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Highly Trusted

First Evangelical Church Association

West Covina, CA

Missions: International Community Development Church: Planting Evangelism Relief and Development

About First Evangelical Church Association

First Evangelical Church Association (FECA) is an association of six independent churches in the Los Angeles area. The purpose of the Association is to mobilize its member churches to manifest the Kingdom of God in North America and throughout the world. Its three major ministries are missions, spiritual and ministry formation, and social concern. The missions ministry supports about 150 Christian workers in many parts of the world, including 36 who are from FECA's member churches. Most of these workers are located in East Asia, some in creative access areas. FECA owns two for-profit companies -- Silk Road Leadership International Inc, Charis Development Inc, and one nonprofit company - Upward Bound Study Center. None provide significant income nor are expected to in the foreseeable future. The first two companies are engaged in community development and the third in teaching English to recent Chinese-speaking arrivals to the US. Spiritual and ministry formation aims to deepen

What “Highly Trusted” Means

Highly Trusted reflects a ministry's commitment to operating transparently and accountably beyond Christian-specific stewardship standards alone. This ministry has been verified against fourteen of fifteen criteria of The Most Trusted Standard — demonstrating biblical financial integrity, sound governance, and a complete framework of governance policies.

What distinguishes Highly Trusted is the additional commitment to public transparency. This ministry has made its financial records, governance information, and program reporting accessible to the public, putting its operations in the open where any donor can examine them.

What We've Verified

This ministry has been verified against 14 of 15 criteria in The Most Trusted Standard.

Faith Foundation

  • Christian Statement of Faith Affirms a clear, public statement of faith aligned with historic orthodox Christian doctrine. Verified
  • Biblical Mission and Stewardship Operates with a mission explicitly grounded in Christian principles and biblical stewardship of resources entrusted to it. Verified
  • Christian Accountability Maintains accountability to recognized standards of Christian financial integrity and ministry stewardship. Verified

Financial Integrity

  • Independent Financial Review Undergoes annual independent financial audit, review, or compilation appropriate to organizational size and complexity. Verified
  • Reasonable Compensation Practices Discloses executive compensation and demonstrates compensation practices appropriate to the organization's size, scope, and sector. Verified
  • Donor Intent Honored Honors donor intent on designated and restricted gifts, ensuring contributions are used as donors directed. Verified

Governance and Leadership

  • Independent Governing Board Operates under an independent governing board with a majority of members who are not staff, related to staff, or otherwise compromised in independence. Verified
  • Documented Conflict-of-Interest Policies Maintains and follows documented conflict-of-interest policies to protect the organization and those it serves. Verified
  • No Outstanding Concerns Shows no unresolved regulatory, legal, or accountability concerns that would compromise donor trust. Verified

Transparency and Effectiveness

  • Truthful Communications Communicates truthfully and accurately in fundraising appeals, public communications, and donor reporting. Verified
  • Active Program Activity Consistent with Mission Demonstrates active program activity consistent with the organization's stated mission and purpose. Verified
  • Comprehensive Public Financial Disclosure Makes complete financial records and Form 990 (or applicable equivalent) accessible to the public through recognized third-party platforms. Verified
  • Public Governance and Program Reporting Publicly discloses board composition, key leadership, and detailed program information so donors can see how the organization is run and what it does. Verified
  • Full Suite of Governance Policies Maintains and discloses a complete framework of governance policies, including whistleblower and document-retention policies in addition to conflict-of-interest protections. Verified
  • Independent Performance Evaluation Has undergone independent evaluation of financial efficiency, program spending, and operational performance against rigorous sector benchmarks, with results confirming performance at the highest standard. Not verified at this tier

First Evangelical Church Association meets our Highly Trusted tier standards. Most Trusted ministries additionally demonstrate independently evaluated performance against sector benchmarks.