“If ECFA had not been formed, another organization would
have been needed to fill its role,” said Lauren Libby, ECFA board member and
TWR president.
Still,
questions are sometimes asked, such as
“Where would we be if there were no ECFA?”; “Why ECFA?”; and “Why does ECFA get to set biblically-based
standards for churches in the areas of sound governance, financial oversight
and accountability, and stewardship practices?”
To answer
these questions, it is helpful to take a brief look at history. Thirty-four
years ago, there was no evangelical organization setting standards for sound
governance, financial oversight and accountability, and stewardship practices.
Billy
Graham and a handful of other leaders had a vision to serve the evangelical
community by forming ECFA. They envisioned an evangelical organization which
set high standards, accrediting other evangelical organizations. Organizations
would voluntarily apply, requesting to be held accountable for compliance with
the standards.
The leaders
knew that ECFA would not provide integrity to a ministry; ECFA accreditation
would be an external reflection of a ministry’s internal integrity.
In 1979, significant
questions were being raised about how certain religious leaders were handling
funds provided by their supporters. In those days, the media was quick to
criticize ministry leaders and extrapolate the misgivings of a few to the
entire religious community. Sound familiar? There is generally a similar rush
to judgment by today’s media.
Thirty-four
years ago, ECFA took a stand on behalf of religious organizations—for
self-regulation and against additional government oversight. Today, through the
Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations, ECFA is
doing exactly the same thing as it facilitates responses to Senator Charles
Grassley on a host of church tax policy issues.
Commission
Chairman Michael Batts said, “ECFA exists to foster a policy of integrity in
the form of self-regulation and accreditation without burdensome government
regulation. That’s what ECFA exists to do. It is an opportunity to provide
meaningful input into these areas that will really make a positive difference
for the Kingdom.”
So, what
are the differences between then and now? Then, there were no standards for
governance, oversight of finances, and the raising and handling of charitable
gifts. Then, there was no peer group to accredit evangelical organizations—no
standards to achieve and no accreditation of Christ-centered organizations.
Now, ECFA’s
standards are a model for the Christ-centered arena and other accrediting
organizations. Even the Internal Revenue Service has come to embrace some of
the governance principles of ECFA’s standards as their own.
Today, ECFA
has a time-tested approach of accrediting Christ-centered organizations and
assuring their supporters that they are complying with all of the standards—all
of the time.
Today, more
and more givers look for the ECFA seal of approval. ECFA helps accredited
organizations operate within the ECFA guideposts—think of them as guardrails or
bumper guards. This provides more freedom to provide ministry within the
parameters than if there were no standards to follow.
What was
once a dream has become a reality. Today nearly 1,750 Christ-centered
organizations, with 1,200 related entities and programs, are demonstrating
integrity in that they utilize independent boards, engage independent CPAs for
the organization’s annual financial statements, avoid conflicts of interest,
handle charitable gifts with care, and much more.
So, “Why
ECFA?” Because for over three decades, ECFA has modeled consistent,
confidential, and fair application of high standards—many of them beyond the
law. The ECFA seal enhances trust of givers, providing increased resources for
ECFA accredited churches to fulfill the Great Commission. Christ-centered
organizations increasingly want to participate in ECFA’s peer accountability
process, so they can show third-party accreditation as evidence of integrity,
transparency, and accountability.