ReFrame Ministries

The information on this page was last updated 12/13/2023. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]


Summary

ReFrame Ministries is the new name of Back to God Ministries International. We are the worldwide media ministry of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. Our vision is that the lives and worldviews of all people around the globe will be transformed by God's gospel message. Relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we create contextual media resources that proclaim the gospel, disciple believers, and strengthen the church throughout the world.


Contact information

Mailing address:
ReFrame Ministries
1700 28th St. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508

Website: www.reframeministries.org

Phone: 616-942-9383

Email: [email protected]


Organization details

EIN: 362284261

CEO/President: Kurt Selles

Chairman: Paul De Vries

Board size: 11

Founder: Christian Reformed Church Synod

Ruling year: 1975

Tax deductible: Yes

Fiscal year end: 06/30

Member of ECFA: Yes

Member of ECFA since: 1989


Purpose

Our vision is that the lives and worldviews of all people around the globe will be transformed by God's gospel message. Relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we create contextual media resources that proclaim the gospel, disciple believers, and strengthen the church throughout the world in 10 major languages. This work takes place through four core strategies:

Church Rooted: We believe the Holy Spirit works through the church, so we partner with churches to build and strengthen the body of Christ.

Major Languages: We strive to reach the widest possible audience, so we create content in the world's most-spoken languages.

Context Driven: We work with local partners who faithfully contextualize the gospel message and use the most effective media for connecting with diverse audiences.

Relationship Focused: Following the example of Christ, we seek to build long-term, discipling relationships with individual members of our mass audiences.


Mission statement

Relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we create contextual media resources that proclaim the gospel, disciple believers, and strengthen the church throughout the world.


Statement of faith

The Christian Reformed Church subscribes to the following confessions:

The Belgic Confession
The Canons of Dordt
The Heidelberg Catechism

Donor confidence score

This organization does not file a Form 990.

Show donor confidence score details

Transparency grade

C

To understand our transparency grade, click here.


Financial efficiency ratings

Sector: Educational Media

CategoryRatingOverall rankSector rank
Overall efficiency rating974 of 109537 of 44
Fund acquisition rating900 of 109640 of 44
Resource allocation rating939 of 109637 of 44
Asset utilization rating686 of 109525 of 44

Financial ratios

Funding ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts =
Fundraising expense /
Total contributions
8%16%21%18%18%20%
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total revenue
7%13%19%18%16%19%
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance =
Total contributions /
Total revenue
91%84%91%96%88%94%
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total expenses
6%18%20%21%19%20%
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance =
Total other revenue /
Total revenue
9%16%9%4%12%6%
 
Operating ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio =
Program services /
Total expenses
81%70%68%67%69%69%
Spending ratio Spending ratio =
Total expenses /
Total revenue
94%72%93%82%83%96%
Program output ratio Program output ratio =
Program services /
Total revenue
76%50%63%55%58%66%
Savings ratio Savings ratio =
Surplus (deficit) /
Total revenue
6%28%7%18%17%4%
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate =
Surplus (deficit) /
Net assets
7%23%6%19%22%6%
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio =
Management and general expense /
Total expenses
11%12%12%11%12%12%
 
Investing ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total assets
0.760.540.690.780.961.16
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment =
Total assets /
Total current assets
1.441.071.191.091.091.39
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total current assets
1.410.580.820.851.051.61
 
Liquidity ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Current ratio Current ratio =
Total current assets /
Total current liabilities
14.7943.096.0516.8412.805.37
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio =
Total current liabilities /
Total current assets
0.070.020.170.060.080.19
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level =
(Total current assets -
Total current liabilities) /
(Total expenses / 12)
7.0820.2912.1713.2110.576.07
 
Solvency ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio =
Total liabilities /
Total assets
10%6%18%9%12%14%
Debt ratio Debt ratio =
Debt /
Total assets
0%0%0%0%0%0%
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio =
Net assets /
Total expenses
103%175%119%116%92%74%

Financials

Balance sheet
 
Assets20212020201920182017
Cash$2,844,096$2,371,779$3,180,523$3,584,628$1,922,249
Receivables, inventories, prepaids$2,612,945$1,484,127$1,808,816$1,083,585$42,974
Short-term investments$7,146,630$6,085,768$4,296,539$3,118,912$2,936,324
Other current assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total current assets$12,603,671$9,941,674$9,285,878$7,787,125$4,901,547
Long-term investments$61,438$55,592$80,063$87,243$100,024
Fixed assets$273,879$307,623$222,240$107,557$360,334
Other long-term assets$593,605$1,574,811$533,012$509,238$1,429,279
Total long-term assets$928,922$1,938,026$835,315$704,038$1,889,637
Total assets$13,532,593$11,879,700$10,121,193$8,491,163$6,791,184
 
Liabilities20212020201920182017
Payables and accrued expenses$292,502$366,936$282,965$325,106$339,995
Other current liabilities$0$1,275,623$268,374$283,361$572,180
Total current liabilities$292,502$1,642,559$551,339$608,467$912,175
Debt$0$0$0$0$0
Due to (from) affiliates$57,470$0$77,002$141,287$25,483
Other long-term liabilities$443,878$460,459$263,212$274,243$0
Total long-term liabilities$501,348$460,459$340,214$415,530$25,483
Total liabilities$793,850$2,103,018$891,553$1,023,997$937,658
 
Net assets20212020201920182017
Without donor restrictions$10,961,258$8,313,054$7,975,487$6,244,645$4,626,176
With donor restrictions$1,777,485$1,463,628$1,254,153$1,222,521$1,227,350
Net assets$12,738,743$9,776,682$9,229,640$7,467,166$5,853,526
 
Revenues and expenses
 
Revenue20212020201920182017
Total contributions$8,494,811$8,011,234$9,334,198$8,646,686$7,699,095
Program service revenue$0$0$0$0$0
Membership dues$0$0$0$0$0
Investment income$1,467,461$258,377$260,500$253,878$474,294
Other revenue$197,048$491,774$96,853$879,381$55,408
Total other revenue$1,664,509$750,151$357,353$1,133,259$529,702
Total revenue$10,159,320$8,761,385$9,691,551$9,779,945$8,228,797
 
Expenses20212020201920182017
Program services$5,073,132$5,530,307$5,350,579$5,648,294$5,413,674
Management and general$886,778$990,200$880,147$940,138$931,082
Fundraising$1,321,281$1,664,325$1,702,691$1,563,145$1,546,887
Total expenses$7,281,191$8,184,832$7,933,417$8,151,577$7,891,643
 
Change in net assets20212020201920182017
Surplus (deficit)$2,878,129$576,553$1,758,134$1,628,368$337,154
Other changes in net assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total change in net assets$2,878,129$576,553$1,758,134$1,628,368$337,154

Compensation

Compensation data for this ministry has not been collected.


Response from ministry

No response has been provided by this ministry.


The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 12/13/2023. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]


History

1939
After the Great Depression halted radio production, the Christian Reformed Church Synod appointed a Radio Committee to begin a media ministry. In 1939, The Back to God Hour broadcast its first radio message in Chicago, Illinois.

1946
Dr. Peter Eldersveld was appointed as the first full-time radio pastor to broadcast The Back to God Hour. By the late 1940s, more than 250 stations had picked up the program.

1950
The first printed devotional, The Family Altar, was published. Within the first few months more than 40,000 people subscribed. In 1976 the publication changed its name to Today.

1958
Our Arabic outreach, led by Rev. Bassam Madany, broadcast its first program to the Arab world.

1965
Rev. Juan Boonstra began Spanish language programming.

1966
Dr. Nederhood was appointed as Dr. Eldersveld's successor as the voice of The Back to God Hour.

1969-1980
Language outreach expanded to include French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese. By 1979, our ministry had eight language ministries reaching 100 countries. In 1980, the ninth language, Russian, was added.

2000
Kids Corner, a children's radio program, debuted on more than 160 radio stations. The Ark Clubhouse, a children's television program, was produced and broadcast in Spanish and Portuguese

2008
The organization's name, The Back to God Hour, was officially changed to Back to God Ministries International to reflect the growing scope of our mission.

2009
The tenth major language ministry, Hindi, was added. The English language family of programs was named ReFrame Media.

2020
Our organization changed names from Back to God Ministries International to ReFrame Ministries. This simplified the way we communicate about our English programs (known as ReFrame Media from 2009-2020) and their relationship with our wider international ministries.


Program accomplishments


Needs

The only reason ReFrame Ministries can continue sharing the Gospel is because of the support of people like you. We need your unique gifting and skills to keep this work going. If you're ready to join us, here are the best ways to get involved:

Prayer
Without your prayers, this ministry would not happen. See this month's requests or sign up for our email list to receive monthly prayer emails.

Donate Online
Your gift of any amount will help proclaim the Gospel and disciple believers around the world. You can make a one time gift or become a monthly partner.

Spread the Word
All of our programs offer great opportunities to share God's Word with your loved ones. find all of our English programs here, or explore programs from all 10 languages.

Amazon Smile
If you shop on Amazon, .5% of every purchase can go toward ReFrame Ministries when you make us your preferred charity.