Insight for Living / Chuck Swindoll 
The information in this column was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 11/10/2021. To update the information in this column, please email: info@ministrywatch.com
Summary
Since 1979, the Insight for Living radio broadcast, with its extensive national and international reach, has been the ministry's major vehicle in teaching the truths of Scripture and for presenting a message of genuine hope and encouragement to a worldwide audience.
The broadcast is the initial step in our mission to teach the Bible, proclaim the Gospel of Christ, mentor and train international pastors and ministers, and provide uplifting messages from the Scriptures that touch the hearts of our listeners around the world. Insight for Living Ministries is also committed to walking alongside our listeners after the broadcast ends, by providing support and prayerful encouragement via biblically trained pastoral counselors, Searching the Scriptures studies, Touching the Heart gift books, MP3s, and much more.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Insight for Living Ministries
P.O. Box 5000
Frisco, TX 75034
Website: www.insight.org
Phone: (800) 772-8888
Email: insight.org/connect/contact-us/faqs/email-us
Organization details
EIN: 953392299
CEO/President: Mrs. Cynthia Swindoll
Chairman: Dr. Charles Swindoll
Board size: 13
Founder: Dr. & Mrs. Chuck Swindoll
Ruling year: 1980
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 06/30
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 1981
Purpose
Insight for Living ("IFL") is the Bible-teaching radio ministry of Chuck Swindoll. A 30-minute daily radio broadcast now airs worldwide via the internet and more than 2100 radio outlets daily. Distributed both domestically and internationally, this program, along with a biblically based counseling service, Bible study guides, books, website, tapes and other materials, support their purpose of communicating biblical truth and it application. IFL's global headquarters are located in Plano, Texas with additional offices in Canada and Australia. Chuck and Cynthia Swindoll founded IFL in 1979 and remain committed to its mission.
Mission statement
Insight for Living Ministries is committed to excellence in communicating the truths of Scripture and the person of Jesus Christ in an accurate, clear, and practical manner so that people will come to an understanding of God's plan for their lives, as well as their significant role as authentic Christians in a needy, hostile, and desperate world.
Statement of faith
The Bible - We affirm our confidence in God's inerrant Word. We treasure its truths, and we respect its reproofs.
The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and written centuries ago by chosen men of God. The Bible is without error in its original manuscripts, is completely reliable as the final authority in all matters of doctrine and practice, and is centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. See 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; and 2 Peter 1:20-21.
God the Father - We acknowledge the Creator-God as our heavenly Father, infinitely perfect and intimately acquainted with all our ways.
As the first person of the Trinity, the Father is the source and ruler of all things and is fatherly in His relationship with creation in general and believers in particular. And although there is one eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, holy, just, loving, true, and unchangeable God, in the unity of the one God there are three divine persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-equal in power but distinct in roles. See Psalm 103:19; Matthew 28:19; and 1 Peter 1:2.
The Lord Jesus Christ - We claim Jesus Christ as our Lord-the very God who came in human flesh-the object of our worship and the subject of our praise.
As the second person of the Trinity, the Son reveals the Father. According to the Father's plan, the eternal Son humbled Himself and became incarnate, inseparably uniting undiminished deity with true humanity. As fully God and fully man, Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, died to pay in full the penalty for our sin, rose bodily and miraculously from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will come again in glory. See John 1:1-3, 14; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 1:1-3; and 1 John 5:11-12.
The Holy Spirit - We recognize the Holy Spirit as the third member of the Godhead who is incessantly at work convicting, convincing, and comforting.
As the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the personal agent of the Father and Son for revelation and regeneration. Though pervasively present and active in creation, the Holy Spirit specially dwells among God's people and uniquely indwells individual believers, giving them new life and empowering them for lives of personal holiness. See John 14:26; Acts 1:5, 8; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; and Ephesians 1:13-14.
The Depravity of Humanity - We confess that Adam's fall into sin left humanity without the hope of heaven apart from a new birth made possible by the Savior's substitutionary death and miraculous, bodily resurrection.
As a result of Adam's rebellion, all people have fallen under the curse of death. Unable and unwilling to please God, all humans are undeserving of His blessings, blinded to His truth, and dead in their sins-spiritually and, ultimately, physically. This state of judgment before the just and holy God is a condition that permeates every facet of human life and cannot be cured apart from the grace of God through Christ. See Genesis 3; Jeremiah 17:9; and Romans 3:10-18, 23; 5:12.
Salvation - We believe the offer of salvation is God's love-gift to all. Those who accept it by faith, apart from works, become new creatures in Christ.
Because fallen humans are unable to save themselves, God, according to His own sovereign mercy, acts to save those who come to Him by grace through faith. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer the penalty of death in place of condemned humanity. Simply through believing the good news that Christ died for his or her sins and then rose from the dead, a person can be forgiven of all sin, declared righteous by God, reborn into new life, and guaranteed eternal life with God. See John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:1-5; and Ephesians 1:4-12; 2:8-9.
The Return of Christ - We anticipate our Lord's promised return, which could occur at any moment.
According to the Father's plan, Jesus Christ will one day return in power to bring completion of salvation and rewards to believers and judgment and wrath to unbelievers. The Bible teaches that the years leading up to the judgment will be marked by increasing evil, but the actual time of the end is unknown. It could begin at any moment. Though the details of Christ's return are sometimes unclear, its reality is certain, and all believers are called to live holy lives in anticipation of His coming. See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; Hebrews 9:28; and Revelation 19:11-16.
Resurrection of Humanity - We are convinced that all who have died will be brought back from beyond-believers to everlasting communion with God and unbelievers to everlasting separation from God.
Though a believer's spirit is ushered into the Lord's presence immediately upon physical death, the fullness of salvation awaits Christ's return, when He will resurrect believers in glorified bodies like His own immortal body which can never die. While all believers throughout history will enjoy eternal life in perfect paradise, unbelievers will be resurrected to suffer eternal conscious punishment for their sins. See John 11:23-27; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; and Revelation 20:4-21:5.
The Body of Christ - We know the Lord is continuing to enlarge His family, the universal body of Christ, over which He rules as Head.
The body of Christ is the ever-enlarging universal church consisting of true believers in heaven and on earth over whom Jesus Christ reigns as Lord. Regardless of denomination, all true believers are spiritually baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ's body and are therefore spiritually united with Him and with one another. See Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 4:11-16; and 1 Peter 2:9-10.
The Family of God - We are grateful to be a part of the local church, which exists to proclaim God's truth, to administer the ordinances, to stimulate growth toward maturity, and to bring glory to God.
Believers are called to faithful membership in a visible, local congregation for the purpose of mutual encouragement and spiritual growth. As the family of God, a healthy local church is marked by God-glorifying worship, Scripture-centered teaching, intimate fellowship, and vivid expressions of the church's faith, hope, and love through evangelism, disciple-making, financial support, and service. See Acts 2:41-47; Philippians 2:1-4; and Hebrews 10:24-25.
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
A
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Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Educational Media
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 603 of 1010 | 36 of 52 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 420 of 1012 | 23 of 52 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 285 of 1012 | 21 of 52 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 968 of 1010 | 51 of 52 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 7% | 6% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 7% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 6% | 5% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 93% | 92% | 96% | 95% | 98% | 96% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 6% | 6% | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 7% | 8% | 4% | 5% | 2% | 4% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 81% | 84% | 83% | 84% | 81% | 82% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 98% | 91% | 109% | 100% | 102% | 98% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 77% | 76% | 90% | 84% | 83% | 81% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 2% | 9% | -9% | 0% | -2% | 2% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 3% | 29% | -33% | 0% | -6% | 5% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 12% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 12% | 11% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.87 | 0.77 | 0.80 | 0.84 | 0.88 | 1.03 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 1.37 | 8.29 | 10.05 | 11.32 | 9.02 | 7.17 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.76 | 6.40 | 8.02 | 9.47 | 7.97 | 7.35 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 9.39 | 2.33 | 0.80 | 1.32 | 1.04 | 0.78 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.10 | 0.43 | 1.24 | 0.76 | 0.96 | 1.29 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 5.61 | 1.07 | -0.36 | 0.31 | 0.06 | -0.47 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 14% | 73% | 81% | 73% | 73% | 68% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 68% | 69% | 67% | 62% | 50% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 90% | 35% | 24% | 32% | 30% | 31% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Cash | $2,181,350 | $1,764,965 | $1,511,776 | $1,774,772 | $1,893,569 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $647,246 | $589,406 | $478,964 | $680,711 | $760,686 |
| Short-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $100,438 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $2,828,596 | $2,354,371 | $1,990,740 | $2,455,483 | $2,754,693 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $20,625,476 | $21,312,572 | $20,536,291 | $19,682,306 | $16,987,252 |
| Other long-term assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total long-term assets | $20,625,476 | $21,312,572 | $20,536,291 | $19,682,306 | $16,987,252 |
| Total assets | $23,454,072 | $23,666,943 | $22,527,031 | $22,137,789 | $19,741,945 |
| Liabilities | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $1,216,115 | $2,925,102 | $1,509,505 | $2,361,094 | $3,544,359 |
| Other current liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current liabilities | $1,216,115 | $2,925,102 | $1,509,505 | $2,361,094 | $3,544,359 |
| Debt | $15,946,450 | $16,246,128 | $15,027,053 | $13,809,040 | $9,867,650 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $15,946,450 | $16,246,128 | $15,027,053 | $13,809,040 | $9,867,650 |
| Total liabilities | $17,162,565 | $19,171,230 | $16,536,558 | $16,170,134 | $13,412,009 |
| Net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Without donor restrictions | $5,424,692 | $3,617,030 | $5,139,202 | $5,587,134 | $3,460,954 |
| With donor restrictions | $866,815 | $878,683 | $851,271 | $380,521 | $2,868,982 |
| Net assets | $6,291,507 | $4,495,713 | $5,990,473 | $5,967,655 | $6,329,936 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Total contributions | $18,355,185 | $16,701,950 | $18,004,056 | $18,822,353 | $19,678,599 |
| Program service revenue | $1,055,255 | $285,584 | $825,510 | $264,131 | $843,120 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $1,177 | $1,337 | $358 | $288 | $251 |
| Other revenue | $493,070 | $389,090 | $42,904 | $131,110 | $55,550 |
| Total other revenue | $1,549,502 | $676,011 | $868,772 | $395,529 | $898,921 |
| Total revenue | $19,904,687 | $17,377,961 | $18,872,828 | $19,217,882 | $20,577,520 |
| Expenses | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Program services | $15,177,474 | $15,662,430 | $15,868,116 | $15,854,837 | $16,643,643 |
| Management and general | $1,849,162 | $1,935,212 | $1,735,809 | $2,356,850 | $2,197,907 |
| Fundraising | $1,082,257 | $1,275,079 | $1,246,085 | $1,368,476 | $1,414,495 |
| Total expenses | $18,108,893 | $18,872,721 | $18,850,010 | $19,580,163 | $20,256,045 |
| Change in net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $1,795,794 | ($1,494,760) | $22,818 | ($362,281) | $321,475 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $1,795,794 | ($1,494,760) | $22,818 | ($362,281) | $321,475 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Cynthia A Swindoll | President/CEO | $198,964 |
| Tom Hayes | Director/EVP International | $170,562 |
| William Gemaehlich | Exec. VP/COO | $169,402 |
| Bryce Klabunde | EVP and Chief STS Officer | $169,077 |
| Alex Viering | EVP Chief Donor Ministries | $158,386 |
| Jay David | Director Information Techn | $147,479 |
| Bryant Kelley | VP Donor Relations | $144,367 |
| Brian Leicht | VP of Biblical Counseling | $139,523 |
| Michael Bergeron | VP Human Resources | $136,129 |
| James Deatherage | Director Fulfillment | $128,947 |
| Denise Snyder Part Year | VP Communications | $121,145 |
| Dr Charles R Swindoll | Chairman of the Board | $112,402 |
| Linda Ricks | VP Donor & Ministry Events | $110,485 |
| Colleen Thompson | VP Reframing Ministries | $96,495 |
| Bill Lammie | EVP Data & Digital Strategies | $94,522 |
| Terry Boyle | EVP STS Ministries | $93,448 |
| Mark Tobey Part Year | VP STS Dev. | $70,141 |
| Vickie Sterling Part Year | Sr. VP Living Bridge | $41,197 |
| Bill Butterworth | Director | $7,000 |
Compensation data as of: 6/30/2020
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 11/10/2021. To update the information below, please email: info@ministrywatch.com
History
Christian Research Associates, a California nonprofit organization was interested in starting a radio broadcast. The idea was to establish a broadcast by radio messages of respected Christian speakers about experiencing and living the Christian life, and how a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and a good understanding of Biblical principles can and should benefit one's life. The Organization was to provide free Christian counseling services to radio listeners requesting counseling by phone or letter.
The intention was to broadcast a 30-minute program, five days a week, on as many radio stations as possible in the United States. It was to mail, free of charge, outlines or study guides of future programs to radio listeners on the Organization's mailing list as requested and sell cassette tapes of messages to those who request tapes.
In 1979, the radio ministry of Insight for Living was born, beginning on just a handful of stations.
In 1995, the Insight for Living board of directors passed a resolution to expand IFL's international outreach over the next five years into as many as ten new languages - giving IFL a tool to reach about 60 percent of the world population.
Though the scale of IFL's ministry has grown to global proportions, the emphasis of its ministry has not changed. We are still "committed to excellence in communicating biblical truth and its application."