Gospel For Asia (GFA), the troubled evangelistic organisation hit by revelations about a damaging internal culture and allegations of financial impropriety, has taken out an advertisement in Christianity Today magazine apologising for its conduct.
Over the signature of GFA found KP Yohannan, the statement refers to the decision of the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability to terminate its membership over multiple violations of its code.
It says: "We understand this has caused great concern and raised questions about the integrity and financial accountability of Gospel for Asia." The statement claims that ECFA's review "did affirm that funds given to the ministry were accounted for", and says "we acknowledge at times we have failed to utilize procedures necessary to ensure the highest level of accountability that you expect from us, and that we expect from ourselves".
The claim that ECFA said all GFA money was accounted for was disputed by Warren Throckmorton, who has followed the case closely. By his estimate there is approximately $128 million unaccounted for over eight years. Throckmorton said: "The ECFA did not review this claim and so it is false for Yohannan to tell CT readers that the ECFA cleared them on this allegation."
The GFA statement continues: "We are sorry for the pain and confusion that we have caused" and says it is implementing the recommended changes with the help of outside counsellors.
