Public documents show Samaritan’s Purse has spent hundreds of millions less than it raised in recent years and has amassed assets exceeding a billion dollars. This massive reserve is raising red flags among nonprofit experts and charity watchdogs. They say nonprofit groups are supposed to use their funds to fund their mission, not fill their bank accounts.
According to Samaritan’s Purse’s IRS Form 990 for 2020, the organization brought in $894 million in total revenue in the 2020 fiscal year and spent only $670 million—a $224 million difference.
In 2021, the difference was starker. The organization headed by Billy Graham’s son, Franklin Graham, brought in over a billion dollars, according to its audited financial statements. But Samaritan’s Purse spent just $715 million—almost $300 million less than it received.
The audited financials also show Samaritan’s Purse ended 2021 with over $1.2 billion in net assets. Nearly half of that was in cash or cash equivalents.
Andy Rowell, a ministry leadership professor at Bethel Seminary, recently called attention to the organization’s apparent profits on Twitter.
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Oh wow. Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse (a "non-profit organization") made $224,339,099 in 2020 in profit (Revenue less expenses"). $224 million. https://t.co/Ru0cV14LeV pic.twitter.com/xZWuMIcrAW
— Andy Rowell (@AndyRowell) June 21, 2022
In an interview with The Roys Report, Rowell said, “I think I would, as a donor, want to know—how is it that there are emergencies all the time that are crucial in our world and you’ve seen fit to save that much money?”
Rowell said he is not an accountant. But he’s followed Samaritan’s Purse for a few years and believes there’s a pattern of spending a lot less than it brings in.
Howard “Rusty” Leonard, a finance expert who founded watchdog group MinistryWatch, noted that Samaritan’s Purse has “a profit margin that rivals the best companies.”
“It seems like they’re bringing in money faster than they’ve been able to figure out a way to spend,” Leonard added.
He suggested the ministry may have budgeted based on conservative expectations of how much the organization would raise, then beat those expectations handily.
A spokesman for Samaritan’s Purse, Mark Barber, declined to say why leaders thought donations had grown, or whether large or small donations were most responsible for the increase.
But in response to questions from The Roys Report, Barber provided an emailed statement from Samaritan’s Purse Chief Operating Officer Ron Wilcox, who thanked God for the financial resources the organization had gathered.
“When a disaster or crisis hits, devastating a population, we may be working and serving in that region for months, years, or decades,” Wilcox said in the statement.
“It would be unrealistic, unwise, and poor stewardship to expend funds in haste all in one year versus long-term, quality impact over a period of months or years as the needs evolve and various phases of the crisis response develop.”
This is not the first time Samaritan’s Purse has been criticized for the way it handles money, though previous controversy has centered on the salary of the group’s CEO Franklin Graham.
In 2014, Graham received total compensation of $889,000 for leading two nonprofits—his father’s namesake ministry, the Billy Graham Evangelical Association (BGEA), and Samaritan’s Purse. Franklin Graham received $259,000 from the BGEA in 2014 and an additional $630,000 from Samaritan’s Purse.
Franklin Graham’s current combined salary is unknown because the BGEA stopped publishing IRS form 990s in 2015. Last year, Graham received $740,000 from Samaritan’s Purse alone.
Graham also has garnered criticism for his vocal support of former President Donald Trump and his role in suppressing Naghmeh Panahi’s story of her husband’s abuse.
Gift box program dwarfs disaster relief efforts
Though Samaritan’s Purse funds many disaster relief efforts, the nonprofit spends the most money on its annual Operation Christmas Child (OCC). This program gathers Christmas gifts to distribute to children worldwide.
In 2021, Samaritan’s Purse spent $313 million — or just over half of its total ministry spending— on Operation Christmas Child, its audited statements show.
OCC shipped out more than 10.5 million gift boxes to children around the world in 2021. About 9.1 million of those were collected in the U.S.
The suggested donation to cover shipping costs increased from $7 to $9 per shoebox in 2017, remaining $9 through 2021. It increased again to $10 this year amid skyrocketing shipping costs worldwide.
In contrast, Samaritan’s Purse spent $126 million on disaster relief efforts in 2021 and another $43 million on medical ministry.
Revenues for Samaritan’s Purse were around $700 million for several years before jumping dramatically in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organization provided field hospitals in Italy and New York City that year, among other pandemic-related efforts.
Samaritan’s Purse spent about $50 million on medical ministry in 2020 and another $116 million on emergency relief, according to that year’s audited financials. It spent $285 million on Operation Christmas Child in the same year.
Funding the mission or filling bank accounts?
Spending less than an organization takes in isn’t necessarily a bad thing, according to a scholar who researches nonprofit finances. But keeping too much on hand can mean the organization isn’t doing what it’s supposed to.
“For us, the question is, is the organization fulfilling their mission?” said Cleopatra Charles, a Rutgers University associate professor with a PhD in public policy and administration. Speaking broadly about general nonprofit practices, she said that “having all this idle cash just sitting around is not going toward fulfilling (an organization’s) mission.”
And while nonprofits were worried in 2020 that the COVID-19 pandemic would imperil them, Charles said she has heard from several that actually ended up better off financially than they were pre-pandemic.
In general, nonprofits should have enough reserves to cover three to six months’ worth of expenses, Charles said. “Anything larger than six months kind of raises a red flag for me.”
The 2021 financial statements for Samaritan’s Purse show enough cash assets to fund the organization for nine months. (Two-thirds of those assets are donor-restricted, though.) The investments of Samaritan Purse could fund the organization for another five months.
Leonard said having more than six months’ reserve isn’t that unusual among Christian organizations, and some, like the American Bible Society, have much more.
But if Charles saw a big reserve in an organization’s financials, she said she would look further to see whether something unusual that happened that year—or if it was a pattern over several years.
“If it’s something that’s happening consistently, then I would wonder, should they be putting more money into programs, should they be doing more stuff?” Charles said.
Form 990 filings and audited statements are publicly available on the IRS website and from Samaritan’s Purse. They show a pattern of the group spending significantly less than it raises for the past seven years.
The 2020 financials for Samaritan’s Purse show it took in over $221 million more than it spent that year. And previous Form 990s show Samaritan’s Purse raising millions more than it raised every year from 2016-2019. Surpluses ranged anywhere from $28 million to $189 million for each of those years.
Samaritan’s Purse is accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). Jake Lapp, ECFA’s vice president of member accountability, didn’t answer whether the ECFA knew about the size of Samaritan’s Purse’s assets. But Lapp told TRR in an email that the ECFA doesn’t prescribe how big a ministry’s cash balance should be.
Lapp stated that the ECFA requires its members to “establish reasonable procedures to ensure that all ministry funds are used in conformity with applicable laws and regulations and to fulfill the organization’s exempt purposes.”
The size of a ministry’s cash reserves “can be dependent upon several variables, including the nature of the ministry and cash with donor-imposed restrictions,” Lapp noted.
Comparing Samaritan’s Purse to other Christian charities
Samaritan’s Purse COO Ron Wilcox argued that running a global relief organization “is different than almost any other nonprofit” when it comes to budgeting and reserve funds. Expenses at many nonprofits are fixed, he stated, so half a year’s reserve would make sense elsewhere. In contrast, he said, reserve funds allow the organization to respond quickly in emergencies.
Wilcox stated that leadership of Samaritan’s Purse believes “it would be irresponsible, in such uncertain times, to maintain only a three- to six-month operating reserve.”
Over the years, Rowell has compared Samaritan’s Purse to two other large evangelical organizations with a similar mission—Compassion International and World Vision.
Compassion International is known for pairing sponsors with individual children in poverty. World Vision carries out a variety of global humanitarian relief efforts. Leonard said it was fair to compare them with Samaritan’s Purse.
Neither of the other two organizations has massive assets, Rowell pointed out. And they rarely take in much more than they spend.
Compassion International’s most recent audited statements show that organization received over a billion dollars of revenue in both fiscal years 2020 and 2021. It spent about that much both years and ended fiscal year 2021 with $363 million in net assets. That’s less than a third of the net assets of Samaritan’s Purse.
Financial disclosures for World Vision showed it spent about as much as it received in fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021. And it ended fiscal year 2021 with about $310 million in net assets.
Samaritan’s Purse also pays its CEO, Franklin Graham, at least $200,000 more than both World Vision and Compassion International pay their top executives. Compassion paid its CEO, Santiago Mellado, $477,000 in total compensation for 2019. World vision paid its CEO, Edgar Sandoval, $524,000 in 2020.
Barber, the spokesman for Samaritan’s Purse, did not respond to questions about Graham’s salary from Samaritan’s Purse and the BGEA.
Board members have family on staff
Rowell also noted that just nine of the 16 board members for Samaritan’s Purse are independent.
Franklin Graham is on the board, as are his son Roy Graham and his daughter Jane “Cissie” Austin Lynch. Several other board members, including Liberty University President Jerry Prevo, also have relatives working for Samaritan’s Purse.
At the Restore Conference last month, MinistryWatch President Warren Cole Smith said board members “should not have financial or familial arrangements with the organization they are governing.”
Similarly, the ECFA states that nonprofit boards should be comprised of predominantly independent members. A slim majority of Samaritan’s Purse board members are independent.
ECFA confirmed by email that Samaritan’s Purse complies with the ECFA’s standard for board governance.
Sarah Einselen is an award-winning writer and editor based in Texas.
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70 thoughts on “Samaritan’s Purse Amasses Over a Billion Dollars in Assets, Raising Red Flags”
Non-profits don’t have any profits. They don’t have profit margin. They don’t “make” money contrary to what Andy Rowell posted.
If their income exceeds their revenue, it is saved and has to be spent in the future.
Churches can do the same thing. They can save whatever contributions exceed their expenses and then use the money years down the road to repave their parking lot, remodel, build a new facility or make a large gift to another ministry or missionary.
When you are obedient to God like Samaritan purse is the floodgates of heaven will be poured upon you
AMEN
They have millions, yet they constantly ask for donations from people like me who live on a fixed income, knowing we will give.
There’s a lot of money floating around anything connected with international relief just because of the nature of the beast. And money tends to draw people whose motivations may be suspect.
That said, Jesus said something about how “the workman shall be worthy of his hire”, Luke 10:7.
As for nepotism, ask Peter and Andrew and James and John how much of a problem He had working with siblings. Matthew 10:2.
I’d be willing to bet that, even allowing for pilferage, waste, incompetence and malfeasance, they probably accomplish more good with that money than the government does when they try to help.
There is a guy down in Egypt. Not sure if his last name, but he’s a pretty big deal.
Claims to have been wrongfully imprisoned, and have dreams from God.
Anyway, this guy, Joseph, he like Samaritans Purse has been stockpiling donations for seven years as well.
I think there is something fishy going on. Julie and team should look into it.
Concerned in Cairo
Why give to Franky Graham???
You have local food pantries, The Salvation Army, etc.
https://wthrockmorton.com/2018/01/21/samaritans-purse-loses-erick-ericksons-recommendation/
Who cares if they have more than what they are giving out. Could it be that they are being cautious and frugal on how they spend God’s money. If I won the lottery, does that mean I am to go out and spend it all the next day or ask God how He would like me to use His money?
If you won the lottery, I’d be more concerned about why you’re gambling. With that said, most who do win the lottery, lose it all.
I still can’t hear Franklin Graham’s name without thinking about Nagmeh. Of all the podcasts Julie has released, those two were some of the most haunting.
Disclaimer: Franklin Graham still makes me super nervous after Nagmeh’s story.
However, since my comment above I did a little research because I’m somewhat of an aerospace fan. SP just purchased a 757 in March, and have a posting for a pilot https://careers.samaritanspurse.org/jobs/8297282-ministry-pilot-greensboro-nc
It’s a full-time job with ‘frequent travel.’ I find it humorous the pilot, with 5,000 min hrs, preferably in a similar type rating, will maintain the lavatory! I wonder if Franklin cleans his own bathroom? But I digress.
The takeaway is SP are planning a major logistics expansion. This more than doubles their cargo capacity. Their existing DC-8 is fitted with, I think, considerable seating that eats into the 42,000 lb payload. I don’t think it’s economical to fly regularly for pure cargo. The 757-200 they purchased has 57,000lb payload. Unless they fit it with considerable seating, this looks more like a working plane than their other one.
I know they’re not going to do 1.2 billion in cargo transport all of a sudden, but there has to be some kind of plan here.
I have had friends ( doctors) who have worked with Samaritan’s Purse and have nothing but good things to say about it. They are always in the news getting to disasters faster than almost anyone else so that probably helps them get donations. Spending money , especially that much WISELY probably is hard to do without looking like your wasting it. I think Franklin Grahams compensation is okay with an organization that large and I don’t know how much he himself donates so I am okay with that personally
As a life-long accountant may I make a suggestion? When presenting masses of financial information like this you would communicate far more effectively with your readers if you took the time to convert your data into some sort of organized layout … a spreadsheet, graphs, etc. People who do not work with numbers for a living are simply not going to process paragraph after paragraph of semi-connected information in any meaningful way.
**I don’t believe it is the case here**, but in fact presenting data in this manner is a favourite technique of people who have a agenda that isn’t supported by the data they are using. Denouncing bank profits is a classic example … massive numbers are sprinkled all through a news release with (deliberately) no relevant connections or comparisons, completely ignoring the fact that a $4 billion profit for financial institution may represent either an obscene profit or a barely break even year depending on the size of the institution.
More tables … more (honest!) graphs … more readers who come away with a clearer understanding of what are the areas of concern and the magnitude of the issues!
I am not as alarmed by the percentage of money spent since I wouldn’t want them to spend just for the sake of spending. That being said if this has been a pattern it probably is an issue. What does concern me is the low number of independent board members as well as Franklin’s income and the employment of his family. I also find it interesting when a charity hides the compensation of its executives. Just my personal opinion but I think that should be a red flag for anyone who is considering giving to that charity.
In the 70s I was on a board of a denomination in my state. I am pleased to report that the highest salary paid was at the level of a four-year minister. That applied to everyone in a ministry related role including the principal (president) of our college. People in professional roles got paid a reasonable professional equivalent, so not at the top or the bottom for their delivered skill, just ‘reasonable’.
On this basis the CEO of a Christian charity would be pulling in about $250k. Sounds reasonable to me.
OTOH, if they are looking for places to spend $, small coal fired power stations to save the poor from having to burn dung for cooking fuel would be great ‘energy justice’.
I see opinion, suggestion and innuendo in this piece. But I don’t see any reporting on a known ministry lapse or malfeasance. If you want to follow and research Samaritan’s purse because you hold a possible concern for their governance, please do. Then, when a documented problem is evident, publish. This piece strikes me as a slight against a ministry that has done immeasurable good for many years.
There’s no innuendo, just documented facts and analysis by experts.
While this reply sounds like fact. But fact is, it is also missing a lot of other facts; like how much reserve do you need to prepare a deployment of a field hospital to places no one wants to go? Being a good steward also means not to spend it just for the sake of spending.
Your response sounds like you take this factual reporting as an affront. Ministries need accountability.
If you believe SP has done immeasurable good and wish to see that continue, some of this reporting should be of interest. In the Twitter thread linked in the article, it’s highlighted that in addition to Franklin’s salary of $740k, his daughter makes $140k and son makes $190k. And all three of their spouses are on payroll, too, with lower salaries. As noted, the board has become less independent, rather than more independent.
The more money is at stake, the more serious nepotism and even the appearance of it should be taken.
Peter wrote in his 2nd epistle the profile of a wolf
1. They will make merchandise of you ! (Fleece you , you’re wool and you’re pocket book for sheer profit )
2. They will bring in damnable doctrines of devils making money as a symbol of spiritual success
3. They speak great swelling words that produce nothing clouds without rain wells without water
4. They will never call out false prophets but endorse them for they are one of them
5. They live far above the average sheep and they are inaccessible . Celebrity types living large
6. They love the praises of men better than praises of God
7. They use Christ’s Name to promote their Names and lime light
These are they that profit off free will offerings in the form of a non profit but secretly sift the cream off the top for their own self gain
These are they Peter warned of that were predestined before they were born to a damnable end
READ ALL OF 2 Peter
Reminds me of the old Scrooge McDuck comic book. He had a money bin, with three cubic acres of money.
It’s people like Graham that are driving others away from Christianity! He’s obviously not really concerned about giving just getting for himself and his kids. I wonder what they’re getting paid? The government ought to set a standard for so called nonprofits Staff and CEOs. I’d say 100 k should be plenty considering a family of 4 in the US makes 50 k!!! Why would anyone give to this so called Charity when Graham is using it to enrich himself and his family! LHes not his father’s son!!!!
I’m OK with them sitting on large reserves if they’re going to be used wisely in the future. I’m not OK with them then saying funds are needed urgently (I hope this is not the case, but it was with GfA)
I’m very OK with less action on the ground in 2020-21 because Covid stopped international travel.
I’m not OK with them paying FG the big $$$. I can’t remember the details of how SP took over what became OCC from the original org doing it, but that didn’t sound good at the time either.
Hoarding money is evil and as Ezekiel said: 7:19 ‘They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.’
Churches obviously need to ensure cash is available for immediate bills and a few month’s expected bills but as GOD will provide and their congregations and supporters will proved there is no need ot hoard money.
Franklin Graham paying himself such great sums is just evil.
For a ‘donor-supported’ ministry to have accumulated that amount of assets/reserves and Graham’s salary alone should raise some serious fiscal questions! Two reasons I do not and will not support this ministry. They do not need my money!
I just can’t get over Graham’s salary. Last I knew it was over $600,000 a year. Seems a bit excessive.
Calling it a bit excessive was being kind. Sense Franklin is a multimillionaire already I’d call it down right greedy!!!
Since they seem to be so well-endowed, I would love to see them funnel some of their money to increased efforts to take care of our children. Just one idea: programs that teach parents how to raise healthy children well to prevent mental health issues. So important, in light of the fact that the rights of gun-ownership seem to be more and more supported by the latest Supreme Court decision. Maybe this doesn’t fit with their mission statement, but since many folks seem to attribute gun violence to mental-health issues, let’s start with this one root cause. So many who become parents are wounded themselves and poorly equipped to raise a child
Of course, lest it appear I support the idea that only mental health issues are responsible for all the gun violence, I have to add that I am deeply concerned about the weapons of war that people are allowed to own. Automatic weapons with large clips of ammunition were designed to kill multiple people in a few minutes, even seconds. These were inconceivable when the constitution was written. Our country needs laws that support responsible gun ownership. I affirm the right of people to own guns, just not weapons that have the potential to kill large amounts of people in minutes. How was the right to life of the children at Sandy Hook and Uvalde Elementary schools protected to not be assassinated in this way? Not to mention the many other victims of AR -15s.
Forgive the digression. In any case, Samaritan’s Purse may be uniquely situated to help with the mental health piece i of the children in this country. Get ready. The numbers of children at risk from poor parenting will only increase since the reversal of Roe.
1st its clear your understanding of law is limited. The changing of roe did not make abortion any more or less legal only kicked it back to states to decide for themselves how much baby killing would be allowed in their area. This allows for smaller groups to decide and make as much abortion as they want possible. If you are pro abortion vote for it and or move to an area like NY or Cali where they live killing babies. If not vote against it and or move to Texas
2nd our 2nd amendment was written very very clearly. It doesn’t say right to muskets. It says right to bear arms and that that right is not to be infringed upon in any way. That’s for good reason. Cause our “duty” is to stand up to tyranny. To oppose a tyrannical govt you must have equal weaponry. There is no need to conceive of future weaponry just not to infringe on our right to bear them.
3rd try reading crime stats before speaking. Most illegal shootings/murders are done with pistols not ARs. All you will do by limiting legal gun owners is stop them from defending themselves when a person who doesn’t care about your law wants to shoot up a school or anywhere because they will still have their illegal AR cause they already are willing to break laws and kill ppl.
Maybe if police didn’t stand outside for an hour stopping and hurting father’s who want to save their kids while allowing someone to shoot up a school FOR AN HOUR that wouldn’t be an issue. But they did. 17 ppl shot in an hour could happen with a single shot musket if the shooter isn’t stopped by the ppl who are paid to stop them and kids are locked inside with them. Why we are ok with police going to jail for George Floyd and not for our third school shooting that is just allowed to continue is beyond me, but you seem to have such a good grasp of what needs to be done I’m sure you’ll find us a solution.
Andrew.
-Can you agree that the reversal of Roe greatly limits the ability of many women in those states to access abortion? Many live with very limited financial resources and cannot afford to travel to states where it is legal. My post was written to help children in our country, regardless of the circumstances of their birth.
-About the second amendment: does the right to bear any arms supersede that of victims of AR-15s right to life? Some examples: Aurora, Orlando, Parkland, Las Vegas, Sandy Hook… too many to mention. I agree in your follow-up reply that the police response of the Uvalde police was abysmal and added to the shooters ability to slaughter so many. Don’t you think that the AR he was using contributed at all? The constitution was meant to be a living and growing document. That’s why we have amendments so that the rights of citizens can be protected though the circumstances in our society may change. Also, the bill of rights has limitations. Though we are guaranteed the right to speech, you cannot yell fire in a crowded theatre to cite the classic example.
-I don’t even know how to respond to your thought that most shootings are done with pistols, not ARs. Do two wrongs make a right?
Also, your posts were dripping with condescension and disrespect, which was not appreciated. I’d like to think this forum is one where we can find some common ground to work through the difficult issues our country faces. As an aside, though the original constitution did not even mention women, I’m grateful that through amendments (19th) my right to vote was secured and you can be assured, I use it. Also, no thanks about the offer to move to Texas.
Is your argument that it’s better to be dead than to risk having bad parents.?
Rabindranath: I absolutely do not think it is better for a child to be dead than to risk having bad parents. I just desire that we do everything in our power to support parents to give children the best childhood possible so they can grow up to be healthy adults.
Thanks for clearing that up. There are enough people who do that I thought I should ask.
Beth, as someone who is a trained therapist, I can tell you that not everyone wants to get well or do the work it requires to be a good parent. In fact, most people who go to therapy never do the work it requires to get better in therapy. In fact, what they do is say that they went to therapy and then blame the therapist who tried to help them.
I would suggest if you want to actually help parents, get them to turn off the media and get them to study and apply the scriptures. Before the media, that’s what good healthy families did. So, good luck! I think it would be great to see your campaign to bring down all media because most parents use the media to babysit their kids. Except the responsible parents in the homeschooling communities who know better.
Stacy, you are so sadly right. I feel so helpless about this gun issue. Those who advocate for total freedom blame mental health issues and sadly, unless a person wants to do the work, those initiatives don’t work the way they could. I do know there are excellent resources (both court-mandated and voluntary) out there for those who would want to avail of them.
It seems ironic that a person cannot drive a car without instruction and supervised practice hours, but somehow we expect people will just know instinctively how to raise a child to be a healthy adult. Of course I am not advocating parental instruction be mandated, but I wish we could normalize the idea of using any and all resources to be the best parent possible. I totally on the negative impact of media on our children.
They may be needing it in the coming days. We are possibly looking at world wide famine. Of course, everyone is accountable.
They may be needing it in the coming years. I understand there may be world wide famine. Of course everyone is accountable. Laura Sarratt
I’ve always wondered why the entire Graham family were preachers. I’m sorry but they give me the Willie’s with their support for trump and how they think it’s okay to live in luxury while there are so many here in NC needing help.
Thank you for this reporting of how God is blessing a ministry that has blessed so many for so long now. We do not get enough encouraging news so it is wonderful to see God working through his people in partnership with a ministry with integrity. Please continue highlighting ministries such as Samaritans Purse. It’s nice to see an article like this instead of a hit piece.
It’s neither a puff piece nor a hit piece. I don’t know why it’s so difficult for people to just think critically about their favorite figures or institutions in Christianity.
Slightly off-topic but worth consideration: I harbor some misgivings about the economics, ethics, and environmental impact of Westerners purchasing cheap dollar-store products manufactured in overseas sweatshops, then paying Samaritan’s Purse to ship these same items back to developing nations as holiday gifts. Instead of filling an Operation Christmas Child shoebox, I collect promotional merchandise at trade shows, county fairs, and motels throughout the year, then donate it all to OCC at my church.
It’s easy to amass large quantities of pens, pencils, erasers, post-it notes, stickers, paper pads, lip balm, soap bars, toothbrushes, dental floss, crayons, string backpacks, foam balls, and small toys at no cost. Sponsors of fun runs will also be glad to rid themselves of never-worn T-shirts leftover from previous events. On many occasions vendors happily give more when learning that the goods are destined for children through OCC. My intent is to help SP spread the gospel while repurposing eligible gifts and using cash wisely.
Because none of that promotional stuff is made in overseas sweatshops. Good call.
American evangelicals are either groomers or grifters, sometimes both.
Some of the other comments here just hits the points that Americans “Christians” love their idols while they despise the real Jesus Christ. So many do not read their own Bibles so they are ignorant about what the N.T. has to say about Mammon. They think that it is good. No problem with a head of a charity making himself a wealthy man off of the charity of others! Greed is not a thing! And celebrities are good people, not narcissists damned to hell like Jesus plainly states in Matt. 23! Yet the real Jesus said that you cannot serve both God and Big Money. You will love one and despise the other! What I see is people needing to repent because it is obvious what they love. And because they love and serve the idol of Money in our culture, Jesus says plainly that they despise Him. We are a wicked and perverse generation for sure. And hell is a real place and Jesus spoke plainly of goats who claim to be Christians but never see the Kingdom of God. Make sure you are not of that group while you still have time.
In regard to Graham’s compensation, he’s part of Jesus, Incorporated. People living large off of Jesus. (I’m not sorry, but most of the Graham family feels Jesus owes them large compensation.)
How does a Christian justify a huge salary, taken from donations? Where do I find this in the New Testament?
Where do I find the justification for anyone making even $100,000 a year off of Jesus?
Have you read the New Testament?
“A worker is due his wages.”
“Do not muzzle the ox that grinds the grain.”
“Those who teach are worth a double portion”
It’s in the Bible. You should check it out some time. Great book! Inspired by God Himself!
Sometimes I get lost reading it for hours at a time. 👍
Alex Clement, what part of my post didn’t you understand. Franklin is taking almost a million dollars a year of Jesus’ money. Go ahead, Alex, and think this is justified.
A lot of layoffs, right. But guess what. You won’t be sitting too long on unemployment. When it runs out, find a job. No more extend.
I was a pilot on corporate jets for 42 years. I was picking up our aircraft from maintenance several years ago and in the same hanger was FGs private jet that he pilots himself. Knowing the cost of operating private jets I can not justify in my mind any ministry owning one. Samaritan’s Purse has done some good work but FG is living large on funds given to help people in difficult situations.
Exactly. Skillfully playing on people’s heartstrings all the while invoking the Christian faith…and then living like a sultan. That, as Captain Hook said, “That’s where the canker g-naws.”
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