I wonder who they mean.
Gospel for Asia apparently will only talk to Christianity Today. About the recent RICO class action suit against GFA, an unnamed spokesperson for GFA told CT (go read the entire article):
“While we are more than willing to answer any questions asked of us, it would be irresponsible for us to do so at this time since we have not yet been served any lawsuit,” GFA told CT. “All we know is what has been posted on the internet by certain bloggers who have previously misrepresented facts related to Gospel for Asia in a relentless attempt to discredit our ministry.
The first statement is a blatant lie. For months, GFA has not answered questions from donors and media (e.g., 20 year donor Bruce Morrison). GFA stopped answering my questions on May 7, 2015. At the end of this post, I have provided statements from survey respondents regarding the unwillingness of GFA to answer questions.
UPDATE: (Since I first posted this, I read an article posted by the Christian Post with the same statement. CP identifies the source of the statement as Daniel Punnose, K.P. Yohannan’s son. So, Rev. Punnose, please point out any facts you believe I have misrepresented.)
GFA also told CT:
“Once we know the nature of the accusations, we will respond accordingly and transparently,” GFA stated. “We remain—as we have been for over 30 years—committed to operating with integrity on behalf of so many of the world’s most desperate people. That is our commitment and we will remain focused on our Christian mission. We are so grateful for all of those who support our work.”
This statement insults the intelligence of everyone who has done any kind of investigation into GFA. Let’s review GFA’s recent record.
- On October 2, 2015, the board of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability disclosed that GFA’s membership had been terminated due to multiple violations of ECFA guidelines. The letter from ECFA outlining the violations of financial integrity standards can be viewed in this previous article.
- In their response to the ECFA, GFA admitted smuggling cash to India. While GFA says it didn’t know such smuggling was illegal, questions remain about their conflicting stories.
- The Independent Charities of America did not offer membership to GFA due to GFA’s failure to provide a clean audit for 2014.
- The Office of Personnel Management banned GFA as an approved charity due to violations of eligibility requirements. The OPM imposed the most severe response allowed by law. GFA will not be allowed to solicit donations from federal workers for at least the next campaign year.
It is clear that GFA has learned nothing from their recent problems. Despite the removal of ECFA and ICA memberships and the disciplinary action of the OPM, GFA continues to blame bloggers for their problems.
I challenge GFA to back up the statements to CT. Where have I or any other blogger misrepresented facts relating to GFA? I have asked repeatedly for clarification and information which might clear up these matters. However, GFA has consistently refused to answer any questions from me and has made no effort to address the many loose ends surrounding their management of donor funds.
Because GFA has attacked my integrity, I challenge the organization to provide me, CT or any media source with evidence that I have misrepresented facts about GFA. I will gladly provide their explanation and any evidence GFA offers to my readers.
In October 2015, I created a survey designed for anyone leading and attending a Calvary Chapel. I have 77 responses so far. For participants who had contacted GFA, I asked if they were satisfied with answers given by GFA. Most did not answer (59), but of the 18 that did, four were satisfied and 13 were not satisfied. Some of the negative replies are below. The four positives simply indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with GFA’s responses.
- Saddened, not satisfied. Sin is blinding and deceptive. The answers the leaders and staff members gave me have broken my heart, and I pray for them daily that they will turn and be restored.
- I got no answers or responses to my concerns and comments.
- Not at all satisfied. They tried to turn the tables on the dialogue basically saying: “Prove the accusations to be true.” No offer of explanation or dialogue. This has been the recurrent theme with others in our congregation who attempted to address the issue with them.
- Standard response was to blame the blogs as propaganda for former staffers.