John MacArthur Charitable Trust Annual Report 2024
LET US HOLD FAST THE
OF OUR HOPE WITHOUT WAVERING, FOR HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL. Hebrews 10:23, lsb
“And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ...”
EPHESIANS
4:11-13
Scripture portrays the church as a body—an organism with many members, where each has a unique role, and all contribute something important to the life of the body. Every believer is called to be a minister of some sort, with each of us using our unique God-given gifts for the edification of the whole. The glorification of the Lord and participation in His redemptive plan is the supreme purpose and motivation of each believer.
Christ’s purpose in the world is to call to Himself a redeemed people who would live to the praise of His glory. He is the one who builds His church. In that I take great comfort and confidence, thankful for having a small part in our Lord’s great work. As the pastor of Grace Community Church since 1969, I prioritized the need of training, equipping and encouraging men and women who would in turn pass that on to others in our congregation as they sought to use their talents for Christ. Faithful leadership coupled with an active and obedient congregation allows the church to flourish.
The John MacArthur Charitable Trust’s family of ministries are a direct result of more than five decades of training and sending out many with a desire to fulfill the Great Commission. These institutions and organizations aid to build the church and prepare individual believers facing a corrupt world. Grace to You provides international resources for Christians and churches around the world. The Master’s Academy International furthers this mission by teaching and discipling the global church. The Master’s University cultivates young generations of Church members. The Master’s Seminary provides opportunities for future pastors to refine their gifts.
In this annual report, you’ll learn how each member of the family of ministries was formed and how they complement each other. Through your giving, this family of ministries educates and equips thousands around the world in sharing the glorious truth of salvation and truly understanding God’s Word. This body of ministries personifies God’s desire for a living Church, dedicated to the strengthening of its members and leaders. Thank you for sharing in my motivation for that same divine purpose. Your investment as a true friend and partner in Christ’s calling accompanies a divine guarantee ( I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, AND THE GATES OF HADES WILL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT ). Thank you for being a partner with our Lord in this vital mission.
Yours for the Master,
JOHN MACARTHUR
GLOBAL PARACHURCH MINISTRIES
Ministry Model
Teaching Discipling
FUNCTION
Exposition
MISSION
Imparting Biblical Truth
MEANS
Sermons
Broadcasts
Commentaries
Radio
Books
MacArthur Study Bible
MINISTRY
FUNCTION Equipping
MISSION Applying Biblical Truth
MEANS Academics
Student Life
Israel Bible Extension Campus
Mission Trips
Christian Service
MINISTRY
Training Sending
FUNCTION Preparation
MISSION Ministering Biblical Truth
MEANS Bible
Theology
Preaching & Teaching Internship
Mentoring Placement
MINISTRY
FUNCTION Proclamation
MISSION Extending Biblical Truth
MEANS Recruitment Training Sending Supporting Missionaries
MINISTRY
FROM THE PULPIT TO THE WORLD
The Principle Guiding the John MacArthur Trust Family of Ministries
As John MacArthur introduced his sermon on February 10, 2019, the 50th anniversary of his first Sunday as the pastor of Grace Community Church, he gave this simple, beautiful description of what his ministry has looked like since day one. “I stand in this pulpit week after week all these years, and you take the ministry and spread it around the world. This is how the body of Christ is supposed to function.”
All the ministries connected to Pastor John have been a manifestation of that guiding principle. John’s job is simple: feed the flock. As God’s people are fed, they apply what they’ve learned, multiplying the ministry of that truth far beyond the Sunday sermon. When that happens, the spiritual impact that comes out of Grace Community Church is exponentially greater than it would be if John MacArthur was responsible for all of it.
That principle certainly applies at Grace to You, the media ministry of John MacArthur. It began John’s first year as the pastor when volunteers recorded sermons on reel-to-reel tapes, then delivered those sermons to shut-ins. All Pastor John had to do was preach a sermon. Others captured that truth and made sure its ministry would continue far beyond Sundays.
From a ministry to shut-ins, Grace to You (Word of Grace at the time) became a radio show almost by accident. A college friend of Pastor John’s got ahold of his sermon tapes and broadcast them on his family’s radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. John MacArthur did not plan or work to get his sermons on the radio. God used a friend to put them there.
In the coming decades, Pastor John’s radio ministry would expand from Baltimore to hundreds of radio stations across the United States, and hundreds more across the globe. Today, nearly 2,000 stations in English and Spanish carry Grace to You. Millions download Pastor John’s sermons on the internet every month, in English and other languages. That is possible because many capable people have come alongside Pastor John to expand the breadth of his pulpit ministry.
As Grace to You and Grace Community Church grew, several young men came to the church, eager to learn how to preach and shepherd. John would have loved to personally train these men, but he knew that he couldn’t prioritize that alongside his preaching and pastoral ministry. So, he sent them to his alma-mater, Talbot.
Several times each week, these men would take a bus from Grace Church to
the Talbot campus in Orange County. This demand for training through Grace Church became so great that Talbot started an extension campus at the church in the late 70s. At the time, several godly men—including Dr. Irv Busenitz— came alongside Pastor John to lead this campus and prepare these men for pastoral ministry.
This focus on training men culminated in 1986 when the extension campus became The Master’s Seminary. John had always believed the best way he could serve the church was to preach the gospel and train other men to do the same. Grace to You was expanding his preaching ministry. The Master’s Seminary was taking care of the training. Less than 20 years from his first sermon at Grace, Pastor John had already seen far more ministry output than he would have thought possible in 1969. Yet, God was not done bringing other servants alongside Pastor John to expand the ministry.
Around the same time The Master’s Seminary officially opened its doors, a friend came to John MacArthur with a potentially life-changing question: Would you consider becoming the next president of The Master’s College (at the time it was called Log Angeles Baptist College)? The school had been around
since 1927. It was in the Newhall neighborhood of Santa Clarita, not far from his home. The school was committed to the authority of the Bible, yet there were financial and enrollment challenges. Despite those concerns, John MacArthur accepted the presidency.
Initially, he intended to lead the college for five years. Yet the opportunity to disciple men and women, to train them to serve the church and be salt and light in the world, was too energizing. Pastor John would stay in the presidency for 35 years. Through the decades, God surrounded him with remarkable co-laborers to help lead the school, including its current president, Abner Chou. Since John MacArthur took the presidency in 1985, thousands have come to the university, been discipled, then gone on to lead families, churches, ministries, and serve Christ in all kinds of industries, including education, business, medicine, law, and much more.
Through Grace to You and The Master’s University and Seminary, God’s truth has been spread far and wide, the leaders of His church have been trained and commissioned, and the people of His body have been discipled and sent into the world as salt and light. There’s one more key element of the family of ministries, one more example of God’s people taking the ministry and spreading it around the world. That’s The Master’s Academy International. Twelve years ago, Pastor John asked a fellow elder at Grace, Mark Tatlock, to lead this organization.
At the time, TMAI had a small handful of partner schools and limited reach around the globe. Under Mark’s leadership, TMAI has become a global leader in missions and pastoral
training. Today, it has more than 20 partner schools training several thousand men to preach and teach God’s Word. At each partner school, sound doctrine and expository preaching are the focus. As that happens, the same faithful preaching that John MacArthur has prioritized is being replicated and the global church is being strengthened.
John MacArthur wasn’t planning on starting any of these ministries when he accepted the call to pastor Grace Community Church. He prioritized studying and preaching, and he trusted others to do the work of the ministry. In God’s providence, God has surrounded Pastor John with faithful leaders, and the family of ministries, in order to proclaim the truth, train men, disciple believers, and go into all the world to preach the gospel.
As he looked back on all those decades of preaching and the many people that have come alongside him in the ministry, Pastor John said, “I thank you for being in my life, for all your gifts and all your sacrifices, all your love, all your care for me. I cannot imagine a more wonderful life. The Lord has stood by us, hasn’t He? We had no idea where this ministry would go, and the Lord has blessed your efforts.”
Though Pastor John was speaking to the Grace Community Church congregation, his words certainly apply to each of you who support the John MacArthur Charitable Trust. You, like the members of Grace Church, share a passion for proclaiming truth, training men, discipling believers, and global missions. Thank you for a wonderful year of investment in this ongoing work, one that God continues to bless and expand more than five decades after it began.
1969
Grace Community Church calls John MacArthur to be the pastor-teacher.
1978
Beginning of Grace to You: WRBS in Baltimore begins airing John’s messages from cassette tapes.
1985
John is inaugurated as president of The Master’s University.
1986
The Master’s Seminary begins on the campus of Grace Community Church. John serves as president.
1996
Grace Ministries International is launched to be the missions agency of Grace Church.
2004
The Master’s Academy International is launched.
John MacArthur Charitable Trust is established.
2022
2018 Grace Academy is launched.
2023
Legacy Christian Academy joins the MacArthur Trust Family of Ministries.
A Central Place to Give for Global Impact
YOUR GIVING REACHES THE NATIONS THROUGH THE MACARTHUR TRUST’S FAMILY OF MINISTRIES.
Local Ministry on a Worldwide Scale
Grace Community Church in Los Angeles has 5,000 members and ministers to tens of thousands across Southern California. Grace Ministries International (GMI) currently has just under 100 missionary families, along with single men and women, serving in nearly 40 countries.
The Master’s Seminary is currently training 754 men across six different programs. More than 2,500 TMS alumni are serving around the world in nearly 50 countries.
The Master’s University has a residential undergraduate enrollment of over 1,200 students and a total enrollment of 2,210. Among them, 112 students represent 38 different countries, reflecting the university’s global reach. Since its founding in 1927, more than 20,000 men and women have graduated from TMU. Today, alumni are actively serving in more than 50 countries around the world.
Ministry Investment
CAPITAL PROJECTS STUDENT HOUSING
35%
$38,600,500 was distributed to our partner ministries in 2024. The categories above represent a broad summary of the types of ministry that were supported by the MacArthur Trust through your generosity.
Strategic Ways to Give
APPRECIATED STOCK
Donating appreciated stocks, mutual funds, or securities to the MacArthur Trust offers significant benefits. You can enjoy an income tax deduction, avoid capital gains tax, maximize your gift’s impact, retain your cash, and increase your charitable deduction—all while seeing the results of your generosity now.
PROVIDE YOUR BANK OUR BROKERAGE ACCOUNT INFORMATION:
Masters Grace Fund DBA John MacArthur Charitable Trust Charles Schwab Account #: 9682-5116 DTC Clearing 0164, Code 40
CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES
Charitable gift annuities are a great option for donors who are 60 years or older and who are seeking to make a gift while securing a dependable, lifetime income stream unaffected by market fluctuations.
REAL ESTATE
Please contact us at info@ jmacarthurtrust.org or 661.525.5777 for more information on donating a real estate asset.
IRA ROLLOVERS
An IRA charitable rollover allows donors aged 70½ or older to make tax free gifts to the John MacArthur Charitable Trust from their Individual Retirement Accounts. For those 73 or older, these gifts can also satisfy required minimum distributions. Since IRA assets are heavily taxed, this tax free option is especially advantageous.
OPEN A DONOR ADVISED FUND AT THE MACARTHUR TRUST
The MacArthur Trust has its own Donor Advised Fund (DAF). This allows donors to give, receive a tax deduction in the year of the gift(s), but distribute the funds over time at the donor’s recommendation. Please contact us at info@jmacarthurtrust. org or 661.525.5777 for more information.
PLANNED GIFTS
When naming the MacArthur Trust in your estate plan, please use the organization’s name via the IRS Master File: JOHN MACARTHUR CHARITABLE TRUST
Employer Identification Number (EIN): 83-0981937
For different planned giving options, please contact the Trust at info@jmacarthurtrust.org or 661.525.5777.
CASH DONATIONS
CHECK, ONLINE GIVING, WIRE TRANSFER Mail a check made out to the “John MacArthur Charitable Trust” to 21726 Placerita Canyon Road Box #49, Santa Clarita, CA 91321
Visit www.jmacarthurtrust.org and click “Donate”
WIRE INSTRUCTIONS
Masters Grace Fund DBA John MacArthur Charitable Trust Citibank, N.A. 399 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022
ABA #: 021000089
FBO: Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
A/C #40553953
For Further Credit to Schwab Client Account #:9682-5116
Financial Picture
Trust
Over $104,000,000 has been donated to the MacArthur Trust for the family of ministries since inception.
THE JOHN MACARTHUR CHARITABLE TRUST’S FAMILY OF MINISTRIES
Our Ministries
GRACE ACADEMY
The mission of Grace Academy is to serve as an equipping educational partner with Christian families, proclaiming Christ and His Word to support students in their intellectual growth and character formation.
GRACE ADVANCE
Grace Advance exists to support developing churches in areas where biblical churches are needed.
GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH
Grace Community’s mission is to glorify God by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, for the salvation of the lost and edification of the church.
GRACE MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL
Grace Ministries International focuses its efforts towards leadership training, church strengthening, church planting, and Bible translation work.
GRACE TO YOU
Grace to You uses mass media to expose John’s teaching to as wide an audience as possible “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12)..
LEGACY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
Legacy Christian Academy
— a premier K-12 Christian, independent, private school — educates students in a manner that prepares them to be innovative, thoughtful, serviceoriented, 21st century leaders with strong biblical character.
THE MASTER’S ACADEMY INTERNATIONAL
The Master’s Academy International is committed to fulfilling the Great Commission by training indigenous church leaders to be approved pastorteachers, able to equip their churches to make biblically sound disciples.
THE MASTER’S FELLOWSHIP
The Master’s Fellowship is an association of pastors and churches bound together by love for the living Word as revealed in the written word.
THE MASTER’S SEMINARY
The Master’s Seminary trains men for pastoral ministry — to preach the Word of God, reach the world for Christ, and teach others to do the same.
THE MASTER’S UNIVERSITY
The Master’s University exists to empower students for a life of enduring commitment to Christ, biblical fidelity, moral integrity, intellectual growth, and lasting contribution to the kingdom of God worldwide.
