Update: Under James MacDonald, Chicago-area megachurch was in “serious violation” of 4 out of 7 stewardship standards, says Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
Update (April 17): Harvest Bible Chapel has lost its standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), months after controversy over founding pastor James MacDonald culminated with his firing.
The ECFA board voted today to terminate the Chicago-area church’s membership status due to “significant violations” to four of seven of the association’s financial standards, citing “direct and substantial evidence” uncovered in the past week.
The association said that Harvest withheld pertinent information about their finances and policies during earlier reviews.
According to the ECFA, Harvest failed to comply with standards around governance, financial oversight, use of resources and compliance with laws, and compensation-setting and related-party transactions (full requirements listed in the earlier coverage below).
The violations are serious enough that the organization said restoring Harvest’s full membership status was “not a viable option.”
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Original post (March 16): Harvest Bible Chapel had its accreditation suspended this week by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), after “new information” led to concerns that spending under former senior pastor James MacDonald was in “serious violation” of 4 of the agency’s 7 standards for biblical and ethical financial stewardship.
“During the indefinite suspension, the church may not represent that they are an ECFA member or display ECFA’s membership seal,” wrote president Dan Busby in a statement released Friday afternoon. Harvest used to display ECFA’s seal prominently on its online giving page.
“The investigation has been …