MINISTRY FACT SHEET

THE VISION

Glorify God as we prayerfully help people become financially free to better share the love of God through Jesus Christ.

THE MISSION

The Mission of Christian Financial Ministries is to help individuals and families make informed, Bible-based lifestyle changes in order to dump debt and build wealth. We accomplish this mission by leveraging the spiritual gifts God gives His people, technology, and the Internet to offer the highest quality, highly accountable, Bible-based financial education, teaching, training, coaching, mentoring, counseling, and supporting financially-related products and services which also

• Help people come to or back to a personal and growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ
• Strengthen the family, and
• Proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

THE TRENDS

• More than half of all our families are delinquent on their credit card payments. (American Bankers Association)
• Families are on track to break record-setting annual bankruptcy filings. Four out of ten adults (36% say, “It seems impossible to get ahead because of the financial debt I have.” (Barna)
• Most single parent homes are headed by a mother earning less than $15,000 pr year. Almost 90% of all welfare recipients live in single parent homes.
• Churches are forced to cut vital services—giving is down.
• Missionary candidates are kept at home due to lack of support and excessive personal debt.
• Only three of the 1002 adults interviewed in a recent Barna survey (less than .03%) held firm and biblically consistent beliefs. Almost nine out of ten adults surveyed believe they know all of the basic teachings of Christianity very well. However, when you explore what they think the Bible actually teaches—many theological inconsistencies and inaccuracies emerge.

THE DILEMMA

The body of Christ needs help. Unless these negative trends reverse, families will continue to hurt: 40% will continue to overspend each month, 20% will remain on the verge of divorce, and 55% of all marriages will end in divorce due in large part to financial difficulties.

THE SOLUTION

There is hope in God’s Word. Sound financial management is smart spiritual warfare! Jesus said, “If you keep my commandments, then you are truly disciples of mine. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32) The Bible contains more than 2,350 verses that address in very practical, specific ways the earning, saving, spending, investing, and giving of money. Biblical principles apply today whether we have a little or a lot, if we are single or married, if we are young or young at heart.

THE MINISTRY

Christian Financial Ministries (CFM) is a singularly unique, full-time, Bible-based financial education, teaching, training, coaching, mentoring and counseling, IRS approved nonprofit, nondenominational ministry. We are spiritual counselors who deal almost exclusively in the area of finances. With CFM, high personal accountability is not an option. It is required. CFM started in 1987 and incorporated in 1991. We are associated with the American Association of Christian Counselors, American Association of Debt Management Organizations, American Family Association, Better Business Bureau, Christian Financial Professionals Network, Christian Legal Society, Georgia Board of Examiners for Christian Counselors and Therapists, Georgia Christian Counselors Association, National Institute For Financial Counseling Education, Dave Ramsey and Crown Financial Ministries. CFM holds Certificate No. FS 59958 and operates a quality management system which complies with the requirements of BS EN ISO 9001:2000. CFM undergoes annual certified financial audits by a licensed CPA firm. CFM meets or exceeds all applicable federal, state, and local statute, licensing, insurance and bonding requirements.

Who We Serve

Christian Financial Ministries serves individuals, families, churches, businesses and other para-church ministries in the United States, Canada, and around the world. We serve regardless of race, religion, sex, creed, age, color, disability, or national origin. We serve counselees regardless of whom they owe, the amount they owe, or their ability/desire to help support our ministry. The only requirement we have is that each person or couple must want the help we offer.

Staff

Our staff members are paid, licensed, ordained, certified and/or highly trained professionals who are called into ministry service. Our staff undergoes consistent continuing education to improve our education and performance.

Funding/Cost of Services

We are a faith ministry that receives voluntary tax-deductible gifts from the counselees, creditors, Support Partners, and Church Partners we serve. We do no accept Government funding of any kind. We provide many of our services and products for free, for greatly discounted prices, or for voluntary, tax-deductible gifts to the ministry.

Services

• Prayer: We pray individually and as a staff. We pray with our counselees. God blesses us with prayer cover from our National Prayer Team.
• We offer EDUCATION (the best education media and materials from the best financial authors), TEACHING (educators make simple things complex—our teachers make complex things simple!), TRAINING (hands-on applications using personal financials), COACHING (inquiring, questioning and accountability that help individuals think more clearly, gain alternative perspectives, and focus on needs), MENTORING (takes coaching to the next level by providing educational instruction and direction in the area of personal finance), and COUNSELING (help to understand how to communicate to make better financial decisions). We have appeared and taught on local and national radio and television and publish monthly magazine, newspaper and Internet forum articles. We provide free education relating to credit repair, identity theft prevention and recovery, and estate planning.
• Direct Creditor Negotiations: Where needed, we offer certified and IRS approved consumer credit counseling services to help qualified individuals work with their unsecured creditors to help lower monthly payments, and stop or cut interest rates, late fees, over limit fees, and collection calls. We help arrange one low monthly debt consolidation payment with no new loans or bankruptcy.
• Foreclosure Prevention: Our HomeSavers Department has more than 10 years experience helping people save their homes from foreclosure without bankruptcy, new loans, or paying all the past due payments up front.
• Relationship therapy for individuals and couples: Financial difficulties are the number one cause of divorce in our country today. One of our goals is minister to the “whole person.” Therefore, we have on staff a PhD in Christian Counseling with more than 25 years experience. When people come for financial coaching/mentoring we can help with their marriages and other personal problems as well. When people come for marriage counseling, we can help them work with their finances.
• Community Consultation Services and Community Partnership Programs with local faith-based and secular organizations.
• Beginning in 2006 or early 2007 we will continue to leverage technology and the Internet to offer ministry-related (1) free and fee-based Internet assisted tele-classes and (2) one-on-one mentoring and coaching video conferencing.

Fantastic Successes

We believe our services and tools do not bless anybody. They do put people in a position to be used and blessed by God. We see it happen time after time. Lives change when people come to or back to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Relationships and marriages re-energize. Funds are freed up to meet individual needs and the needs of others. And in the process, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is lovingly proclaimed and the timeless wisdom of Scripture is again revealed.

If God does not work through the tools, the tools fall far short. For example, secular consumer credit counseling agencies offer many of the same tools (free budget counseling, seminars, individual and small group counseling, etc.). However, secular consumer credit counseling agencies generally retain only 50-55% of their clients each month. This means 45-50% of those on debt management programs “drop” the program each month without getting out of debt. We started offering limited consumer credit counseling services in 1997. We have tracked our retention rates since July 2000. Our average monthly retention rate is 97% (96.4% lowest, 99.3% highest). This means that when people work with us, they stick with their debt elimination program until they are debt free. God’s Word presented, receive and applied, makes the difference.

CONCLUSION

The symptoms of financial bondage often hold hostage a person’s ability to recognize root spiritual problems. Christian Financial Ministries help individuals and families manage their journey to financial freedom by helping people successfully overcome and correct root spiritual problems rather than simply treat the financial symptoms. If you believe our Lord can use Christian Financial Ministries to help you or help you to help others, please give us a call at 1-800-895-0512 or 678-797-9444. We are on the Internet at http://www.good-steward.org. Our e-mail address is good-steward@good-steward.org.

STATEMENT OF FAITH