International
(MNN/FCBH) — Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) has a gold star. Well, four of
them, actually.
Charity
Navigator, America's leading evaluator of charities, thinks FCBH does a good job meeting its
mission and is a good steward of donor funds–so good, in fact, that they've been awarded this honor for five years running.
The distinction elevates the ministry into the
top 4% of all charities which, according to Charity Navigator, means
FCBH "outperforms most other charities in America" and
"demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust."
Jerry Jackson, President and Founder of Faith Comes By Hearing, says it equals trust in a day
and age where corruption and ethics are rife. "It assures donors that we're a
quality organization that handles their money carefully. We have probably some
of the lowest overhead costs in the ministry world."
Staying true to their goals and priorities helps a lot, too,
Jackson explains. "We're just
trying to accomplish our mission. From the outset of this ministry in 1972, I've
made it a commitment to not embarrass the ministry, not embarrass the Lord
Jesus Christ with our finances."
This recognition
is especially meaningful to Faith Comes By Hearing as Charity Navigator
evaluates 10 times the number of charities than the next closest organization
and draws more visitors to their Web site than every other charity evaluator
combined.
Those unfamiliar with FCBH might be willing to explore more
because of a "stamp of approval." A
simple message helps, and God does the rest. "It testifies that the bulk
of the money that comes to us goes to minister to people who live on one or two
dollars a day, and we're getting the Gospel to them in the language that they
can understand, in a form they can use with no expense to them."
Charity Navigator
scrutinizes groups through a two-part methodology: first, they focuses on sound fiscal management,
and second, they look at the commitment to accountability and transparency. The process has been acclaimed by Forbes,
Business Week, and Kiplinger's Financial Magazine. As a result, Charity Navigator estimates their
evaluations have "influenced approximately $10 billion in charitable
gifts."
Who cares? Jackson does. The award actually frees the ministry up to do the work they really want
to do with the poorest of the poor. "My
philosophy has been to get the Word of God to every person we possibly
can, in a form they can use, and it doesn't cost them any more money. They can listen through the entire New
Testament so that when they decide to receive the Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Savior, He is now not a foreigner to them, but He speaks their family
language. He is in their family. He is their personal God."
As Faith Comes By
Hearing celebrates their 40th year in ministry throughout 2012, they
remains focused on broadening their points of contact. "We have the military Bible Stick
program. We're recording 100 new languages a year. We have 627 languages
recorded now that we're distributing on a Proclaimer, which is a device that has
the entire New Testament so that groups of as many 300 can hear it clearly. Then
we have the Bible.is app for smart phones."
