Christianity Today

Two years ago, the venerable National Association of Evangelicals was facing big problems. It now has a solid balance sheet and a new president with ambitious plans.

Former president Kevin Mannoia, a bishop in the Free Methodist Church, resigned in July 2001 after only two years in office. The nae, a fellowship of 51 denominations founded in 1942, suffered heavy financial losses during Mannoia's brief tenure.

It not only undertook a costly move of its headquarters from Carol Stream, Illinois, to Azusa, California; it also instituted controversial changes, like allowing organizations to hold dual memberships with the National Council of Churches (NCC), the mainline ecumenical body with a liberal reputation. In addition, the influential National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) broke ties with the nae in 2001.

Leith Anderson, pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, stepped in as interim president. He consolidated the organization's offices in Washington, D.C., last year. The organization navigated through "certainly rough waters," Anderson told Christianity Today. "There was uncertainty with no president, little money, and some people were concerned about the credibility of the organization."

Anderson made a series of cost-saving measures, said R. Timothy Murphy, NAE's chief financial officer. Anderson reduced the number of full-time staff from nine to three. In 2001 the group's annual convention, held at the Doubletree in Dallas, lost $100,000. This year it came out ahead by $30,000 in Eden Prairie.

Murphy said the nae balance sheet is in the black by $137,811 in the six-month period ending in March. The organization reports $412,324 in revenues and $274,513 in expenses.

The NAE appointed Ted Haggard as president and ...

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