Walking the Text

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823174462
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Spring Hill, TN, USA
Phone
6153928494
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Christianity
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,336,751
Expenses
$1,268,580
Assets
$5,234,793
Liabilities
$10,357

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Brad Gray (President Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Brad Gray (President Executive Director): $200,067 total reported compensation
  • Bradley Nelson (Content Director): $149,467 total reported compensation
  • Marcus Naugler (Creative Director): $139,473 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization provides Biblical resources through online teachings, podcasts, seminars, study trips, and videos and media that help people to understand the Bible more thoroughly from its original cultural, historical, and geographical context in order for them to understand and live out its teachings and principles better.

What it reported doing in 2025

Website content and development including weekly video teachings, website updates, podcast development, and other resource information which is available for free to users on our website. Our main website Walking The Text is not a revenue generating service that we provide, rather we strive to offer the best resources on the subject of the Bible for free to everyone. There is information listed about study trips, speaking at conferences or churches, and/or future events listed on the website in which people can sign up for. Users also have the opportunity to donate to Walking The Text online. Parts of the website was revamped this year in order to give users a more friendly and easy website to navigate all the while maintaining the highest quality website possible. The film The Lord's Prayer was released in November 2025 and is now streaming on Angel. We do receive royalties through an LLC from this which is exempt. We created a new website www.thelordsprayer.com. Season 1 of The Sacred Thread releases in March 2026 and the new website is www.thesacredthread.com. Expense total is reflected in section IX 1/3 line 5B (which equals $178,903), 1/3 line 20 ($21,554), line 11a column B, line 11 b column B, line 11g column B, line 13, column B line 14, line 16, line 22, line 24d Column B. Revenue is reflected as royalty income 990 Part VIII, line 5.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 21.9%; rating input score 22
  • Program expense ratio: 73.3%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $63.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 70.7%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.13; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 57.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.5% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 31.8% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 40.2% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 21.9% of revenue deployed · 73.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $930K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $200K · 12 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 46 of 46 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.