Bridge of Hope – Warren Throckmorton

Gospel for Asia: Ganga River Project Donation Raises Questions About Priorities and Promises

I reported last week that K.P. Yohannan met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the meeting, Yohannan gave 1 crore rupees (just shy of $150,000) to the Ganga Cleanliness Project.
Compared to the millions still banked in India, $15ok isn’t a large sum.
Still, I wonder if donors intended those funds to help save the Ganga River. I also wonder what that money could have done for people.
While I was wondering, I thought of a story I read awhile back on the GFA website. The story of Lakshimi and her sister goes like this:

Nine-year-old Lakshmi works in a factory as a cigarette roller. She tells her sister’s story:

My sister is ten years old. Every morning at seven she goes to the bonded labor man, and every night at nine she comes home. He treats her badly; he hits her if he thinks she is working slowly or if she talks to the other children, he yells at her, he comes looking for her if she is sick and cannot go to work. I feel this is very difficult for her.
I don’t care about school or playing. I don’t care about any of that. All I want is to bring my sister home from the bonded labor man. For 600 rupees I can bring her home—that is our only chance to get her back.
We don’t have 600 rupees…we will never have 600 rupees [the equivalent of U.S.$14].

This story and another one I will tell below break my heart.
If the story of Lakshmi is true, nearly 11,000 kids could be rescued with a Ganga River sized donation. There is something sad and sickening about K.P. Yohannan currying favor with the Prime Minister while GFA offices all over the world beg for more money to help poor children.
The other story comes from an Indian observer of the Bridge of Hope program. A young elementary school aged boy named Sayaan Ali needed treatment for a kidney stone. He was a Bridge of Hope kid. His parents were not able to afford this treatment (about $1000 USD) so they requested help from their Bridge of Hope center and the local Believers’ Church diocese. Tragically, the Diocese failed to act on the request and the boy wasted away until he recently died a painful death. There was no bridge of hope for this young boy. His parents are devastated and the Prime Minister has another $150k for the Ganga River.
Believers’ Church and K.P. Yohannan own several state of the art hospitals which could have provided the care. These hospitals have been touted as means to minister to poor children like Sayaan. If only Sayaan and Lakshmi were important politicians, perhaps the church would have noticed.
Money really isn’t the issue for K.P. Yohannan and Believers’ Church. According to publicly available Indian government documents, GFA and ministry partners have just over $74-million sitting in bank accounts.
Shame on GFA and Believers Church for their photo ops with power. I call on K.P. Yohannan to answer for his use of donor funds and stop hiding behind his nameless board of directors.

Gospel for Asia and Bridge of Hope Funding: Who is Right – David Carroll or K.P. Yohannan?

In today’s World magazine article on Gospel for Asia, COO David Carroll made the following claims about program spending.

Carroll offered statistics, including that GFA’s field partners in India and elsewhere in southern Asia support some 14,000 national missionaries at a cost of approximately $30 million a year. He added that the ministry provides for 78,000 children through GFA’s “Bridge of Hope” program, which requires another $33 million a year, and constructs some 1,200 new churches a year at a cost of another $15 million annually.

Bridge of Hope
I want to focus on the Bridge of Hope claim. Carroll’s claim is consistent with what Gospel for Asia asks donors to give in order to sponsor a child ($35/month). However, in the past, GFA founder and CEO K.P. Yohannan has claimed it takes much less per child. In 2010, according to a New India Express article which cited Yohannan, the program required 30 crore (at the time equal to about $6.5 million USD) to provide for 60,000 children.

At present the Church spends Rs 30 crore annually for the education and uplift of 60,000 children through 525 centres. The Bridge of Hope project of the Believers Church provides free education, health care, nutritious food and school supplies for underprivileged children, irrespective of caste or creed.

This works out to $9/child/month. At the time, GFA was asking for $28/child/month in order to sponsor a child.
Then again in a 2012 interview on Surya television, Yohannan said it cost almost 40 crore (about $7.1 million USD) to care for 60,000 children. Yohannan said:

As for Believers’ Church and Cheruvally estate, donors specifically (1:18) have instructed us to establish an income producing entity (1:23), in the future for you to continue your work. Let me ask you, we spend almost 40 crore rupees to take care of 60,000 children – where does this money come from? Can we campaign to raise money all the time? We have to produce our income (1:43), that is what this is for, for that only.

Using the estimated exchange rates in 2012, as described by GFA and Believers’ Church leader Yohannan, the per month per child spending works out to just under $10/month. In June 2012, GFA was asking $35/month in order to support a child, the same as the current cost to a donor.
According to the public reports of spending in India (FC-6 forms), GFA spent $6.2 million USD on the “welfare of children” in the Indian fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. That works out to about 105/child/year or just under $9/child/month.
I have seen two budgets for Bridge of Hope centers in India, each for a different region of the country. I wrote about one budget earlier this year:

I have also seen GFA budget documents which tell a more surprising story.* The actual cost during fiscal year ending 2014 to support one child in a GFA Bridge of Hope center in India was just under INR 500 or around $8.20 per month per child. This paid for the administration of the program, food purchases, and all child services. In fact, the actual items given to each child (school supplies, clothes, hygiene supplies and gifts) only cost INR 140 per child or $2.20 per month.

In another region of the country, the per child expense was even less — 300 rupees per child per month, or just under $5 USD/child/month. In some areas of the country, children attend free public education and so the costs are less.

Even though this is dramatically less than what David Carroll told World magazine, it is closer to what K.P. Yohannan told Indian media.
A review of receipts for 2012 reveals that donors don’t contribute anywhere close to $33 million for Bridge of Hope related expenses.
Given GFA’s track record regarding public claims, it is reasonable to question what David Carroll told World. What would help is if GFA released some evidence for their claims. Show us the budgets, audited statements, etc. The ECFA said in the investigation report that many of GFA’s intial disclosures were not accurate and that they had to get necessary information from other sources, when the information should have come from GFA.
One analysis by former auditor Jason Watkins found that only 12% of funds given for Bridge of Hope was used for the program. With the discrepancies between what David Carroll and K.P. Yohannan told different public audiences, it is important for GFA to provide evidence and an explanation. With the budget figures and public reports in India, it even more important for donors to get answers about where those funds are going.

More Evidence K.P. Yohannan Was Wrong When He Told Staff He Isn't On Trusts in India

In the context of explaining why Believers’ Church in India gave $19.8 million to Gospel for Asia for construction of headquarters at Wills Point, TX, GFA CEO K.P. Yohannan said this:

And by the way, just so you know, I am not legally on any boards, any trusts, anything in any of these countries. I have no powers to make decisions or sign money, or release money, or make decisions, I am completely legally…why? Because anybody who work in the United States or overseas countries have a board membership or have legal membership should not be part of their legal entities in India. It’s a conflict of interest and therefore we send the funds and it is immediately under the government watch care and the government of India is responsible and investigative agencies and tax divisions to make sure that is carried out within the time frame or whatever they do, that is a public thing.

Yohannan said these things at a staff meeting held at GFA’s office complex on May 14, 2015. The audio is embedded at the end of the post.
When I posted the audio in August, I also posted images of court cases involving Believers’ Church which refer to Yohannan as the managing trustee of Believers’ Church. Even though Yohannan said it was a conflict of interest to be on the board in India and the CEO in America, court documents dated in 2015 refer to Yohannan as the managing trustee of the entity (Believers Church) that “decided” in 2013 to send $19.8 million to another entity (Gospel for Asia) run by Yohannan in order to build a new campus.
Recently, I have been given two documents which establish beyond doubt that Yohannan’s statement to staff was misleading. The first document is a 2005 letter from BC Bishop Samuel Mathew to all Believers’ Church Bishops regarding the proper way to file land deeds. The church Constitution requires all land to be in K.P. Yohannan’s name since he is the highest legal authority in the church.

Read the entire letter here.
At this time, by Consitution, all land was to be registered to “the Most Rev. Dr. K.P. Yohannan.” Why? As Metropolitan Bishop is the legal authority on everything that belongs to the Church. Presumably, at one time, $19.8 million belonged to the church but after the “anonymous gift to GFA,” that money belonged to the other entity controlled by Yohannan, GFA.
Regarding the claim that Yohannan doesn’t sit on any boards of trusts in India, I offer this 2010 deed of trust for the Bridge of Hope (entire document), a program run by Believers’ Church. Yohannan is not only on the trust but he signed on behalf of Believers’ Church as “Executant.”
BOH – Trust Deed

Also, note that four of the six board members are Yohannan and his family (Siny Punnoose – niece; Sarah Johnson – daughter; Daniel Johnson – son-in-law).
These documents along with the court papers filed by Believers’ Church paint a completely different picture than drawn out by Yohannan in the May 14 staff meeting.
I invite GFA and/or Believers’ Church to submit evidence to the contrary. If BC’s Constitution has been changed or trust deeds have been amended, I will gladly publish those if they are supplied.
Of late, Yohannan has been unavailable for comment. Perhaps, David Carroll or John Beers can provide explanation or proper documentation.
K.P. Yohannan at the May 14 staff meeting:

Gospel for Asia Changes Bridge of Hope Website, Raises More Questions

Yesterday, I posted the following image from Bridge of Hope’s Indian website (Bridge of Hope is Gospel for Asia’s child sponsorship program):

This was what was on the website as of late afternoon yesterday (see today’s Google cache for the page as it appeared on August 8).
Today, it looks like this:

Shades of Mars Hill Church and Mars Hill Global! GFA won’t respond to questions from me but they will alter a website in an apparent response to my post. Mars Hill Church did the same thing when I pointed out issues related to solicitations for missions.
While the children one may sponsor do not appear to be the same on these pages, the program is the same. This new wording could still lead a reader to think only Indians are funding Indian children. According to figures I have seen, Americans donated about $14 million in 2012 toward BoH related work (the latest year I have available). Clearly, donations from sponsors outside of India are accepted for the BoH program. However, if one wants to sponsor a child and doesn’t live in India, one must go to the GFA BoH page to do so.
Given that American donors are putting so much money into this program, it seems pointless to try to obscure it — if indeed that is what GFA intends by the answer to this frequently asked question.

According to Gospel for Asia's Indian Website the Bridge of Hope Program Doesn't Accept Foreign Sponsorships

In May of this year, I pointed out that Gospel for Asia requests $35/month to sponsor a child in Asia through the Bridge of Hope program but much less per month in India. Thanks to an alert reader, I was made aware that the Indian website for the Bridge of Hope program tells potential Indian donors that Bridge of Hope doesn’t accept foreign sponsors.

According to the Indian website, Bridge of Hope is a program of Believers’ Church. The American website doesn’t mention Believers’ Church and advertises the program as Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope. Gospel for Asia’s Indian website hardly mentions Bridge of Hope. GFA-US sent around $30 million to Believers’ Church and two other K.P. Yohannan controlled NGOs in 2013. Ultimately, some of those funds support the Bridge of Hope program in India. At least that is what GFA tells donors in the U.S.
GFA-U.S. says donors are sponsoring children through Bridge of Hope. Bridge of Hope in India is managed by Believers’ Church which tells donors in India that sponsorship is not accepted from outside of India. Which message is correct?
Add this question to the growing list that GFA isn’t answering.

How Much Does it Really Cost to Sponsor a Child with Gospel for Asia?

Yesterday, I pointed out that the expenditure of foreign funds by GFA in the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2014 for the support of children enrolled in the Bridge of Hope program seemed quite low, estimated at around $105 per year. Today, I want to point out that GFA’s request for child sponsorship in India is about one-third of what it is here in the U.S. and that the actual costs are even lower than that.
On the U.S. website, GFA requests $35/month to sponsor a child:

It only takes $35 a month to give a child everything they need—school supplies, a daily meal, medical checkups and more—to attend a Bridge of Hope Center. 100% of your sponsorship is sent to the field to support your child.

However, on the GFA/Believers’ Church Indian website, the cost is INR 800/month or about $12.50 in U.S. dollars per month. That’s quite a discount. The sponsorship page promises:

Your sponsorship of Rs. 800 per month provides [child’s name]:

An Education

A nutritious meal each day

A yearly medical checkup

Basic school & hygiene needs

I have also seen GFA budget documents which tell a more surprising story.* The actual cost during fiscal year ending 2014 to support one child in a GFA Bridge of Hope center in India was just under INR 500 or around $8.20 per month per child. This paid for the administration of the program, food purchases, and all child services. In fact, the actual items given to each child (school supplies, clothes, hygiene supplies and gifts) only cost INR 140 per child or $2.20 per month.
At that rate, Americans who send $35/month to GFA for a child sponsorship could actually support 4 children. Or GFA could keep the excess in a bank and draw interest on the balance as they appear to be doing. As I noted yesterday, GFA spent over $6 million in foreign contributions on Bridge of Hope expenses in FYE 2014 but had in the neighborhood of $25 million designated for “the welfare of children” sitting in a bank drawing interest at the same time.
GFA has to report that interest (the banks do as well) and all four GFA controlled organizations accumulated $4.2 million on the money in savings accounts by the end of FY 2014.
GFA says “100% of your sponsorship is sent to the field to support your child.” Perhaps this statement should be reworded. The money is sent to the field but a lot of it apparently ends up in a bank on the field.
It is past time for GFA to end the silence and address this matter as well as others which have come out in recent weeks.

*I have the documents but don’t have permission to publish them.

How Gospel for Asia in India Spent Foreign Contributions in FYE 2014

Each year registered charities in India are required by law to disclose how they spend foreign contributions. Out of curiosity, I examined Gospel for Asia’s FC-6 report for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2014 (most recent data available). Below is a chart that combines the money spent from contributions from GFA (U.S., Germany, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) in U.S. dollars to GFA-India, Believers’ Church, Love India Ministries and Last Hour Ministries.* GFA also sends funds to affiliates in Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. According to GFA’s financial statement ending in 2013, India receives 96% of the contributions from the U.S.

The largest expense is construction and administration of Believers’ Church Medical College Hospital. According the hospital website, “Believers Church Medical College Hospital is a healthcare project of Believers Church. The Church is dynamically involved in various nation-building social and educational projects, healthcare initiatives, charitable activities, community development programs, rehabilitation projects and relief works. Dr. K.P. Yohannan, Metropolitan of Believers Church is the patron of the hospital and Dr. George Chandy is leading the project.”
About $1.9 million for the BCMCH came from GFA affiliates in Germany, Australia, and the UK, with the rest coming from GFA in the U.S.
If one includes the hospital, two-thirds of the funds — just over $35 million — are spent on support for ministries of Believers’ Church in India. At least one pastor recently announced that he gave up his support for GFA because he learned that he was really supporting a church he didn’t feel comfortable supporting.

A prominent expense is for welfare of children which includes school fees, food, and funding for the Bridge of Hope program. According to GFA’s most recent financial statement, they claim that 60,000 children are enrolled in the BoH program.

That works out to only $105 per child per year.

According to the forms filed with the Indian government, there is a combined balance of just over $23.5 million designated for “welfare of children” sitting in GFA-related accounts. I cannot understand why so much money is sitting in accounts when GFA claims the need is so great (and I have no reason to doubt that the need is great).

GFA promises that “Gospel for Asia sends 100 percent of the money you donate for work on the mission field to the field. Nothing is taken out for administrative expenses.” While that may be true for those working in administration in the U.S., it is not true for GFA, Believers’ Church, Love India Ministries, and Last Hour Ministries.

As I noted in a prior post, GFA has stopped replying to my questions. However, I extend an ongoing invitation to correct anything I write which they believe to be incorrect. There is a link in the footnote below if readers want to check these figures, and I am open to any additional evidence.

*These reports are available online (enter year and the state of Kerala). These four charities were chosen because they all received money from Gospel for Asia’s Texas organizations. To see pdfs of each page, click the links: Gospel for Asia, Believers’ Church, Last Hour Ministries, Love India Ministries. Historical exchange rates can be found at Oanda.com.