Simplicity Ministries
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Calling generations of all nations to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (see 2 Cor. 11:3 and 2 Cor. 5:15). The ministry shares the gospel of Jesus Christ primarily in the Northwest region of the United States but has also led short term mission teams throughout the world, to young and old alike, and teaches Christians to observe the teachings of Jesus as wholly devoted followers of Christ. This is accomplished through the following: traveling preaching and teaching ministry; local projects that included, in 2024, Men of Simplicity discipleship, Bright Lights discipleship for teen girls, S.E.A.D.S. discipleship for women, and church planting in Boring, OR.
- Income
- $201,680
- Spending
- $176,012
- Spent on programs
- 68%
- Reserves
- 13.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 93%
- Employees
- 2
- Volunteers
- 30
- Highest pay
- $146,082, president
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 89% of charities in its peer group (religion, under $250k).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 13.9 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 13% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 26% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1568% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 12 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Weak: 45 out of 100. Higher than 38% of charities in its peer group (religion, under $250k).
Independent board
18 of 253 of 4 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $119,017 spent. TRAVELING PREACHING MINISTRYEvangelist Mike Thibodeaux preaches at ministry events each year in partnership with local churches, primarily in the Northwest, including but not limited to: youth and college camps and events, revivals & evangelistic events, Sunday services, Simple Evangelism conferences, men's events, marriage conferences, etc. Thibodeaux preached at 15 ministry events to approximately 1,194 people in 2024. There were 21 recorded public decisions of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and 94 public decisions of repentance and renewal. EVANGELISM TRAININGThibodeaux conducted evangelism training at two events, training a total of 37 people to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him as Lord and Savior. The first was for seven volunteers with Northwest Baptist Disaster Relief preparing them to do evangelism during crisis response. The second was for SOL (Spring of Life) Bible Academy, training 30 Ukrainian Christians over a three-day weekend in December of 2024 (15 hours of training) in Simple Evangelism. LOCAL PROJECTSMen of Simplicity (MOS): MOS is a three-year journey of weekly discipleship groups for men, occurring September through June each year. MOS began in 2009. In 2024, Mike led a group in the Gresham, OR area on Monday nights. The Gresham MOS group has grown to 43 men with an average attendance of 36. In 2024, that included 24 men from Go Church. In addition, via Zoom video conferencing, churches, groups, and individuals from outside the Gresham, OR location participate in MOS on Monday nights. We call this MOS Connect, a live, fully interactive video conference call via Zoom. It was first launched in September 2017. The goal of these groups is Biblical manhood - men leading and living simply and purely devoted to Christ (2 Cor. 11:3). This means that men are no longer living for themselves but for Christ who died and rose again on their behalf (2 Cor. 5:15). The MOS guys focus on developing a biblically healthy relationship with God in Christ, with other believers and their family, and with those who are non-believers in the community to introduce them to Jesus Christ. The Men of Simplicity discipleship journey continued to grow as we moved into 2024. January - June of 2024, we had 9 churches/groups with a total of 89 men involved and an average attendance of 69 men. In the September - December 2024 term, Men of Simplicity had 12 discipleship groups from Sept-Dec 2024 with an average total attendance of 75 men. In addition, Thibodeaux did one-on-one discipleship with two young men and mentoring with an additional 2, one of those being his son, Zach Thibodeaux, who is preparing for music ministry.S.E.A.D.S. & Bright Lights: Debbie Thibodeaux continued to lead the weekly Simple Evangelism and Discipleship Strategy (S.E.A.D.S.) women's group on Tuesday mornings which she has faithfully led since 2001. There were 15 women involved in 2024, seven of those were from Go Church. Debbie is in the tenth year of leading a weekly discipleship group called B.R.I.G.H.T. Lights for teen girls on Wednesday afternoons. There were 13 teens girls in B.R.I.G.H.T. Lights in the 2024 school year. Three of these girls are leaders in training (meaning they are discipling younger girls, teaching before the whole group at least once a year, and running the special events for the group). The total number of people discipled through weekly discipleship in 2024 was around 105-117 people. All glory and praise to God for the work He did through this ministry in these lives in 2024.Go Church - East County church plant: This local project has been a church planting partnership that the Thibodeaux family and Simplicity Ministries entered for a period of at least 2 years with lead church planter, Mark Ford, and his wife, Kristy, in planting Go Church - East County in Boring, OR, about 20 minutes from where the Thibodeauxs live. Simplicity Ministries partners in this church plant through the ministry work Mike Thibodeaux did to assist during the launch phase fall of 2024, Thibodeaux and his family are leading the music in worship on Sunday mornings each week since the launch, helping the church with men and women's discipleship, small group development, youth and young adult ministries and helping develop leaders for the church. Go Church - East County was successfully launched on October 6, 2024. After the launch, most Sundays were between 80-100+ in attendance. There are 24 Go Church men in Men's Discipleship at Men of Simplicity (MOS), and seven Go Church women in SEADS. Five community home groups have been launched. (Mike and Debbie are leading the Next Gen single adult group that has between 8-12 attending.) On March 19th, Mike and his team launched weekly youth ministry for Go Church - East County. Mike is mentoring weekly a youth intern who is called to the ministry and will likely take the lead role with the youth in the coming year. *Note: The Go Church plant is its own 501c3 non-profit and is not under the financial umbrella of Simplicity Ministries. This was a collaborative partnership in ministry. INTERNATIONAL PROJECTSSimplicity Ministries gave $2,400 to Rwanda Rise for the purchase and distribution of estimated 320 Bibles in the Kinyarwanda language that were given to each student at the Hope Vocational Training Center (HVTC) and to new followers of Jesus that were baptized at the new church plant there at the HVTC in Kigali, Rwanda.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since March 2000.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.