNA in the past five years, and many of those words have come from Kathryn Post. Kathryn Post is a reporter for RNS and she has done a great job covering a number of controversies in the young and growing denomination. Her words have appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, Sojourners, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, and – of course – MinistryWatch. Post joined RNS full-time in 2021. She holds a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School and bachelor’s degrees in writing and political science from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

Every year, for the past six years, I have presented a forward-looking, three-year strategic plan to the board of directors of MinistryWatch. That plan has not always been perfect. In fact, it has never been perfect. Circumstances change. New funding sources become available, or they dry up. Opportunities and barriers arise. These annual exercises in strategic planning have made real to me a lesson from a 1957 speech by President Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”  One of the values of a plan is that it produces accountability. A plan is a commitment to accomplish certain things in the year ahead, or at least to attempt them. Plans keep us from wandering. They keep us focused. That’s why I enjoy the planning process, and it’s one reason I want to share certain aspects of our plans for 2026 with you today. I cannot promise you we will accomplish everything in our plan, but I can promise you these are the things I will focus on this year—and I believe they will make MinistryWatch more effective, and will help make you a more faithful steward of the resources God has entrusted to you. Expansion of the MinistryWatch 1000 Database. Six years ago, we had less than 500 ministries in our database. Today we have about 1,350 ministries, representing more than $51 billion in annual revenue. The vast majority of our readers tell us they use this database to help them make giving decisions. A third of our readers say they have changed their giving decisions based on the information in our database. That’s real impact, and we want to see that impact grow. Therefore, our goal is to expand our database to 2,000 ministries by the end of 2026. We believe our database is what truly differentiates us from other investigative journalism and “watchdog” organizations, and we intend to “lean in” to that unique asset in 2026.  Increased Use of Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become all the rage. But MinistryWatch has been using some primitive forms of AI for years. The algorithms of our database and rating systems utilize the principles of AI. We believe that AI presents ethical and practical considerations, but they are considerations journalists have already been dealing with for years — issues such as attribution, plagiarism, and fact-checking. So we are not afraid of AI, and we intend to use it more in the year ahead. We have already developed an AI assessment tool, and we recently published our first story using an AI assist. The growth of AI is inevitable. Using it will not be an option. Our goal will be to use it well and responsibly.  Personalized Giving Portfolio. We hope to roll out this year a new capability in our database, and that is the ability to customize your giving portfolio. You will soon be able to create your own list of ministries — ministries you want to follow, or ministries to which you currently give — and you will receive email notifications of any change in their ratings. We plan to build an app that will allow you to carry this capability around on your smartphone.  Podcast Improvements. I love podcasts, but one of the things I have noticed is that podcasts are everywhere. Worldwide, there are now more than 4 million active podcasts. I’m guessing that you, like me, are getting pickier about what you listen to. I now subscribe to a lot of podcasts, but I don’t listen to every episode. That said, I continue to subscribe because I still listen to every second or third episode, and it costs me nothing to skip an episode I’m not interested in. That’s why in 2026 MinistryWatch will be producing more episodes. Last year we published about 120 episodes. This year we hope to publish 135 to 150 episodes. You might not like them all, but if you are a regular listener, we believe this increase in content will give you more choices. Oh, and no hard feelings if you don’t listen to them all!  More Long Form Print Content. We published nearly 900 stories at MinistryWatch in 2025. In 2026, I don’t expect that number will increase significantly, but we do plan to publish longer pieces. Journalism is supposed to provide the “who, what, where, when, how, and why” for events happening in the world. However, the internet is much better at the “what” than it is at the “why.” Providing the “why” provides judgment, discernment, wisdom. These qualities are in short supply or — even when they exist — are often hard to find amidst the banal, the trivial, and the misinformation. We want MinistryWatch to be a place you can trust not just for the “what,” but for the “how” and “why.” To that end, look for more “explainers” and more “guides to giving” of the kind that we published on sex-trafficking this year. A few things about MinistryWatch won’t change. We remain committed to being independent, free to users, and — most importantly — guided by a biblical understanding of the world. If this sounds attractive to you…c’mon along. I believe 2026 will be an exciting year.  TO OUR LISTENERS: The mission of MinistryWatch is to help Christian donors become more faithful stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. Do you know of a story that will help us fulfill our mission, or do you want to give us feedback about this or any other story? If so, please email us at info@ministrywatch.com. 

On today’s special year-end episode, Natasha Cowden and Warren Smith look at the top 25 stories of the year as voted on by you, the MinistryWatch reader. These are the stories that got the top number of page views for the year. Of course, the number of page views is not the only way to measure the impact of a story. So Warren will be sprinkling in some commentary throughout the episode that we hope will put some of these stories in a larger context. We’ll also talk about a few surprises in this year’s list. For example, the Robert Morris story did not make this list at all. We did a lot of reporting on Robert Morris this year, but the most read story on Morris came in at #48 on our list. Also, the Dave Ramsey story – our number one story — got more than 200,000 page views, which is by far the most page views an individual story has ever gotten here at MinistryWatch. Speaking of numbers, we have some metrics related to MinistryWatch. Our website got four million page views this year. That is by far the most page views we have seen in our 26-year history. I also wanted to mention that Kim Roberts wrote eleven of the 25 stories on this year’s list, and I wanted to commend her for her excellent reporting this year. Christina Darnell, our managing editor, edited every single one of the nearly 900 stories that went on our website this year, and she compiled this year’s Top 25 list. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. To see this complete list, along with links to the original stories, just go to MinistryWatch.com. Until next year, may God bless you.

Because Christmas falls on a Thursday this year, it really cuts into the work schedule of the last two weeks of the year. But we didn’t want to go two full weeks without sharing some content on the podcast. I mean, after all, you can’t watch football non-stop, right? So this week and next we’ll be re-airing a couple of episodes from years past that you may have missed, especially if you are a new listener to the podcast. On today’s program, we’re re-airing a podcast from the summer of 2023 with Rusty and Carol Leonard, the founders of MinistryWatch. I recorded this conversation with them on the occasion of MinistryWatch’s 25th anniversary. We’re now almost two years farther on, but MinistryWatch’s origin story, and Rusty and Carol’s testimony of faithfulness, not to mention God’s faithfulness in sustaining this ministry, are more relevant and – to me – more encouraging than ever. So, with no further introduction, here’s the original podcast episode from June  14, 2023, in its entirety.

Regular readers of MinistryWatch know that I’m a bit of a Ryan Burge fan-boy. His weekly Substack column, “Graphs About Religion,” is required reading for me. I cite it often in my weekly “Signs and Wonders” column. That’s why I’m kind of geeking out today, now that we finally have him on the podcast. The occasion for this get-together is his new book. It’s called The Vanishing Church: How The Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us. I’ve got to admit that when I saw the title of this book, I thought to myself, “I’m not sure the hollowing out of moderate congregations is such a bad thing.” Jesus himself didn’t have much use for lukewarm Christians. But I have to admit that, after reading Ryan’s book, I have – well – moderated my position on moderate congregations. At least…moderately. As you’ll hear, I push back on Ryan’s thesis a bit, and as I think you will also hear, this was a lively and respectful conversation. Ryan Burge is a professor of practice at The Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. He previously taught at Eastern Illinois University. He is the author of several previous books, including his 2023 book The Great Dechurching, which may have been my onramp to Ryan’s work. In addition to writing his weekly Substack column, which I just mentioned, he is also a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, and other publications. He has appeared on CBS News’ flagship program 60 Minutes, and has been cited by countless other news programs, podcasts, and news articles. We had this conversation via zoom. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. If you are listening to this program during the week we dropped it, MERRY CHRISTMAS. Thanks for making MinistryWatch a part of your holiday festivities. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, the judicial commission of the Anglican Church in North America has handed down its long-awaited verdict in the months-long trial of Bishop Stewart Ruch. And that verdict is, “Not Guilty.” We’ll have details. And, International Servants has been making big claims about its decades of ministry work in Belize—but verifying those claims has proven more difficult. We’ll take a look. Plus, Elevation Church—the North Carolina-based megachurch led by Steven Furtick—has announced the launch of Elevation College. But first, St. Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida, has officially voted to leave the Presbyterian Church in America. The church, originally led by Dr. R.C. Sproul, joined the PCA in 2023. It first considered a vote to leave this summer, but delayed the vote while referring the matter to the church’s board of elders, also known as its session, to study the situation and return with a recommendation. Its lead pastor, Burk Parsons, was suspended from his role as a teaching elder in the PCA in June after being found guilty by a church judicial commission of three charges related to, among other things, a “domineering” and “intimidating” leadership style, which included accusations of bullying and slander. 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, Kathryn Post, Jessica Eturralde, and Aaron Earls. A special thanks to Lifeway Research for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

We live in a polarized world today, and one of the hallmarks of that polarization is the tendency to fight what we are against. That’s sometimes necessary, of course. But often fighting what we are against distracts us from clearly understanding and simply saying what we are for. That tendency shows up in our conversations about gender and sexuality. We are pretty good, or at least pretty loud, at saying what we are against, but not as effective at articulating a coherent vision of gender and sexuality that is not merely combative, but also convincing. Elizabeth Urbanowicz understands that our children are watching, and that’s one of the reasons I found her book Helping Your Kids Know God’s Good Design to be so helpful. It’s a book designed for parents – and grandparents – who want to speak into the lives of their children and grandchildren in formative, constructive ways. This book is not a bunch of do’s and don’t’s, but is full of how’s and why’s. I’ve got to confess that I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth Urbanowicz for a few years now. I first met her when I was at the Colson Center. That was probably seven or eight years ago. Her small business, Foundation Worldview, has grown steadily over the past few years, providing curriculum material for Christian schools and homeschoolers. She has a lot of videos and other resources online, and I recommend them to you. We had this conversation via zoom. She spoke to me from her home in Georgia. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, the Department of Justice is suing the founder of Life Surge, Joe Johnson, for his alleged part in a scheme to cheat the government out of over $46 million in taxes through abusive bargain sale transactions. We’ll take a look. And, a new report reveals the final moments of missionaries Alex and Serena Wurm before their plane crashed on a trip to deliver aid to Jamaica. We’ll have details. Plus, two reports that detail reasons for cautious optimism. One shows that the decline of religion in America has stalled. Another, that Christian giving in America is on the rebound. But first, abuse lawsuits are piling up against Pastor Greg Laurie and his Harvest Christian Fellowship, bringing the total number of lawsuits to 12. The original lawsuit was filed in September by two men claiming that Paul Havsgaard abused them at a children’s shelter in Bucharest, Romania. Allegations include children being tied to radiators, being made to kneel down on walnut shells, being touched inappropriately, and being “pimped out” for sex. The number of litigants has now risen to 12. The law firm representing the survivors said in a news release in September that it expects 23 former residents of the children’s home to bring complaints. 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, Tony Mator, Daniel Ritchie, Isaac Wood, Bob Smietana, Jessica Eturralde, and Makella Knowles. Until next time, may God bless you.

We have heard a lot of discussion in the past few years about Christian Nationalism. But for all the talk, the books, and the social media traffic, there’s less clarity than ever around the term. But one of the worst outcomes we have seen amidst this talk has been a dismissal of what my guest today, Daniel Darling, calls Christian patriotism. While Dan Darling rejects what is often a virulent and anti-Christian version of Christian Nationalism, he writes in a new book that patriotism isn’t optional for Christians. He explains that God himself defines the time and place in which we live and gave us a command to love our neighbors. Loving our country and getting involved in the political, social, cultural, and civic lives of our nation are essential duties. Dan Darling is uniquely qualified to talk about these issues. He is a pastor and the author of several books, including The Dignity Revolution, which is one that had a big impact on me. He currently serves as the director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a fellow at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is also a columnist for WORLD Magazine and a contributor to USA Today. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s EXTRA episode, MinistryWatch President Warren Smith explains our Donor Confidence Score and answers some of the most frequently asked questions about the DCS and about the MinistryWatch 1000 database. Some of the links mentioned in today’s program include: You can find the ministry you’re looking for by clicking here. A growing number of Christian ministries do not file a Form 990. I have written about this trend here. We welcome feedback from donors and ministry leaders regarding individual ministry ratings, or regarding our overall rating system. We have made adjustments over the years based on this feedback. If you have comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at wsmith@ministrywatch.com