Its hard to put into words the strain and stress of that time, but Susanna pressed on and continued learning Kurdish (even creating a Sorani-Kurdish grammar book and dictionary for our team), engaging with our neighbors day in and day out, and wrangling two toddlers. Strange enough, God gave me this nugget of wisdom this morning concerning leaders and leadership that I offer for encouragement. The Iranian regime is reportedly preparing to execute dozens of protesters and has turned to Russia for help in repressing street demonstrations which have continued for more than 80 days. FAI App Frontier Alliance International. He is the Founding Pastor of Maranatha Church of Jacksonville and gives leadership to a number of ministries and pioneers across the globe, as well as co-hosts The Better Beautiful podcast with . After a couple of months of giving, out of nowhere, we felt the urgency to cease giving. Frontier Alliance Intl is an Android Lifestyle app developed by Frontier Alliance International Inc. and published on the Google play store. We are not only being asked to trust that there has in fact been a policy change, but we are being asked to trust that the ethic has been internalized by the leaders despite the fact that there has been no public statement to correct the deception or own the moral failures that would provide transparency for donors and volunteers. . What I have to say comes from a matter of Kingdom principle, rather than a desire to arrive at guilt and/or an adequate administration of church discipline. In an imperfect world with imperfect people, what outcome, what course of action can be taken that will glorify Jesus the most? By following the counsel we received to leave Iraq and to break communication with Dalton & FAI, he no longer had control of our story. This is our response. About us. Keith listened to me, heard the full scope of the situation, and assured me that they had a plan of recovery, though when asking about the plan, he refused to share it with Susanna, me, or our pastors who were also in communication with him. There does exist one video of a local church service in 2013 that generally brought the original incident up, but nothing of any depth and nothing anywhere of the 2016-2017 incident. In this past few weeks the news regarding FAI was also brought to our attention. We pressed on and prepared for a move to Colorado with the remaining families and singles who comprised the core of FAI (three families and three singles), landing there in January of 2015. I have both his original statement about her and his denial about those statements in writing. The power dynamics present in the relationship between the married founder/president of a Christian organization and a single female volunteer under his leadership (while in a cross-cultural context no less) leaves room for more discussion about who is responsible for what. This trip solidified my love for Kurds, and it was the trip that produced the first Better Friends than Mountains film. We gave money to the initial version of the Covenant & Controversy movie project and were looking for ways to partner with them in the future. Your fellow brother in Christ I am new to FAI, just finishing my 14-day fast, and frankly am completely enamored with Daltons insight and treatment of scripture, putting the puzzle pieces together to form a harmonious picture of the church at the end of the agethis has resulted in a fundamental shift in my approach to eschatology as well as the internalization of the Maranatha message. An elder in our church and his family had been in Turkey with FAI and were among those who returned home from the field after Daltons immorality was unearthed. Im sad to say I didnt continue to dialogue with Dalton or discuss these issues with him on a deeper level. I feel they need to look inward to what is in Gods heart, maybe do a big study of Zechariah 3-4. If theyve corrected these past issues and have policies in place to prevent this from happening again, why should I not just let it go? By generously giving your time and/or money for our sake, you were stakeholders in our calling, and I feel obligated to share our story with you. Weve supported their work from the beginning, and only heard of this news about a month ago, I believe. Your pride and arrogance as if no sin has never entered you displays your lack of grace and mercy. 50K+ Downloads. FAI produces groundbreaking Christian films and Christian documentaries and provides these free full-length Christian . Built in the spirit of Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission, Frontier Alliance International (FAI) is a strategic Christian ministry organization in the Middle East and 10/40 Window working among unreached people groups. This writing would have been very different and perhaps unnecessary if they demonstrated a pattern of true and equitable communication with FAI donors and stakeholders. Thank you, Rhondaplease forgive my brevity but thank you for speaking plain truth. She pushed back and said that it isnt a lack of trust, but preemptive pain for those who are joining the organization on false pretenses. There was no way for us to get into Iraqi-Kurdistan without sponsorship, and the ministry we visited in January of 2015 tapped their resources and put their reputations on the line to vouch for us and get us in. My husband and I also see Joel as heroic and honorable in his willingness to plunge into this matter, to give his time extremely sacrificially, and conduct exhaustive research into this sad matter for many months. to try again. A few weeks later we settled on the name of this new work. Indeed, what would you say to everyone else on this comments section who is appalled at the hubris and lack of public clarity? Often set up a few kilometers from Mosul, the days were long and the sights were horrendous. The irreproachability of Joels character and his meticulous researching style lends a lot of weight to his conclusions and stance on the matter, whether or not he and the FAI board are completely correct in their assessment on how this should have been handled. Thats what we are: a family.. It would be called Frontier Alliance International. On the one hand, why should someone have to drag repented for sin out over and over and over publicly and painfully? He said, youre going to fly to Iraq, get your kids, get your stuff, and come home. I warned a small fellowship of ladies here nearly a year ago, that towards the End, we would all be out of our churches. He told me that our families would have supernatural forgiveness and walk through this together. An Open Letter to the Church: Is Your Church Faithful? Sept. 30, 2022. This is not complicated. Serving an organization is a sacrificial act of good faith as well and they are not being honored by FAI with transparency. The decisions we face as leaders, to make right judgements, to cast vision, to meet the needs of those we have responsibility overnot to lord over but to serve, these are the character traits God is trying to develop in us now to mold us into the leaders of the millennial kingdom. Forgiving those who sin against us is essential to the Christian life, but extending trust to those who have sinned and continue to misrepresent those sins is foolish. The region of Syrian Kurdistan (a.k.a. The next day Dalton told me that he wanted to see me in person before their family flew out for the FAI family gathering in Cyprus that year and while we were still in our village. What would you then say to this dear lady who now thanks Steve, Chris and myself for alerting her to this information that is obviously sufficiently serious for her now not to move and partner with them? In the meeting, four very important items were communicated clearly. We gave money to the initial version of the Covenant & Controversy movie project and were looking for ways to partner with them in the future. Love in Christ Val. [update 12-10-19] Two companion cases were filed on behalf of a class of pilots and flight attendants who assert that Frontier's treatment of employees who are pregnant or breastfeeding violated state and federal laws against sex discrimination in employment because they treat pregnancy and breastfeeding less favorably than other medical conditions or disabilities and have a disproportionate . Provided support and encouragement to missionaries Provided medical care to people with little or no access to care Provide community development in many poor villages and towns Recruited doctors from How to Donate Food and Prevent Food Waste. Washington and Hollywood are welcoming South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, but spy leaks and economic standoff between the U.S. and China loom over his visit. 5 Ratings. On the other hand, we applaud the willingness of Chris, Steve and Nick in taking their stand. Through looking at the timeline of events and prayer, I also believe that the prophetic word is for those leading FAI (specifically those involved in the related news). I wish I could sit across from each and every one of you who supported us financially, prayed for us, shared about our work in Iraq with your friends & family, or simply took the time to read about or watch what we were doing. I responded and asked what I should get for Dalton. Original films and episodic series from FAI STUDIOS, the production division of FRONTIER ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL. Shouldnt they know about this? Unfortunately, we didnt stop talking, and the evil idea of infidelity entered both of our minds. Those counselors spoke the first words of clarity that I felt like we had heard in the last four years. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting, Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website, Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website, Expected to complete an audit, review, or compilation, No expectation (removed from scoring methodology), Zero Points for Both Program Expense AND Liabilities to Assets Scores. He told Susanna, I would ask you to let FAI go. Funerals and demonstrations were held across Syrian Kurdistan (a.k.a. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Soon after we came home, we learned that Dalton had communicated with all of our mutual partners in Iraq but had not honored the agreement to keep me or our family in the loop. . The Thomas founded FAI in 2011 in context to the outbreak of the Arab Spring and the consequent disruption of the Muslim world. Are you asking anything of usother than to have eyes wide open if choosing to partner with FAI? To that end, this is what I did. However, You are a brother in Christ and it is my hope that you seek an intimacy with Him that will give you a deeper understanding of John 17. Learn more about our criteria and methodology. FAI STUDIOS is the media division of Frontier Alliance International. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired dozens of ballistic missiles, artillery shells, and launched several kamikaze drones into Iraqi Kurdistan last week, targeting five different sites associated with Iranian Kurdish parties. Indeed, it is disturbing for any Christian to be satisfied with anything less than full public transparency when such a colossally important cause is under scrutiny. It is evident there is no love of Christ in what you are doing. The developer, Frontier Alliance International, Inc., indicated that the app's privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. I feel they need to look inward to what is in Gods heart, maybe do a big study of Zechariah 3-4. The voices of past FAI leaders, team members, victims, and ministry partners allowed us to compare Daltons narrative with reality. See the metrics below for more information. (BMF affiliation code: 3). We fully believe that the reason the Father told us to stop giving to FAI a couple months ago is linked to this. This is no hour to fiddle with the straw of self-saving. A number of our trusted friends and family members questioned whether FAI was a good option for us given Daltons moral failure; however, we assured them that Dalton and Anna had taken the steps to heal and recover. He and his wife Anna have four sons and currently reside in the Golan Heights in northern Israel. The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990). Aaron then intervened and put Dalton in contact with other voices who urged him not to join the workforce but to return to Georgia for a season, then make their way to Kansas City and be present at IHOP to link arms with leaders there while their family recovered. In the end, which is where were all focused, our Lord will demand it. Within an hour, Dalton called to check on me and tell me everything was going to be okay. The reality was that ACTS rescinded the offer because the other ACTS team leaders and ministry directors didnt trust Dalton. I returned from that trip deeply moved, knowing that I wanted to serve with minority groups suffering religious persecution or fleeing from war. I wish I could say that I was immediately repentant and merciful to Susannas newfound horror, but I wasnt. Suffice to say, again for the record and again to point everyone reading back to the original statement above (that is very clear indeed): Christopher, Steve and myself have been obliged to appeal for public clarity that the Body of Christ are entitled to have. Father, raise up a leader to take the reigns! In my deference to him as someone I had sinned against, I complied with these requests until other advisors were involved who were able to bring clarity. I discovered their seven core values: BIO Dalton Thomas is the Founder and President of Frontier Alliance International (FAI). 2 Timothy 2:11-12 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.. After Susanna confronted me, I walked outside, called Anna, told her Susanna found out and that she would need to tell Dalton. Like many others my wife and I were introduced to the FAI teaching/YouTube channel/App etc earlier in the year. This Accountability & Finance score represents IRS Form 990 data up until FY 2019, which is the most recent Form 990 currently available to us. This ratio is an indicator of an organizations solvency and/or long-term sustainability. The three of us agreed that if we had known these things in 2019, we would never have gone to Israel in January 2020 for their Maranatha Conference. He is also the co-founder of Maranatha, a global fellowship of churches and ministries. Regarding going through the fire, I too have been lied to, lied about, mistreated, besmirched, literally thrown out and abandoned by church leaders, and I was a leader myself, a serving elder, a trustee that stood my ground! Either in obedience to Him, come out!, or we would be thrown out as heretics by the One World Church. Many non-Christ follower NGOs and non-profits work under a much more rigid lens of transparency into their goings on, missteps and financials. SOURCE FAI . I am the primary eschatology student in our household, and my husband is more into apologetics, so this message comes mostly from me, but my husband backs it fully. Before that, I avidly scoured the internet for every Dalton sermon I could get my hands on. In the late Summer of 2013 we learned that the majority of the team in Turkey had returned home for reasons undisclosed to us at the time. Monday, January 23, 2017, we walked into that counseling office hurting and scared. FAI App Frontier Alliance International. A Christian aid group that planned a gathering to honor and pray for the Kurdish people at President Trump's hotel in Washington were told by hotel staff this week that the event was canceled,. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting, Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2019, Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. What are you asking of the FAI board? Presumably, they should also form a godly opinion while the required information remains concealed? In the Spring of 2017, while the dust was still settling in our return home, I reached out to Keith Cowart, the pastor of the church Anna grew up in. Dalton had given me leadership over all things local to our village and related to medical relief in northern Iraq. We wanted to be merciful and supportive of Dalton and Anna so we didnt second guess our nave understanding of mercy or ask the hard questions that we should have. My admittedly selfish desire is to see Dalton, in his season of tent-making, be relegated to teacher only, and continue to share the deep insight God has given him. That is to say, were not only dealing with historical falsehoods, but ongoing and pathological deception. (John 13:34) And that love will cover a multitude of sins. I cannot describe the shock and horror I felt-followed by a deep, all consuming depression-upon reading Mike Rs long post. I join with my three brothers Nick Franks, Steve Buckley, and Christopher Mantei in their imploring. I wish my heart change had been faster for Susannas sake, but by Gods grace I was what I was and he worked in me slowly instead of quickly. Simply enter the organization's name (Frontier Alliance International Inc.) or EIN (455619623) in the 'Search Term' field. Once trust is lost or damaged, it is a very long road to rebuild and I dont believe it can be rebuilt in Daltons current leadership context within his organization. Again, like so many, we were blessed by the teaching especially around the time of the pandemic. : 45-5619623 SUPPORT FAI Built in the spirit of Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission, Frontier Alliance International (FAI) is a strategic Christian ministry organization in the Middle East and 10/40 Window working among unreached people groups. The gospel in the nations is too important to risk sending or approving individuals whose lives are not in line with biblical standards for Christian leadership, whether in spiritual leadership (1 Tim 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9) or in mercy ministry (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Tim 3:8-13). May it lift up your hearts with the knowledge that you are being forged, you are being given the gifts, the tools necessary to rule the nations. 4. . He told us not to talk to anyone about the affair except the counselors we were meeting with. If Dalton and Anna are healthy, that makes me happy. These pastors concluded that this sin did not need to be all over the internet, but did hold a public confession process in Dalton and Annas church. Chris, I saw this post on your FB page and you hit the nail on the headGod bringing souls under your personal pastoral care is just another level of responsibility and sobriety that most non-pastors just dont understand. You are operating in and under a spirit of deception. Revelation 2:26-29 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nationsthat one will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like potteryjust as I have received authority from my Father. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Rival Shiite militias clashed in Iraq last week, as a power struggle between infamous cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his political opponents spilled over from parliament into the streets of the heart of Baghdads Green Zone on Monday night. If the problem persists contact us. In addition, the lives of many people both associated and non-associated would be affected and some considerably. Jesus is my favourite person to talk about. In 2012 we met Dalton Thomas, founder of Frontier Alliance International (FAI). The mercy of God is too sweet to think that He would not honor the full effort of restoring and prioritizing family health at the momentary cost of ministry activity. Over the last 45 years plus I have witnessed many high profile organisations and people seriously damaged and some destroyed due to unconfessed and unrepented sin. It would take more than a year for my heart to turn back to God and out of my despondency. I asked Dalton if these workers knew about the affair in 2012, and he told me that they know everything.. Hi Wendell, It was then that I personally realized something was extremely unhealthy and backwards with Daltons desire for us to not tell anyone, to stay in the Middle East, to have supernatural forgiveness, to want to continue on with the work no matter what. The Lords deep, thorough and authentic work of the cross to us all unto His resurrection power. This overall score is calculated entirely from a single beacon score, weighted as follows:100% Accountability & Finance. I wasnt able to be there due to my work schedule at the time, but Susanna recorded it with his permission. Finally the Lord then usually allows far more serious consequences. An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference. I was very disappointed to read Nicks letter regarding these three mens response. FAI . New York City, New York. Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Frontier Alliance International, Inc. (FAI) is a charitable organization as described in 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots, and learn more about Frontier Alliance Intl. At the time we in no way saw a direct connection to this prophetic word and FAI. FAI produces groundbreaking Christian films and Christian documentaries and provides these free full-length Christian . The public record displays a different picture. We admire all those involved in this difficult situation, and we will not stop praying or trying to help all of you any way we can. So then, as church leaders, it would behoove us to provide opportunities to mold and shape as many leaders as possibleand to look for those that God raises up to lead. The Death & Dearth of Spiritual Authority. I deferred to him and Susanna since the two of them were the primary victims of the affair. Due to the culture and lack of transportation, she was unable to leave the house alone. Rojava) over the weekend after a Turkish drone strike killed four young schoolgirls last Thursday near the town of Haskalah. In the Spring of 2014, several months after Dalton disclosed the emotional affair to us, he asked if we would be interested in joining up with a new team in Colorado to begin planning for a move to the Middle East and to work in partnership with the Antioch Center for Training and Sending (ACTS) in Colorado Springs. For the record, my love for my brother and his family was conveyed, through tears, multiple times in personal messages as well as in our public correspondence that you claim doesnt exist. Everyone. A Statement Concerning Frontier Alliance International (FAI) firebrandnotes September 4, 2020 Several weeks ago, information was brought to our attention regarding a ministry many of us know and love and even support financially, Frontier Alliance International (FAI). Its a promise from the Lord of Life Himself. I shared my regrets and sorrow about my abuse of his trust and offered whatever weak apology I could offer in that moment of impact. They were demanding that Susanna extend grace to Dalton, Anna, and FAI while only law was being extended to her. Built in the spirit of Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission, Frontier Alliance International (FAI) is a strategic Christian ministry organization in the Middle East and 10/40 Window working among unreached people groups. I was taught there is a continued spirit of repentance through out lives. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history! It took a serious toll on our marriage and Susannas sense of safety. This relationship evolved into the birth of Israel Alliance International (IAI), the Israeli Division of FAI. This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Forty-four days after the death of Masha Amini, street demonstrations and labor strikes continue in cities across Iran and abroad, even as the head of Irans notorious revolutionary guard corps issues a veiled threat against demonstrators. He told me it will be your funeral. Having no future plans to illegitimately enter into ministry again in the future, I beg to differ. I know because I never did. Has FAI soberly accepted the responsibility of the pastoring and preaching they are doing across the globe in the setting of poor transparency? As this relationship with the Kurds deepened, Dalton grew into a leading voice in pro-Kurdish advocacy. The act of taking such a stand against teachers as influential, successful and beloved as Dalton and Joel and the enormous power that FAI has been blessed with may cost them a great deal in their own popularity in the media Body of Christ; they have truly done what they thought was right in a sacrificial manner. Good afternoon. This charity's score is 49%, earning it a Zero-Star rating. Israeli citizens in the nations south spent the night in bomb shelters on Friday as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Israeli military (IDF) traded rocket fire and airstrikes for hours. We just took their word for it. In spite of a huge learning curve, a small group of us FAI workers successfully accomplished this. The allegations made were very serious and none of us had ever heard them before from any source, and so the three of us committed to prayer, fact-finding, counseling and in-depth discussions amongst each other for many days before taking any actions. Mar 8, 2023. Instead, Susanna discovered the affair inadvertently through a text message notification the night before our first session and confronted me about it. We had discussed the prospect regularly but didnt have a clear path in front of us. There has been no confession of the deception and false narrative that continued after we left Iraq. The era of Christian celebrity must end. Time is short and it is a time of repentance for all those walking with Him.He said we must be continually repenting.Its very serious now. This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. Presumably they are all gossiping in error as well as us? However, those who are able to vouch for the success of their restoration process are immediately benefitted by a positive assessment of the situation. Im just relieved that it was you. Whatever shock he was in at that time would permit a statement like that (we all say bizarre things in shock), but it was an incredibly defining moment for me.