Overview
- ECFA’s Oct. 1 membership update listed the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse as voluntary resignations.
- In a July 2 letter, Graham argued the Leader Care standard makes ECFA “the moral police” and falls outside its expertise.
- The policy requires boards to craft care plans for senior leaders with board-led spiritual engagement and time set aside for rest, retreats, and physicals.
- ECFA says the standard becomes mandatory for accreditation on Jan. 1, 2027, and reports a 97% retention rate with about 140 new applications in 2025.
- The break is notable because Billy Graham helped found ECFA in 1979, as financial records show Samaritan’s Purse holds $1.4 billion in net assets and BGEA no longer files an IRS Form 990.