The 2025 Form 990 for the Jesus Calling Foundation is finally available and shows that the foundation contributed over a million dollars from book royalties to the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 2025—the year that the PCA completed its investigation of the late Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling.
Of note is a TRIPLE INCREASE (compared with pre-investigation figures) to PCA’s Mission to the World (MTW), a total of $582,500, which was responsible for one of the two investigative reports.
This is not the first time it has happened. In 2024, the same year that the PCA’s missionary organization, Mission to the World (MTW), was tasked to “examine MTW’s relationship with the book,” and “consider actions that MTW and the General Assembly should take in light of this study of the book,” MTW received $280,000 from the Jesus Calling Foundation.
In 2025, MTW’s report claimed “no formal relationship with the book,” and offered “no recommendations regarding actions related to the book.” Although the author was a missionary under MTW’s oversight from before the book’s genesis until her death just before her work exceeded 45 million units sold, MTW had no formal relationship with or responsibility for Jesus Calling (B. Inman).
In 2024, the PCA’s Committee on Discipleship Ministries (CDM) had been tasked to “assess the book’s appropriateness for Christians” and to “provide recommendations (if needed) for remedial materials, advisory statements, or General Assembly actions concerning Jesus Calling.”
In 2025, the CDM reported that “neither CDM nor its staff recommend Jesus Calling” but declined to offer advisory statements or actions concerning the book. Functionally, it shifted responsibility for recommending remedial materials to “local church elders” and declined to offer advisory statements or General Assembly actions concerning Jesus Calling. Although the Committee on Discipleship Ministries provides training and curates discipleship materials for the denomination, they neither sell nor recommend the most successful publication of any PCA employee, but they will not explain the reason for these examples of restraint (B. Inman)
Here we see contributions from the foundation to various PCA entities.
With the Jesus Calling foundation giving more than half a million dollars to the group tasked with investigating it, it’s difficult to imagine a more clear conflict of interest, or why the PCA would accept it.
Published in 2004, Jesus Calling has sold over 45 million copies, making it one of the most recognizable devotional books in recent history.
Sarah Young, a long-time PCA member whose husband, Stephen, is an ordained PCA minister, authored the devotional all the while eschewing public appearances and interviews throughout her career.
The franchise has expanded to include spin-offs such as Jesus Always, Jesus Today, Jesus Lives, Dear Jesus, Jesus Calling for Little Ones, Jesus Calling Bible Storybook, Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids, Jesus Always: 365 Devotions for Kids, and Peace in His Presence, alongside phone apps, podcasts, and other media.
It is also one of the most dangerous books released in the last twenty years for its espousal of blatant mysticism, Montanism, Theoeroticism, speaking for God, extra-biblical assertions, automatic writing, and rejection of the sufficiency of the scriptures.
Put another way, Sarah Young’s life’s work was a demonic deception, but the PCA is reaping the fruit of that poisoned labor.
SOURCES
Inman, Benjamin. Dee Virtue’s Post, “UPDATE: The Presbyterian Church in America Did NOT Call Out Jesus Calling” 06/27/25. https://www.facebook.com/dee.robinson.526438/posts/update-the-presbyterian-church-in-america-did-not-call-out-jesus-callingby-dr-be/1771570700400325/?ref=fb_answers
Form 990-PF for the Jesus Calling Foundation for 2024: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/884314928/202502239349100205/full
Form 990-PF for the Jesus Calling Foundation for 2025: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/884314928/202632189349100608/full
Jesus Calling Foundation summaries and filings for 2023 & 2024: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/884314928
“MTW and CDM Respond to Jesus Calling Overture,” byFaith, 4 June 2025: https://byfaithonline.com/mtw-and-cdm-respond-to-jesus-calling-overture/
OVERTURE 33, TE Ben Inman “Erect Ad Interim Committee on the Book Jesus Calling” (amended): https://byfaithonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Overture33Amended.pdf
Virtue, Doreen. “Jesus Calling: A Competent Witness: A response to ‘An Answer to the Critics of Jesus Calling,’” June 23, 2025. https://www.knotsbetter.com/post/jesus-calling-a-competent-witness
2 responses to “Continued Conflict of Interest In the PCA’s Internal Investigation of Jesus Calling”
Very important investigative work and diligent inquiry. But I would caution here to be careful about the implications. In a sense, any and all of us give money to those who are supposed to be keeping us in line. Right, the sheep give to the shepherds. That’s how the Lord’s church works. So be sure not to lose focus on the real conflict of interest which is that there are interests in conflict with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Right. There’s more to it than the money, and it’s not about the money.
Like paying the salary of the same police officer who writes us a speeding ticket. The movement of money in particular directions is not always indicative of corruption. It would become corrupt when that officer is paid to look the other way. In one case he’s paid to do his job. In the other case he’s paid to not do his job. So the question is whether or not he’s doing his job.
In the case of the church, it becomes corrupt when the shepherds do not do their job. Regardless of whether or not the payment is on the up-and-up. That’s irrelevant to a very significant degree. If they’re not doing their job, then there is corruption. If they’re not doing their job, then they are serving mammon. If they are not doing their job, then the church is reduced to nothing but a cult and scam.
The real conflict in the case of Sarah Young is that she is part of a fad or movement these days that is like some sort of occultist paganism in that it basically worships and serves anything and everything supernatural and spiritual. If it involves the supernatural and spiritual then they’re all for it. I don’t know all the terminology, what the name for it would be, and how to properly describe it, but that’s the root conflict of interest. They can’t decide whether or not they serve the Lord. The most relevant conflict of interest is in their own hearts and minds. And the same can be said for those shepherds who have looked the other way and have not done their job. They too have that same and far more significant conflict of interest.
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