(Photo: Hal Lindsey’s TV program appearing on Daystar)
Hal Lindsey, one of the wealthiest non-profit ministry executives in America, has died at 95 years of age.
Lindsey co-authored the bestselling end-times Bible prophecy book The Late Great Planet Earth with Carole C. Carlson and hosted a TV program airing on Daystar Television Network, costing $381,000 in 2023, and other networks over the years.
Lindsey believed the re-establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948 was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy and the generation alive in 1948 would see a pre-tribulation rapture, the tribulation and Jesus’ return.
From 2013 to 2023, Hal and his wife JoLynne Lindsey received $18.5 million of compensation from Hal Lindsey Website Ministries. During those eleven years, the ministry spent only $1,105,360 in charitable assistance to groups and individuals.
(Spreadsheet: Total revenue and charitable spending of Hal Lindsey Website Ministries and compensation for Hal and JoLynne Lindsey compiled from Form 990s.)
During these eleven years less than three percent of the ministry’s total revenue was spent on charitable assistance while 32.6% of all ministry revenue was spent on compensation for Hal and JoLynne.
(Screenshot: Zero charitable assistance was reported for 2021.)
Excessive Compensation
In 2023, Hal Lindsey Website Ministries generated almost $2.1 million in donations and spent more than half of this money as compensation for JoLynne.
(Screenshot: Hal Lindsey Website Ministries 2023 Form 990)
Under normal circumstances, a non-profit executive receiving more than $1 million in compensation for one year would be treated as excessive compensation and the non-profit organization would be subject to an excise tax penalty. This excessive compensation would be reported on page 5 line 15 of Form 990.
However, there is a loophole in the tax code. Ministers and non-profit executives that are compensated as independent contractors are not subject to the excise tax. Is Mrs. Lindsey an ordained minister?
According to the ministry 990s, a compensation committee determined the compensation of the ministry executives, but the identity of the committee members is unknown.
(Screenshot: Hal Lindsey Website Ministries 2023 Form 990)
To evaluate the financial effectiveness of a non-profit organization, donors should examine Program Services Expenses which are determined by subtracting management expenses and fundraising expenses from total expenses. Charity Navigator recommends that non-profit organizations spend at least 70% of their total revenue on program services.
In 2023, more than half of all ministry expenses were administrative expenses.
When MinistryWatch publishes its 2025 list of highly compensated ministry leaders, JoLynne Lindsey will be one of the highest paid non-profit executives in America.
Housing Allowance
Hal Lindsey Website Ministries describes itself as a church on its Form 990s and Hal received a tax-exempt clergy housing allowance from 2018 to 2023, annually exceeding $100,000.
In 2014, the Lindsey family purchased a 6,000+ square foot home in the Texas hill country next to a 1,300-acre golf course. The Redfin real estate website estimates the home is worth almost $2.9 million.
For comparison’s sake, Redfin reports the median home price in America for October 2024 was $434,271.
(Photo: Google satellite view of Lindsey home)
MinistryWatch Warning
In February 2024, MinistryWatch ranked Hal Lindsey Website Ministries worst in its category:
“The organization ranks 28 out of 28 in the resource allocation rating category for the Radio/TV Station sector. The main reason for this low ranking is that while the organization spends only about $3 million a year in program services, it has net assets totaling $25 million.”
Since publication of the MinistryWatch article, those net assets have dropped to $23.7 million.
Most of the Hal Lindsey Website Ministries net assets appear to be held in a bank savings account.
However, this balance sheet raises more questions than it answers as it appears that around $5 million went to some kind of other assets.
Hal Lindsey Website Ministries doesn’t need your money. Trinity Foundation recommends donors find other organizations to support that spend more on helping the poor and less on administrators.