Dan Busby Becomes ECFA President Emeritus
Busby Leaves Legacy of Impact and Growth
WINCHESTER, Va., March 16, 2020—Later this week, Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) Board of Directors is scheduled to announce the seventh president of the organization. Soon thereafter, current president, Dan Busby, will transition to president emeritus. During Busby’s tenure, ECFA doubled in size and significantly expanded the ways it serves both its accredited members and the greater Christian community.
“Matthew 5:41 (NIV) says, ‘If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.’ As I step into this new season, my prayer is for Christ-centered churches and ministers to be known for integrity in governance, financial management and stewardship practices,” said Busby. “Indeed, we want to abide by the law. But even more, we want to be known as “second mile” people who demonstrate the love of Christ within us and how that love compels us towards excellence.”
With Busby at the helm, ECFA’s membership grew from 1,260 members to almost 2,500 accredited Christian churches and nonprofit ministries. With a passion to support Biblical financial stewardship within churches, Busby’s focus on resources in this area led to the membership of churches becoming the fastest-growing segment of overall membership—increasing from only a few dozen to nearly 300 churches, including 50 of the 100 largest churches in America. ECFA accredits Christ-centered ministries in the areas of governance, financial management and stewardship/fundraising, with a 97% average annual member retention rate over the last 10 years. These organizations have annual revenue in excess of $29 billion.
ECFA’s service to its membership and the greater Christian community expanded dramatically under Busby’s leadership. It has developed nearly 800 online resources in the form of eBooks, templates, podcasts, videos and webinars. In 2019 alone, ECFA produced 51 videos, 15 webinars and 28 podcasts. That included 9,300 podcast plays, and the ECFA family of webpages saw more than 2.5 million visitors. ECFA leaders, including Busby, made their presence known on Capitol Hill, through ECFA’s most recent work on repealing the church and nonprofit parking tax.
Busby’s influence shaped the organization internally as well. When Busby was named to lead ECFA, there was no one on staff with a professional certification. Today ECFA’s staff have numerous professional accolades and designations, including a Ph.D., CPA backgrounds, and an attorney. Their financial and legal expertise enables them to help ECFA’s growing number of members build trust among their donors by demonstrating integrity and a deference to the ECFA Standards of Responsible Stewardship.TM
The ECFA office culture under Busby has been named one of the "Best Christian Workplaces in America" by the Best Christian Workplaces Institute, where ECFA’s score for 2019 was the highest ever reported from the 1,000 organizations surveyed over the past 16 years.
Busby, who speaks widely at dozens of national events each year, is also a prolific writer with over 70 volumes of 14 book titles published. Perhaps best known are his co-authored tax and finance guides published by Zondervan for 29 consecutive years. He also co-authored a definitive guide to charitable giving and four books about church and nonprofit boardroom training. Well over 500,000 copies of his books have been distributed and more than one million of the booklets he authored have been distributed or accessed online.
Additionally, with Busby’s encouragement, ECFA-like peer accountability groups have formed in five countries, as well as a separate international accountability group.
Busby anticipates an active role as president emeritus, partnering with the next president. “I look forward to giving my full support to ECFA’s next president and seeing the organization expand its impact on our community,” said Busby. He also expressed gratitude for the privilege of leading ECFA. “As I assume the president emeritus role, I am more aware than ever of the unique responsibilities and challenges that face Christian ministries. I believe Scripture makes it clear that Christians should set an example of the utmost integrity, in and out of the marketplace. During my tenure, it has been a joy to see a significant increase in the groundswell of churches, ministries, and leaders worldwide who are stepping up to embrace accountability.”
Busby’s illustrious career in accounting and oversight services began long before his tenure at ECFA. After a decade of serving in the administration of one of the nation’s largest medical centers, Busby founded a CPA practice in Kansas City, Kansas that primarily served Christ-centered ministries. The firm continues that service some 45 years later. He then became chief financial officer of The Wesleyan Church. For 10 years he served as a member of ECFA's Standards Committee and in other capacities supporting ECFA, all as a volunteer. In 1999, he became the senior vice president of ECFA, then in 2008 he was elected president. His transition to president emeritus marks his 31st year of serving the organization.
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