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CHILDREN OF CHARACTER INC

EIN 82-0541197 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK

Revenue 2024
$993,840
Expenses 2024
$862,553

Program services were 93.6% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

As filed

Subsection
03
NTEE code
X21
Classification
1700
Street
6608 N WESTERN AVE

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Mission and programs · 2024

Mission

Called to go to challenging places and unreached people. Children in Christ inspires, equips and mobilizes a God-grown indigenous ministry from local church to broader communities that values children, ministers Gods love to them, matures them in Christ and empowers them.

  • During FY25, Children of Character, Inc., dba Children in Christ (the Organization), a 501(c)(3) public charity, delivered childrens discipleship clubs through indigenous volunteers across 27 Sub-Saharan African countries. Operations were affected by escalated political instability and terrorism in several countries. The Organization adapted by expanding programming through schools, churches, and house churches where feasible. In FY25, the Organization launched a three-year physical field audit initiative, beginning with a conservative club-count reset, reporting only clubs that were physically verified by pastors, community members, or staff. Based on the above, the Organization reached and discipled over 138,000 children, with over 10,000,000 child-hours of discipleship. Program average cost was less than $7 USD per child per year, due to indigenous volunteer leadership, African contributions, no buildings, and a pro bono U.S.-based CEO.

    Expenses $484,280

  • Children in Christ inspires, equips and empowers children and youth (ages 9-18) to lead effectively as positive, healthy role models and servant leaders in 3 ways: (1) Weekly and monthly youth leadership discipleship meetings (2) 5-day child and youth leadership trainings (3) Equipped and empowered active leadership roles within CIC club ministry and peer trainings.

    Expenses $242,140

  • Children in Christ inspires, equips and trains indigenous African church leaders and lay ministry volunteers in the importance of children and how to minister to them effectively. We train pastors and churches to understand that childen, who are 48% of the poplulation in Africa, are very important to God and shoud be very important to the church as well. Additionally, CIC emphasizes the importance of the local church reaching the unchurched childen and ministering Gods love to them. CIC provides interested pastors and churches with 5 days of childrens ministry vision and ministry trainings so that those churches can establish ministry to unchurched children in their proximate regions through childrens weekly clubs. In FY25, CIC inspired and mobilized indigenous ministry volunteers to minister in these clubs. Total participants trained in FY25 were 6,272 in which 838 pastors were trained and equipped for the ministry. 761 training events were held.

    Expenses $80,713

As filed on the 2024 return.

Officers and directors · 2024

As listed in Part VII of the 2024 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

  • James Saunders

    Treasurer

    Total calculated
    $60,000
    From this org
    $55,000
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $5,000
    Hours/week
    40

  • Tim Andrews

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    0.5

  • Jennifer Merryman

    President and CEO

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    40

  • Scott Zimmerman

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    0.5

  • Frank Williams

    Secretary and Board Chairman

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

  • 2024
    Revenue
    $993,840
    Expenses
    $862,553
    Contributions
    $980,624
    Grants paid
    $725,927
  • 2023
    Revenue
    $892,966
    Expenses
    $890,653
    Contributions
    $868,164
    Grants paid
    $703,671
  • 2022
    Revenue
    $841,963
    Expenses
    $899,051
    Contributions
    $833,334
    Grants paid
    $712,133

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

  • 2021 · 990

    Revenue
    $1,107,671
    Expenses
    $1,040,359
    Assets (EOY)
    $685,082

  • 2020 · 990

    Revenue
    $1,050,975
    Expenses
    $960,820
    Assets (EOY)
    $644,596

  • 2019 · 990

    Revenue
    $897,929
    Expenses
    $796,725
    Assets (EOY)
    $557,440

  • 2018 · 990

    Revenue
    $797,079
    Expenses
    $973,265
    Assets (EOY)
    $463,951

  • 2017 · 990

    Revenue
    $1,309,583
    Expenses
    $757,566
    Assets (EOY)
    $639,977

  • 2016 · 990

    Revenue
    $694,219
    Expenses
    $686,013
    Assets (EOY)
    $85,999

  • 2015 · 990

    Revenue
    $502,484
    Expenses
    $816,256
    Assets (EOY)
    $77,791

  • 2014 · 990

    Revenue
    $1,133,657
    Expenses
    $869,238
    Assets (EOY)
    $394,124

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all.

Grants made

No itemized grants to organizations. Schedule I is filed only by organizations that granted more than $5,000 to a recipient, so most filers have none.

Grants received

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Other IRS files

Auto-Revocation List

Not listed. The IRS publishes this list for organizations whose exemption was automatically revoked for failing to file for three consecutive years.

Publication 78

Listed as of 13 October 2026, under deductibility PC.

These are two separate IRS files on two separate schedules, shown as published and not reconciled with each other. Neither is a statement about whether a contribution is deductible today: 19,245 organizations appear in Publication 78 while the IRS's own revocation file lists them as currently revoked, more than half of those revoked before 2019. Absence from Publication 78 is evidence of nothing, and presence is not evidence either. Verify current status with the IRS before relying on it.

What this page reflects

The registration facts above come from the IRS Business Master File published 13 October 2026 and read 29 October 2026, for every organization at once. Returns through tax year 2024, the newest we have parsed for this organization.