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Christar

Rating
Sector:

Foreign Missions

Total
Revenue:

$11,794,000

Total
Expenses:

$12,330,000

Net
Assets:

$7,281,000

Profile Changes

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Profile Contents

Research Analysis
Financial Information

Ministry Pie Chart

Ministry Pie Chart

Age Size Box:

>50
Yr(s)25-50
<25
<$1m$1m-
$5m
>$5m

Summary

The mission of Christar (formerly International Missions) is to glorify God by establishing churches, primarily within least-reached Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Asian communities worldwide. In this endeavor,they partner with churches to send out missionaries who proclaim the gospel and equip the body of Christ. The vision of Christar is to see more churches planted among more of the least-reached through effective prayer, growing people, godly teams and fruitful partnerships. They define the least-reached as: People who do not have access to a church where the gospel is preached in their own language and culture. Christar was started in 1930 by Benjamin Davison and has over three hundred missionaries scattered among the least-reached.

It is non-profit. Contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Contact Information: [ Back to top ]

Mailing Address:PO Box 14866
Reading, PA
19612-4866
Website: www.christar.org
Phone:(610) 375-0300, (800) 755-7955
Email:You need to enable javascript to see the email

Organization Details [ Back to top ]

EIN: 221717576
CEO/President: Mr. Stephen Coffey Tax Deductible: Yes
Chairman: Rev. Greg Parsons Fiscal Year End: December 31
Board Size: 15 Financial info from:
Founder: Mr. Benjamin Davidson Member of ECFA: Yes
Year Founded: 1930 Member of ECFA since: 1986

Purpose [ Back to top ]

The mission of Christar (formerly International Missions) is to glorify God by establishing churches, primarily within least-reached Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Asian communities worldwide. In this endeavor, we partner with churches to send out missionaries who proclaim the gospel and equip the body of Christ. The vision of Christar is to see more churches planted among more of the least-reached through effective prayer, growing people, godly teams and fruitful partnerships. We define the least-reached as: People who do not have access to a church where the gospel is preached in their own language and culture. Christar was started in 1930 by Benjamin Davison and has over three hundred missionaries scattered among the least-reached.

It is non-profit. Contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Mission Statement [ Back to top ]

Christar's Mission Statement and Vision Statement is as follows:

The mission of Christar (formerly International Missions) is to glorify God by establishing churches, primarily within least-reached Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Asian communities worldwide. In this endeavor, we partner with churches to send out missionaries who proclaim the gospel and equip the body of Christ.

The vision of Christar is to see more churches planted among more of the least-reached through effective prayer, growing people, godly teams and fruitful partnerships. We define the least-reached as: People who do not have access to a church where the gospel is preached in their own language and culture.

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

  • Four Uzbecks in Kazakhstan came to faith in Christ. In Iraq, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi appointed a liaison for the evangelical Protestant churches. This man came to Jordan to meet with the church leaders who were doing mission in Iraq, including Christar’s Nabeeh Abbassi.
  • The Good News Center in Pakistan has shared the gospel through Bible correspondence courses for over three decades. Still, to this day, at least 100 Muslims a year profess faith in Christ.
  • In Christar’s southern Philippine ministry 150 Muslims each week are in Bible studies. They have grown from zero Muslim background believers about 20 years ago to somewhere between 50 and 75 today. There were seven baptisms in about 13 months.
  • In the year 2004, the Friends of Yunan award was given to Doug Briggs, on of Christar’s staff.

    Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

    Christar's Statement of Faith is:

    We Believe:
    The Bible is verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit, is inerrant in the original manuscripts, and is the infallible and authoritative Word of God.

    There is one only, living and true God, eternally co-existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

    God the Father loves the world, gave Christ to be its Savior, and is Father of all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

    God the Son became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and is truly God and truly man. He lived a perfect, sinless life and all His teachings and utterances are true. He shed His blood and died for the sins of the whole world, according to the Scriptures, as a vicarious and substitutionary sacrifice. The crucified body of Christ was raised from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sits on the right hand of God as our High Priest and Advocate.

    The Holy Spirit is a Person. He is the Divine Author of the Scriptures; He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement; He is the Divine Agent of regeneration; He indwells all believers; and He baptizes all believers into the body of Christ at the time of their conversion.

    Man, created in the image of God, sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God. All men are consequently born with a sinful nature, which is enmity against God. Man is totally depraved, a sinner in thought, word, and deed, and he needs to be saved.

    Salvation is by grace through faith. All who receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are born again by the Holy Spirit. All who are truly born again have been given eternal life and shall never perish.

    There are two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which are divinely enjoined upon all believers. They are without saving merit in themselves but provide an expression of faith regarding the believer's identification in Christ.

    Jesus Christ shall return personally and bodily to rapture the Church. The second coming of Christ will be premillenial to establish His kingdom upon the earth and to reign in righteousness and justice.

    Both the just and the unjust shall be raised from the dead bodily. The redeemed in Christ shall enjoy eternal blessedness. Those who have not received the offer of salvation shall suffer eternal conscious punishment.

    The Christian life is to be lived by faith, trusting the Lord for the provision of our spiritual and material needs. All who are saved possess two natures with provision made for the victory of the new nature over the old nature by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Christians are called to a Spirit-filled life, and we are to be separated from all worldly and sinful practices.

    History [ Back to top ]

    CHRISTAR (formerly International Missions) began on January 1, 1930 in Southern India. Founded by a seventy-year-old Scotsman, Benjamin Davidson, the original focus was an outreach to unreached Hindus. After Pakistan separated from India in 1947, CHRISTAR began a ministry among Muslims. Since then, it has expanded to over 20 countries and targeted 27 people groups. In 1970 CHRISTAR began a pioneer tentmaking effort in Turkey. Currently CHRISTAR employs strategic tentmaking-type ministries in 11 creative access nations.

    Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

    ALL CHRISTAR missionaries, from the President on down, secure their own personal support.

    Christar needs some of the following:

    People to volunteer their time over a summer. Get hands-on training in reaching Muslims, Hindus and East Asians.

    Short-term Teams: Spend several weeks working with CHRISTAR to reach least-reached people.

    Internships/professional opportunities: Earn college credit or put your professional skills to work on the mission field.

    Tailor-made experiences: Create your own short-term experience with the help of our expert team!

    Second-career opportunities.

    Research Analysis

    Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]

    Transparency Grade of : A
    Criteria categoryGradeOther Comments
    Timeliness:907/7/2005 10:13:34 AM: Organization made financial information available between 5 ½ and 6 ½ months after their fiscal year end.
    Financial Information:1007/7/2005 10:13:46 AM: Organization provided all financial information requested. Information was clear and thorough.
    Foundational Clarity:
    Level of Cooperation:
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    MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]

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Financial Snapshot
  • The overall 5 Star Financial Efficiency Rating is a summarization of the rating system’s three efficiency areas. The three efficiency areas are Fund Acquisition, Resource Allocation and Asset Utilization.
  • Christar’s strongest area in the ratings system is resource or expense allocation where they rank in the top 35% of all rated organizations. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001, their three expense areas are allocated as follows: program expenses 85%, management and general 9%, and fundraising 6%.
  • Their weakest area is asset utilization where they rank in the bottom half of all rated organizations. Asset utilization gauges organizations’ spending verses asset accumulation by comparing total expenses and total assets. In theory, all things being equal, an organization that spends more meets current needs better than one that maintains more assets. During fiscal year 2001, they spent roughly 1.2 times the value of their asset held at the end of that year.
  • For 2001, about 89% of Christar’s assets were held in cash ($1.9 million), temporary cash investments ($2.8 million), and investments ($2.4 million). They received $326,294 in dividends and interest and recorded investment losses of $159,674.
  • Christar ranks just about in the middle of all organizations with respect to fund acquisition. They spent $621,684 to raise $9,697,774, thus about 6.4% of contributed funds were used to raise those funds. In other words, 93.7 cents of every contributed dollar was available for management and program expenses.

Analyst Comments [ Back to top ]

MinistryWatch.com's Take

Ministry Statement or Response [ Back to top ]

Financial Information:

Financials[ Back to top ]

Balance Sheet
Assets20042003200220012000
Cash$1,528,000$1,897,000$1,244,000$1,943,000$1,107,000
Receivables, Inventories & Prepaids$296,000$503,000$269,000$328,000$872,000
Short-Term Investments$4,971,000$4,885,000$4,922,000$5,221,000$6,217,000
Other Current Assets$0$30,000$150,000$0$0
Total Current Assets$6,795,000$7,317,000$6,586,000$7,494,000$8,197,000
Long-Term Investments$0$0$0$0$0
Fixed Assets$1,678,000$1,567,000$601,000$542,000$0
Other Long-Term Assets$1,710,000$1,896,000$0$0$0
Total Long-Term Assets$3,389,000$3,463,000$601,000$542,000$0
TOTAL ASSETS$10,185,000$10,780,000$7,187,000$8,036,000$8,197,000
Liabilities20042003200220012000
Payables & Accrued Expenses$639,000$291,000$271,000$218,000$270,000
Other Current Liabilities$0$44,000$44,000$46,000$58,000
Total Current Liabilities$639,000$336,000$315,000$265,000$329,000
Debt$0$0$0$0$0
Due To (From) Affiliates$0$0$0$0$0
Other Long-Term Liabilities$2,264,000$2,219,000$0$0$0
Total Long-Term Liabilities$2,264,000$2,219,000$0$0$0
TOTAL LIABILITIES$2,904,000$2,555,000$315,000$265,000$329,000
Assets20042003200220012000
Unrestricted$1,684,000$1,989,000$6,825,000$7,720,000$7,828,000
Temporarily Restricted$5,596,000$6,235,000$46,000$51,000$8,000
Permanently Restricted$0$0$0$0$31,000
NET ASSETS$7,281,000$8,224,000$6,871,000$7,771,000$7,868,000
Revenue and Expenses
Revenue20042003200220012000
Total Contributions$11,237,000$10,545,000$9,642,000$9,697,000$9,198,000
Program Service Revenue$0$0$35,000$41,000$39,000
Membership Dues$0$0$0$0$0
Investment Income$488,000$796,000($272,000)$166,000$202,000
Other Revenue$68,000$107,000$9,000$6,000$1,000
Total Other Revenue$557,000$904,000($226,000)$214,000$243,000
TOTAL REVENUE$11,794,000$11,449,000$9,416,000$9,912,000$9,441,000
Expenses20042003200220012000
Program Services$9,353,000$8,550,000$8,663,000$8,499,000$8,163,000
Management & General$1,724,000$1,464,000$1,035,000$887,000$863,000
Fundraising$1,251,000$1,043,000$616,000$621,000$528,000
TOTAL EXPENSES$12,330,000$11,058,000$10,315,000$10,008,000$9,555,000
Change in Net Assets20042003200220012000
SURPLUS (DEFICIT)($535,000)$391,000($899,000)($96,000)($113,000)
Other Changes in Net Assets$0$0$0$0$0
TOTAL CHANGE IN NET ASSETS($535,000)$391,000($899,000)($96,000)($113,000)