WINCHESTER, Va., Feb. 15, 2021—The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) Board of Directors announced today the termination of membership of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) for failure to comply with Standard 4 of ECFA’s Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship™, which pertains to Use of Resources and Compliance with Laws.

The termination follows a careful due diligence process by ECFA in recent months including communications with the ministry that began in early October and an on-site visit at the RZIM ministry headquarters on Dec. 16, 2020. This visit prompted ECFA to open a formal compliance review on Jan. 18, 2021 for issues including ECFA Standard 4.

On Feb. 11, 2021, ECFA received information from RZIM confirming a significant violation of Standard 4 when ministry resources were improperly used in relation to sexual abuse and misconduct by the ministry’s late founder. The ECFA board determined that an immediate termination of membership was necessary under the circumstances.

ECFA takes very seriously the commitment of our members to abide by its standards of responsible stewardship and has robust processes in place to help ensure members are in compliance with the standards. This includes a public portal on the ECFA website where anyone may submit a concern regarding a member’s compliance with one of the membership standards. (Read more ECFA Compliance FAQs.)

“We appreciate the cooperation of RZIM leadership in the review process during what has been a challenging season for the ministry,” said Michael Martin, president of ECFA. “We are encouraged by the steps they are taking and are hopeful that in the future there will be opportunity to return to full compliance once necessary changes are made.”

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, founded in 1979, provides accreditation to leading Christian nonprofit organizations that faithfully demonstrate compliance with the ECFA standards pertaining to financial accountability, fundraising and board governance. For more information about ECFA, including information about accreditation and a listing of ECFA-accredited members, visit ECFA.org or call 800.323.9473.