Baptist News Global, Can You Guess the Largest Christian Ministries in America by Annual Revenue?:
What would you guess are the largest Christian ministries in America by total annual revenue?
If you guessed an institution of higher education, you might be right. The No. 1, 2 and 3 spots on the list are occupied by universities with Baptist roots.
The list was compiled by Ministry Watch, a nonprofit donor watchdog group. All data are based on the latest publicly available information filed with the IRS, which sometimes means a lag of a year or two.
Some of the best-known Christian ministries — World Vision, Compassion International, Catholic Relief Services, Samaritan’s Purse — take a backseat to three of the nation’s largest private universities.
Grand Canyon University, begun in 1949 by Arizona Baptists, today ranks as the nation’s Christian ministry with the largest annual revenue, $1.47 billion. After nearly entering bankruptcy around the turn of the century, the university remade itself as a for-profit enterprise and then transitioned back to nonprofit status in 2018. It has kept its Christian identity while successfully blending on-campus and online learning.
Liberty University, founded by the late Jerry Falwell, ranks No. 2 on the Ministry Watch list, with annual revenue of $1.34 billion. The vast majority of Liberty’s students attend classes online from all over the world.
Baylor University ranks No. 3, with annual revenue of $1.25 billion. Baylor maintains an affiliation with the Baptist General Convention of Texas but is governed by a self-perpetuating board of regents.
Two other universities are included in the top 20 largest Christian ministries: Pepperdine University, a Churches of Christ school, with annual revenue of $580 million, ranks 12th; and California Baptist University, with annual revenue of $388 million, ranks 17th.
A list of the 80 Christian ministries with revenue of $100-million or more is here.
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