D. James Kennedy Ministries

Background

D. James Kennedy Ministries, formerly known as Coral Ridge Ministries and Truth in Action Ministries, was founded in 1974 by the late D. James Kennedy.

Kennedy was also the founder of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Evangelism Explosion International, the Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, the Knox Theological Seminary, and the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, a socially conservative political group.¹

Coral Ridge Ministries initially produced a weekly religious television program, The Coral Ridge Hour, that was carried on various networks and syndicated on numerous other stations with a peak audience of three million viewers in 200 countries, and is still aired on radio today.²

As of 2017, D. James Kennedy Ministries’ media outreach includes weekly television programs “Kennedy Classics with Dr. D. James Kennedy and Truths That Transform; Truth In Action,” as well as a weekly half-hour radio program “with Dr. Michael Milton,” and the monthly Impact Magazine and Devotional, among other print and video resources.³

According to its website, D. James Kennedy Ministries’ aims to “through this church, the Gospel of Jesus Christ might be radiated through television and radio, motion pictures and cassettes, books and clinics, and by ways yet undreamed of unto the entire world, that the command of Christ to go and proclaim the Gospel to every creature might be fulfilled in our generation.”⁴

Stance on Climate Change

December 2016

D. James Kennedy Ministries’ senior producer and host Jerry Newcombe is also a columnist for its website. In a December 2016 article he wrote:⁵

“Meanwhile, the theory of man-made global warming is a myth. For example, the worldwide average temperature has not risen in the last 18 years. So the theorists changed the name to “climate change.” Well, to borrow a line from Marco Rubio, there’s always climate change—it’s called ‘the weather.’”

April 2014

Truth in Action Ministries released a short that endorsed and included the following quotes from climate change deniers:⁶

“ Environmentalism has become a religion. These are recycled communists, recycled socialists, recycled collectivists who are trying to use a flawed theory of environmentalism to bring about the collectivist society they were unable to bring about politically through socialism and through communism.”

“ One of the ways we can commit idolatry is by substituting ourselves as the creature for God, that’s what many of these scientists and bureaucrats are trying to do.”

“ We need to be very careful about not turning over our freedom and liberty to a bunch of bureaucrats in the name of saving the planet.”

2011

D. James Kennedy Ministries, then called Coral Ridge Ministries, produced a video in 2011 called “Global Warming: A Scientific and Biblical Expose’ Of Climate Change.”⁷

The following quotes are from a description of the video:

“Global Warming addresses subjects that most others won’t touch, including misinformation which is contained in Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.”

“Global warming is real, but it is not primarily man-made. This biblically-based and thoroughly balanced view of climate change reveals that global warming is not a black & white issue. Viewers will see why well-meaning Christians need to be extremely careful when advocating environmental policies.”⁸

Funding

Conservative Transparency summarizes D. James Kennedy Ministries Media funding. Note that not all individual funding values have been verified by DeSmog.⁹ ¹⁰

View the attached spreadsheet for details on D. James Kennedy Ministries Funding by year (.xlsx).

	Donor
Recipient and Year	DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative	National Christian Charitable Fund	Orville D. and Ruth A. Merillat Foundation	Bill and Berniece Grewcock Foundation	Schwab Charitable Fund	Grand Total
Coral Ridge Ministries		$752,744		$27,000		$779,744
2000				$2,000		$2,000
2001		$16,600		$5,000		$21,600
2002		$21,643		$5,000		$26,643
2003		$85,750		$5,000		$90,750
2004		$271,525				$271,525
2005		$157,701		$5,000		$162,701
2006		$43,500		$5,000		$48,500
2007		$25,900				$25,900
2008		$19,559				$19,559
2009		$20,766				$20,766
2010		$60,950				$60,950
2011		$22,750				$22,750
2013		$6,100				$6,100
Coral Ridge Ministries Media			$1,215,000			$1,215,000
1999			$400,000			$400,000
2001			$300,000			$300,000
2002			$300,000			$300,000
2003			$75,000			$75,000
2004			$85,000			$85,000
2005			$25,000			$25,000
2006			$30,000			$30,000
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church	$15,943,800	$749,724				$16,750,326
2000	$1,760,000					$1,760,000
2001	$960,000	$52,500				$1,012,500
2002	$750,000	$36,600				$786,600
2003	$600,000	$24,805				$624,805
2004	$1,510,000	$12,500				$1,522,500
2005	$1,810,000	$1,000				$1,811,000
2006	$2,040,800	$25,000				$2,065,800
2007	$1,760,000	$50,000				$1,810,000
2008	$1,965,000	$19,550				$1,984,550
2009	$1,278,000	$102,645				$1,380,645
1998	$1,510,000					$1,510,000
2010		$102,305				$102,305
2011		$79,153				$79,153
2013		$36,078				$36,078
2012		$34,228				$34,228
2014		$6,000				$6,000
2015		$167,360				$167,360
2016		$56,802				$56,802
D James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship					$8,500	$8,500
2006					$3,000	$3,000
2007					$3,000	$3,000
2008					$2,500	$2,500
D James Kennedy Leadership Council		$750				$750
2002		$750				$750
Knox Theologal Seminary		$71,181				$71,181
2008		$17,000				$17,000
2009		$27,403				$27,403
2010		$26,778				$26,778
Truth in Action Radio Ministries		$27,550				$27,550
2011		$350				$350
2013		$6,100				$6,100
2012		$14,200				$14,200
2015		$6,900				$6,900
WAFG 90 3 FM		$15,960				$15,960
2008		$12,250				$12,250
2009		$1,650				$1,650
2010		$1,860				$1,860
2011		$200				$200
Grand Total	$15,943,800	$1,617,909	$1,215,000	$27,000	$8,500	$18,869,011

DeVos Funding

Rolling Stone’s Bob Moser reported that former Amway CEO and co-founder Richard DeVos is connected with the Dominionist political movement in the United States. Moser states that DeVos was a supporter of the late D. James Kennedy, giving more than $5 million to the cause.¹¹ ¹²

Some background on DeVos, via an article at The Daily Kos:¹³

DeVos was also a founding member and two-time president of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing Christian-focused organization

High-ranking Amway leaders such as Richard DeVos and Dexter Yager were owners and members of the board of Gospel Films, a producer of movies and books geared towards conservative Christians, as well as co-owners (along with Salem Communications) of a right-wing, Christian non-profit entity called Gospel Communications International.

In July 1996, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos was honored at a $3 million fundraiser for the Republican Party, and a week later, it was reported that Amway had tried to donate $1.3 million to pay for Republican “infomercials” and televising of the GOP convention on Pat Robertson’s Family Channel, but backed off when Democrats criticized the donation as a ploy to avoid campaign-finance restrictions.

In April 1997, Richard DeVos and his wife, Helen, gave $1 million to the Republican National Committee, which at the time was the second-largest soft-money donation ever, behind Amway’s 1994 gift of $2.5 million to the RNC .

Key People

D. James Kennedy — Founder. (Passed away September 5, 2007).

Name	2009^{¹⁴“Coral Ridge Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived July 16, 2009. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/AzdZb}	2011^{¹⁵“Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived July 12, 2011. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/lhyPk}	2012^{¹⁶“Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived August 7, 2012. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/CxPF2}	2013^{¹⁷“Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived July 27, 2013. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/KhFCS}	2014^{¹⁸“Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived June 6, 2014. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/ C7 wlE}	2015^{¹⁹“Truth in Action Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived September 6, 2015. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/YobYp}	2017^{²⁰“D. James Kennedy Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/uyr3b}	Description
Brian E. Fisher	Y							President (2009)
Carmen Pate				Y				Chief Communications Officer
Charles White				Y				Board of Directors
Dan Scalf		Y	Y					President (2011, 2012), Former Executive VP (1988 to 1993, possibly longer)^{²¹ ”D. James Kennedy: Coral Ridge Anniversary,” Televangelist Summaries, October 1988. Archived February 4, 2017. Archived.pdf on file at DeSmog.,²²“Coral Ridge Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived November 3, 2011. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/oxF7b}
David P. Russ		Y						Interim Executive VP ^{²³Damon Adams. “Station, Church Ministry Disagree On Gays Program,” Sun Sentinel, April 30, 1993. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/nthnd}
Francis W. Wright		Y					Y	President (2017 to present); Board of Directors (2012)^{²⁴“Coral Ridge Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived November 3, 2011. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/oxF7b}
Frank Johnson			Y	Y				Executive Vice President (2012 to 2013)
Gladys Israels				Y	Y			Secretary
Hector L. Padron		Y						Executive Vice President (2011)
James Carlson				Y	Y	Y	Y	Chairman; Executive Vice President (2015); President/Executive Chairman (2017 to present)
Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy		Y	Y	Y	Y			Board of Directors
Jerry Newcombe		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Senior Producer (until 2013; 2016 to present) and Host, Spokesperson (2014 to 2016)^{²⁵“Transforming Culture, Beware of Truth in Action,” Way of Life Literature. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/Tmx6U,²⁶“About me,” JerryNewcombe.com. Archived November 15, 2014. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/6CrVo}
Lawrence L. Eldridge				Y	Y			Board of Directors
Michael A. Milton					Y			Board of Directors
Mike Whitten				Y				Board of Directors
Rodney A. Cox				Y				Chief Strategy Officer
Steve Kahlke				Y				Chief Financial Officer/Director of Finance
William T. Allen				Y	Y			Vice Chairman

Actions

April 2014

Truth in Action Ministries released a short in which it called the climate change community a “cult of socialists and idolaters that, if left unchecked, could ultimately lead to the rise of communist dictatorships around the globe.” ²⁷

2010

Coral Ridge Ministries made a documentary titled “ SOCIALISM : A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER … A Biblical Response.” ²⁸

The documentary asserted the claims that socialism denies god, is against Christian principles and that government social programs led to the destruction of the economy of Detroit, Michigan. ²⁹

Full video below: ³⁰

April 22, 2009

Coral Ridge Ministries produced a video titled “Global Warming: A Scientific and Biblical Expose of Climate Change.”

The video claims that “Global warming is real, but it is not primarily man-made. This biblically-based and thoroughly balanced view of climate change reveals that global warming is not a black & white issue. Viewers will see why well-meaning Christians need to be extremely careful when advocating environmental policies.”³¹

Numerous well-known climate change skeptics were featured in the video including E. Calvin Beisner, John Christy, and George Taylor. You can watch the video here.

August 26 – 27, 2006

Coral Ridge Ministries aired a “documentary” featuring Ann Coulter that attributes Adolph Hitler’s atrocities to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. “Darwin’s Deadly Legacy” was aired during “Coral Ridge Hour” and accompanied by a book titled “Evolution’s Fatal Fruit: How Darwin’s Tree of Life Brought Death to Millions.”

Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute for the NIH , said that he “would not have agreed to participate if I had understood that the program would promote the concept of a direct connection between Darwin’s theory of evolution and the evils of the Holocaust and the massacre at Columbine High School,” and said he was “absolutely appalled” at how his comments were used in the film.³²

You can view the “documentary” here.

Coral Ridge Ministries Contact & Address

As of May 22, 2016 the main contact address for the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church was:³³

5555 N. Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 USA
954-771-8840

The Center for Reclaiming America — Sister organization, same founder.³⁴
Knox Theological Seminary — Sister organization, same founder.³⁵
Westminster Academy — Sister organization, same founder.³⁶

@ DJKM inistries on Twitter.
“D. James Kennedy Ministries” on Facebook.
“D. James Kennedy Ministries” on LinkedIn.

Other Resources

Resources

1
“About: Our Vision,” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/b4GoM
2
“About: Our Vision,” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/b4GoM
3
“About: Our Vision,” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/b4GoM
4
“About: Our Vision,” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/b4GoM
5
“’The Blessings of “Christian Hegemony,’” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/es0cL
6
“Truth In Action Ministries: Climate Change Is A Cult Whose Believers Worship The Environment, Not God,” Latest.com, April 28, 2014. Archived July 6, 2014. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/rQF3b
7
“Global Warming: A Scientific and Biblical Expose of Climate Change ( DVD ),” Answers in Genesis. Archived April 16, 2016. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/d9ESj
8
“Global Warming: A Scientific and Biblical Expose of Climate Change ( DVD ),” Answers in Genesis. Archived April 16, 2016. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/d9ESj
9
”Coral Ridge Ministries,” Conservative Transparency. Search performed February 1, 2017.
10
“Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church,” Conservative Transparency. Search performed February 1, 2017.
11
Bob Moser. “The Crusaders,” Rolling Stone, April 7, 2005. Archived August 8, 2007. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/JkOCp
12
Bill Berkowitz. “Worse Than Madoff: Amway Launches Domestic Revival,” Religion Dispatches Magazine, June 18, 2009. Archived on March 4, 2016. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/ I0 j4X
13
“( MI – Gov) DeVos Doctrine: Mission ala D. James Kennedy (Series),” Daily Kos, August 11, 2006. Archived January 17, 2012. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/Vl0Wy
14
“Coral Ridge Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived July 16, 2009. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/AzdZb
15
“Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived July 12, 2011. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/lhyPk
16
“Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived August 7, 2012. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/CxPF2
17
“Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived July 27, 2013. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/KhFCS
18
“Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived June 6, 2014. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/ C7 wlE
19
“Truth in Action Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived September 6, 2015. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/YobYp
20
“D . James Kennedy Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/uyr3b
21
”D. James Kennedy: Coral Ridge Anniversary,” Televangelist Summaries, October 1988. Archived February 4, 2017. Archived.pdf on file at DeSmog.
22
“Coral Ridge Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived November 3, 2011. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/oxF7b
23
Damon Adams. “Station, Church Ministry Disagree On Gays Program,” Sun Sentinel, April 30, 1993. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/nthnd
24
“Coral Ridge Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived November 3, 2011. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/oxF7b
25
“Transforming Culture, Beware of Truth in Action,” Way of Life Literature. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/Tmx6U
26
“About me,” JerryNewcombe.com. Archived November 15, 2014. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/6CrVo
27
“Truth In Action Ministries: Climate Change Is A Cult Whose Believers Worship The Environment, Not God,” Latest.com, April 28, 2014. Archived July 6, 2014. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/rQF3b
28
“ VIDEO : Jesus Hates Socialism, Obama,” Mother Jones, May 14, 2010. Archived January 28, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/2bFGk
29
“ VIDEO : Jesus Hates Socialism, Obama,” Mother Jones, May 14, 2010. Archived January 28, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/2bFGk
30
“Coral Ridge Ministries Socialism Special,” D. James Kennedy Ministries, April 30, 2010. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/lD7hW
31
“Global Warming: A Scientific and Biblical Expose of Climate Change ( DVD ),” Answers in Genesis. Archived April 16, 2016. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/d9ESj
32
Bill Berkowitz. “Coral Ridge Ministries new ‘documentary’ featuring Ann Coulter attributes Hitler to Charles Darwin,” Media Transparency, September 6, 2006. Archived October 22, 2006. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/t65it
33
“Contact Us- Address & Phone,” Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Archived May 22, 2016. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/kDMq4
34
“About,” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/b4GoM
35
“About,” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/b4GoM
36
“About,” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL : http://archive.is/b4GoM

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