Narramore Christian Foundation, Inc. 
The information in this column was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 3/25/2021. To update the information in this column, please email: info@ministrywatch.com
Summary
The Narramore Christian Foundation (NCF) provides Christ-centered training and counseling for pastors, organization leaders, missionaries and their children, member care providers, and other Kingdom workers. NCF is a global ministry devoted to the prevention and solving of personal and interpersonal issues that are experienced within this often underserved population. Our seminars, literature, and ministry outreaches are provided using sound Biblical principals integrated with evidence-based psychology.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Narramore Christian Foundation, Inc.
P. O. Box 661900
Arcadia, CA 91066-1900
Website: www.ncfliving.org
Phone: (626) 821-8400
Email: ncf@ncfliving.org
Organization details
EIN: 952018760
CEO/President: Tim Hibma
Chairman: Dr. Cherry Steinmeier
Board size: 13
Founder: Dr. Clyde & Mrs. Ruth Narramore
Year founded: 1961
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 06/30
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 1980
Purpose
We provide needed Christian mental health care to missionaries and those who live in areas where little or no psychological resources exist.
We provide vital reentry seminars for MKs to assist their transition to North American life after their years living abroad.
We provide literature and education on topics in Christian counseling using a strong integration of psychology and Scripture.
Mission statement
The mission of the Narramore Christian Foundation is to meet the psychological needs of underserved populations by providing communications, services, grants, and seminars based on the integration of psychology and Scripture.
Statement of faith
We believe that the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, a divine, supernatural revelation. I believe in the plenary, verbal inspiration of the original writings of the Scriptures, and that as thus given they were wholly without error of any kind (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).
We believe in one Triune God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (I Peter 1:2; Matthew 28:19). I believe that they are co-equal in power and glory, identical in their essential natures, attributes, and perfections and that they are co-eternal (Genesis 1:2, John 17:5). In His essential nature, God is spirit as opposed to material (John 4:24); at to His essential attributes God is absolutely holy, embracing the sum of all moral perfections (I Peter 1:16); as to His essential character, God is love (I John 4:16; John 3:16).
We believe that Jesus Christ "being the eternal Son of God, became man" (Hebrew 2:16; John 1:14; Luke 1:35), and that He continues to be the God-Man, in two distinct natures, and one person forever (John 1:14; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 13:8). I believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, thus being True God and True Man.
We believe that He died upon the cross a vicarious substitutionary death, thereby making atonement for the sin of the world (John 1:29). I believe that He is the only Redeemer (Acts 4:12), and that His atonement is sufficient for the sins of all the world (Hebrew 7:25; I John 2:2), and efficacious for all who believe (John 3:16, 26; Isaiah 45:22).
We believe that He bodily arose from the dead, that He ascended into Heaven; that there in His state of glorification He is now the interceding High Priest, Intercessor, and Advocate for all believers (Corinthians 15:20; Luke 24:26; Acts 1:3; Hebrew 7:25; 4:15, 2:17; I John 2:1).
We believe that as in His first advent He became incarnate and dwelt on earth personally, bodily, visibly in an earthly tabernacle of flesh, "the body of His humiliation," even so in His second advent He will return personally, bodily, visibly, but in the body of His glorification, to set up His kingdom and to judge the world in righteousness (Acts 1:9, 11; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15).
We believe that man, created in the image of God, fell into sin through the sin of the first Adam and thereby brought upon himself death both physical and spiritual; and that all human beings share this guilt and inherit this sin-nature from the first Adam. In order to secure salvation and restoration, man must be born again. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ "Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree: (I Peter 2:24). I believe that the punishment of the wicked and unbelieving, and the reward of the righteous are everlasting, and as the reward is conscious, so is the punishment (Genesis 1:26-28; Romans 3:10, John 3:16; Acts 4:12, 13:38-39; Matthew 25:46; II Corinthians 5:1; II Thessalonians 1:10).
We believe that there is a personal devil, a being of great cunning who can exert vast power only so far as God suffers him to do so, and who shall ultimately be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (I Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10; Ephesians 6:11).
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, indwells all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ
(I Corinthians 6:19), baptizes them into the body of Christ, and seals them unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit convinces and "reproves the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment" (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18-20; John 16:8-11).
We believe that the Church is the body of Christ, a spiritual organism composed of all born-again persons in this present age, that the primary mission of the church is to witness concerning the Head, Jesus Christ, and to preach the gospel among all nations, and that the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air prior to His appearing to set up His Kingdom (Ephesians 1:3-6, 22-23; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Matthew 28:19-20; I Thessalonians 4:16-18).
Transparency grade
A
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Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Christian Growth
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 925 of 940 | 68 of 69 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 897 of 942 | 64 of 69 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 887 of 942 | 65 of 69 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 795 of 940 | 54 of 69 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 7% | 35% | 34% | 33% | 21% | 24% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 5% | 12% | 2% | 16% | 14% | 17% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 86% | 34% | 7% | 47% | 65% | 74% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 5% | 9% | 7% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 14% | 66% | 93% | 53% | 35% | 26% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 80% | 68% | 68% | 66% | 65% | 69% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 96% | 136% | 35% | 163% | 139% | 184% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 75% | 92% | 24% | 108% | 91% | 127% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 4% | -36% | 65% | -63% | -39% | -84% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 4% | -2% | 20% | -4% | -3% | -5% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 13% | 24% | 26% | 24% | 25% | 21% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 1.05 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.09 | 0.08 | 0.09 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 1.31 | 1.25 | 1.27 | 1.53 | 1.52 | 2.88 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.61 | 0.10 | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.26 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 11.29 | 38.26 | 45.65 | 105.87 | 76.81 | 30.11 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 6.92 | 112.14 | 86.58 | 84.88 | 92.11 | 44.58 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 9% | 4% | 3% | 11% | 14% | 14% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 0% | 0% | 8% | 11% | 10% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 79% | 1157% | 902% | 974% | 1016% | 954% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Cash | $122,858 | $48,061 | $150,024 | $215,917 | $191,903 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $86,355 | $107,592 | $99,282 | $73,303 | $181,024 |
| Short-term investments | $11,435,374 | $11,363,347 | $7,884,790 | $8,254,099 | $4,369,129 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $11,644,587 | $11,519,000 | $8,134,096 | $8,543,319 | $4,742,056 |
| Long-term investments | $179,502 | $239,112 | $317,818 | $407,816 | $4,714,310 |
| Fixed assets | $2,652,790 | $2,689,577 | $3,955,277 | $3,926,518 | $4,100,609 |
| Other long-term assets | $108,079 | $142,316 | $59,143 | $78,249 | $96,981 |
| Total long-term assets | $2,940,371 | $3,071,005 | $4,332,238 | $4,412,583 | $8,911,900 |
| Total assets | $14,584,958 | $14,590,005 | $12,466,334 | $12,955,902 | $13,653,956 |
| Liabilities | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $251,113 | $193,726 | $29,294 | $78,364 | $130,631 |
| Other current liabilities | $53,255 | $58,617 | $47,537 | $32,859 | $26,869 |
| Total current liabilities | $304,368 | $252,343 | $76,831 | $111,223 | $157,500 |
| Debt | $2,500 | $4,043 | $1,008,581 | $1,370,900 | $1,405,417 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $236,125 | $251,512 | $287,814 | $308,253 | $314,418 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $238,625 | $255,555 | $1,296,395 | $1,679,153 | $1,719,835 |
| Total liabilities | $542,993 | $507,898 | $1,373,226 | $1,790,376 | $1,877,335 |
| Net assets | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Without donor restrictions | $13,272,026 | $13,287,466 | $10,254,225 | $10,326,166 | $10,969,930 |
| With donor restrictions | $769,939 | $794,641 | $838,883 | $839,360 | $806,691 |
| Net assets | $14,041,965 | $14,082,107 | $11,093,108 | $11,165,526 | $11,776,621 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Total contributions | $304,419 | $303,563 | $329,079 | $511,175 | $498,044 |
| Program service revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $210,978 | $3,776,610 | $102,168 | $128,876 | $64,728 |
| Other revenue | $379,553 | $334,275 | $266,811 | $149,350 | $109,332 |
| Total other revenue | $590,531 | $4,110,885 | $368,979 | $278,226 | $174,060 |
| Total revenue | $894,950 | $4,414,448 | $698,058 | $789,401 | $672,104 |
| Expenses | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Program services | $819,337 | $1,059,096 | $756,848 | $715,927 | $852,337 |
| Management and general | $287,128 | $398,570 | $273,667 | $273,528 | $264,544 |
| Fundraising | $107,017 | $103,890 | $108,554 | $109,127 | $117,294 |
| Total expenses | $1,213,482 | $1,561,556 | $1,139,069 | $1,098,582 | $1,234,175 |
| Change in net assets | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Surplus (deficit) | ($318,532) | $2,852,892 | ($441,011) | ($309,181) | ($562,071) |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | ($318,532) | $2,852,892 | ($441,011) | ($309,181) | ($562,071) |
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 3/25/2021. To update the information below, please email: info@ministrywatch.com
History
Clyde Narramore received his doctorate in psychology from Columbia University in 1949. At that time, western Christians were very skeptical of secular psychology, if not downright opposed to it. Although many thought of psychology as a threat to a Biblical understanding of proper ways for dealing with one's emotional struggles, Dr. Narramore courageously began a radio program with his wife, Ruth, in his own home entitled "Psychology for Living." In this program and throughout his professional life, he championed the integration of psychology and evangelical Christian faith to any who would listen.
Narramore Christian Foundation (NCF) was founded in 1956 as a nonprofit Christian foundation. Generous donations ever since that time have enabled this foundation to be a key resource for the development of strategic ministries that meet the spiritual and psychological needs of underserved populations in the United States and, increasingly, in the world.
Dr. Narramore's motto, "Every person is worth understanding" fueled his passion to see the needs of others wherever he went. He expanded the focus of ministry to Christian laypeople via an annual Bible conference at Lake Yale, Florida. The conferences, conducted from 1968 to 1991, always had a core theme-properly understood psychology and faithful interpretation of Scripture were compatible! Thousands of people were blessed, marriage and family relationships were strengthened, and personal growth resulted.
In 1970, Dr. Clyde Narramore, Dr. Bruce Narramore, his nephew, and the board of directors of NCF embarked on another new venture. Convinced of the need to train and equip Christian professional counselors and psychologists using a strong integration of Biblical truth and psychology excellence, they founded Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology. It was the first U.S. freestanding institution granting doctoral degrees in psychology to receive regional accreditation. Seven years later Rosemead's doctoral program and faculty moved to Biola College. In 1981, Biola's status changed, and its name became Biola University.
Using the same name as the radio show, "Dr. Clyde," as he was affectionately called, published the first issue of the periodical, Psychology for Living, in 1959. This journal built on the topics of the radio program. It provided the first in-depth written material for Christian laypeople to help them understand human nature, emotions, and relationships with God and others. From the exposure to integrated, Christian psychology, requests for referrals to Christian counselors, Christian mental health materials, and training poured in.
People primarily sought out their pastors for help with their relationship and emotional problems. But pastors often did not have the time or the expertise to handle the complex situations that parishioners and others presented. With the overwhelming need for Christian counseling based on a strong integration of Biblical and psychological truth evident, NCF established a Christian counseling center in Pasadena, California, in 1960. Later, NCF also established Christian counseling centers in Phoenix, Arizona, and in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Such centers were rare anywhere in the United States at that time.
Dr. Narramore was particularly devoted to helping pastors and missionaries deal with their family and personal issues, and to integrate their knowledge of Scripture with a healthy understanding of their spiritual, emotional, and psychological life. If these leaders could grasp and experience the truth and the benefit of this integration, they could bring similar understandings and healing to those whom they served. To this end, NCF began offering psychological services for missionaries and pastors in 1962.
In 1966, NCF hosted a seminar for ministers and missionaries in Rosemead, California-an intensive, three-week seminar in which the participants received personal counseling and training. Having experienced holistic, integrated training and personal, confidential emotional and spiritual care at the seminar, these participants were uniquely equipped to provide more effective support to their parishioners and young Christians dealing with emotional and relational issues. This seminar became the model for NCF seminars throughout the U.S. and around the world.
Seeing yet another group with unmet needs that was not being served, NCF began annual reentry programs for missionary kids, or "MKs," in 1979. These two-week seminars served the sons and daughters of missionaries who were high school seniors coming to North America for college. Although they carried North American passports, most had spent a majority of their childhood overseas. For their parents, U.S. or Canada was "home." But for many MKs, it was not home. They often felt that they neither fully belonged in their host culture overseas nor in their passport country. The reentry program was designed to prepare them for their major transition from mission life to North American college and culture. Through sessions on grieving losses, cultural adjustments, and dealing with uncertainty; confidential sessions with experienced, licensed clinicians and dorm devotions with fellow MKs and MK staff in college who had attended a reentry seminar previously; and through fun activities and conversations with other MKs with similar experiences and feelings, they gained new friendships and felt supported and understood. By 2018, NCF served more than 1,900 MKs!
NCF continues its MK ReEntry Seminars each summer, hosting young adults on the beautiful campus of Biola University, La Mirada, California. Approximately 40 MKs from around the globe gather to share together their joys of life as an MK/TCK (Third Culture Kid) and the struggles of frequent moves, grief and loss, and learning North American culture.
With its vision to serve the underserved, NCF in 2001 developed and sponsored the first Doctor of Education in Christian Counseling program in Manila, Philippines, at the Asia Theological Seminary through the Asia Graduate School of Theology. The first students received their doctoral degrees in 2006. Now hosted at the Biblical Seminary of the Philippines and educating the fourth cohort of students, this NCF program is impacting the nations of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, and beyond through its students. In 2018 this training became a Ph.D. program in Clinical Christian Counseling and is arguably the best of its kind in Asia.
The first intensive, two-week Counseling and Member Care Seminar for missionaries and member care providers was offered in Thailand in 2002. NCF has continued to offer this intensive, life-changing seminar annually. In 2013 it began offering the seminar alternately in Thailand and Turkey, the two countries in which NCF helped found counseling centers for cross-cultural workers. In 2016, NCF offered a one-week Member Care Seminar for cross-cultural workers in the Philippines for Filipino mission leaders, missionaries, and those interested in developing member care within churches and organizations that are sending out missionaries. The 2020 Counseling and Member Care Seminar will be held near Athens, Greece.
With the vision of Dr. Bruce Narramore and Dr. Timothy Friesen, NCF helped found the Cornerstone Counseling Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to serve missionaries in 2004 (pictured at left). This center became a Thai foundation in 2006, and each year serves over 500 missionary individuals or families associated with over 120 organizations, as well as Thai individuals and couples, and the Thai church. NCF's President serves on Cornerstone Counseling Foundation's board of directors. NCF also assisted in establishing Olive Tree Counseling Center in Antalya, Turkey, in 2013. Their staff sees well over 300 clients each year, serving in over 60 countries and representing more than 150 organizations. NCF's Vice President of Operations serves on Olive Tree's board of directors. One of Olive Tree's beautiful counseling offices is pictured below.
The mission of the Narramore Christian Foundation remains strong: to meet the psychological needs of underserved populations by providing services based on the integration of psychology and Scripture. NCF has been privileged each year to be able to provide limited grants and scholarships to individuals or organizations that help to facilitate its mission. NCF staff provide care and support for missionaries and their families through personal visits when possible and through internet communication. Referrals for Christian counseling and psychology services are also available.
Program accomplishments
NCF's accomplishments and programs include some of the following:
Radio Ministry:
Psychology for Living is a daily 15-minute broadcast dealing with solutions to everyday problems and is heard regularly on stations throughout the U.S.A. as well as in several foreign countries.
Literature:
The magazine, Psychology for Living, and a compact publication, Special Insight, are published on alternate months. They focus on effective living. Approximately 100 booklets on a variety of psychological topics are published by NCF and mailed to people around the world.
Videos:
Videos on everyday problems bringing insight are available for use by individuals, families, churches, schools and other groups.
Correspondence: Many people write the Foundation about their problems and concerns. Appropriate booklets and printed materials are sent free of charge, usually with a personal letter.
Crisis Counseling for Overseas Missionaries: The Foundation often sends a Christian psychologist overseas to conduct seminars and provide intensive short-term counseling for missionaries who have recently undergone a severe crisis or trauma.
Seminars for Sons and Daughters of Missionaries: For nearly 20 years NCF has provided a 12-day seminar for MKs coming to the U.S. for college. Personality and vocational tests, plus counseling are given. Orientation to the U.S. is stressed.
Training of Pastors and Missionaries: NCF in partnership with the Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University, offers in-depth training for ministers, missionaries and Christian leaders to better equip them to handle the many and varied problems that people face in today's world.
Email and Internet Ministries: Realizing the potential of electronic communications NCF is now on line to be able to serve and minister to pastors, missionaries, Christian workers, and individuals at home and around the world.
Literature for Prisoners: Numerous prisons are provided with free booklets and videos to serve the prison population.
Needs
Narramore Christian Foundation has a global vision of healing emotional wounds and building psychological resources in and for God's Kingdom workers. In order to implement this vision, we need your prayers and financial support. Together, we are changing the stories of those in ministry and missions around the world!
Investment earnings from our endowment funds provide a portion of what we need for our ministries. However, we need substantial additional donations to meet the growing costs of making our ministries affordable to missionaries and their families.
Please remember NCF ministries in prayer and support us with your donation today. May God provide you and us with wisdom, motivation, and opportunities to serve Him.