This is Part 2 of a Special Report on the Kerala-based Christian evangelical organisation, Gospel For Asia, and the Believers Eastern Church. Part 1 can be read here.
A series of actions taken by various Indian law enforcement agencies and Indian tax authorities against Kerala-based Gospel for Asia have brought to light large-scale diversion of donor funds for acquisition of assets and investment in “for profit” activities. One of India’s largest evangelical organisations, Gospel For Asia (GFA) is headed by self-styled Bishop Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan I Metropolitan, Believers Eastern Church.
The same organisation is facing a class action suit in Canada from aggrieved donors and has just settled another class action suit in USA from aggrieved donors whose intentions of helping the poor and needy in India were dashed to the ground by Gospel for Asia’s fund diversion.
2012- The Beginning of the Allegations against Gospel For Asia:
The allegations against Gospel for Asia started in 2012 when staff members and other insiders started questioning the flow of funds from donors to recipients for which the funds were raised. Staff working in Gospel for Asia in USA also started questioning restrictions on their personal beliefs, abrupt orders to go abroad and work in third-world mission stations and arbitrary removal from employment.
In January 2013, as articles, blogs and videos of diversion of donor funds and other acts of malfeasance by Gospel for Asia and Believers Church started making their appearance, GFA responded by filing a suit in the High Court at Delhi pleading for restraining Google, Facebook, BlogSpot and YouTube from publishing or sharing any defamatory content.
In 2014, staff who had earlier worked with Gospel for Asia wrote a 10 page letter expressing their anguish at the suffering they endure in their personal lives on account of GFA’s workplace practices. The letter, among several other issues, highlights divorces, domestic disputes and distorted spiritual life of ex-employees and their families. The five points covered in the letter are:
1. GFA leadership practices and teaches a false view of spiritual authority
2. GFA leadership prioritizes ministry over family, and teaches the same
3. GFA leaders lie or intentionally deceive people in order to “protect” the ministry
4. GFA practices unbiblical shunning
5. GFA prohibits or discourages staff involvement in bible studies, small groups and local churches
Dr John Dayal’s defence of Gospel for Asia-Believer’s Church:
On April 25, 2013, Dr. John Dayal posted a review in the comments-section of a website called Great Non Profits strongly defending Believers Church and Bishop K P Yohanan. He quoted vastly exaggerated figures of Kandhamal violence of 2007-08 and praised the relief work undertaken by Believers Church. Dr. Dayal mentioned prominently that he is a member of the National Integration Council, Government of India.
This is his review of the GFA and Believers Church:
“This is Dr John Dayal, Member, National Integration council, Government of India, a former National President of the All India catholic Union and Secretary Gen of the All India Christian Council. Much of my current work is in the justice, relief and rehab processes in the Tribal and Dalit-dominated Kandhamal District of Orissa. India. Kandhamal saw much violence against the Christian community in 2007 and 2008 in which more than 100 Christians were killed, 6000 of their houses demolished in 400 villages, and 56,000 people rendered homeless. While the Catholic Church helped rebuild 4000 houses, Believers Church, headed by its Metropolitan Bishop K P Yohannan, came second, building 1,000 churches and assisting in relief and rehab of the victims. The remaining houses were built by other denominational churches. Considering that the government was not keen to help the Christian victims, this was fantastic work done by the church in rebuilding lives. God bless them.”
On the same website, another person who seems to be familiar with the activities of Believers Church posted a review on January 24, 2013 in reply to Dr. Dayal’s defence of GFA. The most noteworthy point in this review is this: “Church Buying” is a very profitable business in India and K P Yohannan leads the market.” The review indicates that Believers Church was doing a corporate-style takeover of churches using its vast resources. This again is a clear misuse of donor money which was never meant to be used to acquire smaller churches.
Round Tripping of Donations from USA to the Field, and Back to USA, But Wrongly termed as “Anonymous Donation”
One of the most serious charges levelled against GFA-Believers Church was that Believers Church India gave nearly $20 million to help build Gospel for Asia’s new office complex in USA.
In a 109-page report filed as part of a class action suit, filed in February 2017 (since settled for US $37 million), the following charges of wrong doing were levelled against Gospel for Asia:
“39. In 2010, GFA purchased land and began constructing a state-of-the-art, $45 million compound in Wills Point, Texas. GFA initially claimed, and presented as true through the financial documents of its auditing firm, that a $20 million anonymous donation was received for the development of the 350-acre plot of land on which the compound now sits, as the following excerpt shows:
40. In fact, the $20 million used to develop the land in Wills Point had come to GFA from GFA-India, on the direction of Believers Church. Specifically, that $20 million came from the cash reserves of GFA-India, which consisted of donations to GFA solicited under the promise of GFA’s 100% to-the-field guarantee and subject to the designations of donors. Thus, money donated from the United States designated for specific charitable purposes in “the Field” in fact was spent in the United States to
develop the Wills Point compound.
According to the Bland Garvey audit, nearly $19.8 million was given to GFA from the “anonymous donor” which we now know to be an entity of Believers’ Church. According to Carroll, the $19.8 million came from “a board under the Believers’ Church umbrella.”
Donor Funds Vanish Into Thin Air:
$128 million worth of funds sent by donors to Gospel For Asia over the past eight years cannot be accounted for. Jason Watkins, a former auditor with a Big 4 accounting firm, has constructed an image depicting the findings of his review of information regarding Gospel for Asia’s finances for the last eight years. More details are available here.
Diversion of Donor Funds for Other Activities:
As per the class action suit (since settled) mentioned earlier, huge sums of money went missing and never reached the “field” i.e., the donor intended beneficiaries. Gospel for Asia had sought donations for specific programmes like child support, income generation support – Bridge of Hope child sponsorship for US$35 or a pair of pigs for US$ 65 etc.
The lawsuit alleged that huge sums of money were diverted to non-donor intended activities like construction of “for profit” hospital, an engineering college, an office building and so on.
29. For example, in 2013 (the most recent year for which audited financial data is available), GFA worldwide collected around $115,000,000 in donations (more than $90 million from the U.S.), but spent only $14,644,642 on services and relief under GFA’s mission to support the poor and needy of India-directly contrary to donor designations and GFA’s promises
In another innovative fund-raising, GFA represents that a $345 donation will be applied toward the purchase of a camel to facilitate commerce and provide food and clothing. It quotes the role of camels as a source of livelihood in the desert areas of Rajasthan including ploughing of land and transportation of goods.
Defamation Suits to Brow Beat Opponents in India:
In October 2017, K.P. Yohannan filed a defamation suit against Church of South India (CSI) for defamation. This follows the Church of South India rejecting his consecration as a Bishop and treating him as a layman. Though based in Kerala, K P Yohannan was consecrated as a Bishop by two Bishops from Church of North India. The CSI has never recognized Believers’ Church which has been a source of conflict among Indian Christians. Believers’ Church has now accused the CSI of defamation.
Gospel For Asia Evicted from Evangelical Council For Financial Accountability (ECFA):
In early October 2015, Gospel for Asia’s membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) was terminated. GFA was a charter member and it was a rare move for the ECFA to terminate a charter membership. ECFA believes that GFA misled donors, mismanaged resources, has an ineffective board, and failed to live up to its promises as an ECFA member. It had been investigating GFA since June. All done and told, ECFA found that GFA violated five of the accountability group’s seven core standards. As a result, the ECFA board voted on October 2 to cut ties with GFA. The board said that its decision is final. “This ends Gospel for Asia’s 36-year-long status as an ECFA member,” the council said in a statement.
1. Use of field-generated funds to satisfy designated foreign contributions
2. Excessive cash balances held in partner field accounts
3. Delay in sending funds to the field
4.Use of funds restricted for the field for other purposes
5. Failure to report funds hand-carried by trip participants
6.Source of funds relating to for-profit field operations
7. Alleged missing funds according to Indian FC6 forms
More details on the alleged fund-diversions and other illegalities perpetrated by Gospel For Asia will be disclosed in the successive parts of the Special Report, which will be published in the coming days.
Acknowledgement: The author of this report acknowledges the efforts made by Warren Throckmorton, a blogger and professor at Grove City College (https://www.wthrockmorton.com/), who has meticulously documented, from 2015 onwards, all issues relating to GFA. Despite threats of legal action, he has exposed the misdeeds of Gospel For Asia and Believers Church.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.