Spirit & Truth Fellowship International
Legal name: Christian Educational Services Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 351749188
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Martinsville, IN, USA
- Phone
- 7653492330
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Christianity
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $882,956
- Expenses
- $1,004,457
- Assets
- $1,581,986
- Liabilities
- $9,584
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- John Schoenheit (President)
- David Hutchings (Vice President)
- Gary Burnham (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- John Schoenheit (President): $142,529 total reported compensation
- Gary Burnham (Executive Director): $105,400 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We equip believers to follow Jesus by providing exceptional biblical translation, teaching, and life resources. SPIRIT & TRUTH FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL is a worldwide, multimedia, multigenerational learning platform helping people become like Christ together through videos, podcasts, articles, blogs, social media networking, a Bible translation and commentary project, online and local fellowships, regional and national events, and more. This effort is spearheaded by a team of varying ages from different walks of life and backgrounds, unified around the goal of helping people experience transformative relationships with God, the Lord Jesus, themselves, their families, and others. We provide sound, biblically-based teaching, transformative learning experiences, and support to self-organizing faith commu.
What it reported doing in 2024
We operate as a resource center providing websites live speakers audio and video teachings books articles seminars and events that are available to individuals and local churches worldwide. We also provide and maintain online resources at www.stfi.org and www.truthortradition.com. Through our church associations we provide a way for independent self-governing churches and individuals to connect to others who share common vision values beliefs and practices.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 73
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.4%; rating input score 93
- Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -13.8%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.57; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 24.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 93.4% of revenue deployed · 82.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $824K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $143K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.