GOLD2023

PIERCING WORD INC

The Scripture is Our Script

Lancaster, PA   |  piercingword.org
GuideStar Charity Check

PIERCING WORD INC

EIN: 26-1641948


Mission

We seek to ignite passion for the Word of God in the heart of the Church. We do this by engaging people with live Scripture Performances, challenging everyone to memorize God’s Word for themselves, and equipping the Church with resources for Bible memorization and study

Notes from the nonprofit

Piercing Word is a group of theatre professionals who are passionate about coming alongside Christian Leaders to help them artistically engage their people with the Word of God. We perform Scripture in dramatic and musical productions that are word-for-word from the Bible and we equip the Church in the art of Bible memorization through our Warriors of the Word resources. We are a full-time, non-profit, theatre ministry based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, touring across the country at churches, conferences, colleges, special events and more.

Ruling year info

2010

Executive Director

Aaron House

Main address

1821 Oregon Pike, Suite 210

Lancaster, PA 17601 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

26-1641948

Subject area info

Performance art

Spoken word

Theater

Evangelicalism

Population served info

Christians

Families

Students

Retired people

NTEE code info

Christian (X20)

Performing Arts (A60)

IRS subsection

501(c)(3) Public Charity

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Tax forms

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Scripture Performances

Piercing Word is a group of theatre professionals who are passionate about coming alongside Christian Leaders to help them engage their people with the Word of God. We do this by performing scripture in dramatic and musical presentations that are word-for-word from the ESV Bible and providing resources on how to better memorize and study the Bible. Piercing Word is a full-time, non-profit theatre ministry based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; much of our ministry takes place within a two-hour radius of Lancaster, along with regional tours of the United States. We perform for churches, conferences, colleges, other venues and special events!

Population(s) Served
Christians
Families
Adults
Children and youth

Where we work

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

PIERCING WORD INC
Fiscal year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

Revenue vs. expenses:  breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info
NET GAIN/LOSS:    in 
Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Liquidity in 2022 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

6.03

Average of 2.24 over 10 years

Months of cash in 2022 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

1.8

Average of 0.8 over 10 years

Fringe rate in 2022 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

10%

Average of 4% over 10 years

Funding sources info

Source: IRS Form 990

Assets & liabilities info

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial data

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

PIERCING WORD INC

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

PIERCING WORD INC

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

PIERCING WORD INC

Financial trends analysis Glossary & formula definitions

Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

This snapshot of PIERCING WORD INC’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.

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Business model indicators

Profitability info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation -$47,949 $11,353 -$51,359 $67,542 $24,879
As % of expenses -14.7% 3.2% -14.9% 16.5% 5.3%
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation -$47,949 $11,353 -$59,674 $66,953 $18,147
As % of expenses -14.7% 3.2% -16.9% 16.3% 3.8%
Revenue composition info
Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) $278,881 $363,530 $311,091 $436,762 $531,388
Total revenue, % change over prior year -0.6% 30.4% -14.4% 40.4% 21.7%
Program services revenue 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 35.4%
Membership dues 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Investment income 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.4%
Government grants 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
All other grants and contributions 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 64.2%
Other revenue 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Expense composition info
Total expenses before depreciation $326,832 $352,177 $344,770 $410,358 $471,306
Total expenses, % change over prior year 47.0% 7.8% -2.1% 19.0% 14.9%
Personnel 56.9% 54.6% 58.6% 52.9% 50.8%
Professional fees 13.2% 10.9% 13.5% 11.7% 0.0%
Occupancy 3.8% 5.1% 5.7% 5.6% 4.3%
Interest 0.2% 0.0% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0%
Pass-through 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
All other expenses 26.0% 29.4% 21.9% 29.8% 44.9%
Full cost components (estimated) info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Total expenses (after depreciation) $326,832 $352,177 $353,085 $410,947 $478,038
One month of savings $27,236 $29,348 $28,731 $34,197 $39,276
Debt principal payment $0 $5,798 $0 $47,298 $0
Fixed asset additions $26,888 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total full costs (estimated) $380,956 $387,323 $381,816 $492,442 $517,314

Capital structure indicators

Liquidity info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Months of cash 0.6 0.6 0.8 1.4 1.8
Months of cash and investments 0.6 0.6 0.8 1.4 1.8
Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets 0.2 0.3 -0.9 1.0 1.5
Balance sheet composition info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Cash $16,265 $16,161 $22,795 $47,058 $69,378
Investments $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Receivables $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) $47,390 $47,390 $45,863 $45,863 $39,454
Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) 0.0% 0.0% 54.3% 55.6% 84.2%
Liabilities (as a % of assets) 57.1% 39.1% 148.0% 31.8% 15.2%
Unrestricted net assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $64,102
Temporarily restricted net assets $0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Permanently restricted net assets $0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total restricted net assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total net assets $27,323 $38,676 -$20,998 $45,955 $64,102

Key data checks

Key data checks info 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Material data errors No No No No No

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents
Letter of Determination is not available for this organization
Form 1023/1024 is not available for this organization

Executive Director

Aaron House

Aaron House is the Founder and Executive Director of Piercing Word. Although originally from Houston, TX, he currently lives in Lancaster, PA with his lovely wife, Emily House, and their children, Caleb, Aria and Malakai. Before taking Piercing Word full time in January of 2013, he was a full-time professional actor at Sight and Sound Theatres in Lancaster, PA for 3 years and in the Branson, MO location for 2 years. He has a BA in Musical Theatre from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and has been performing professionally since he was ten years old. He was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, TX in November 2013, and has a deep passion for Jesus Christ and for the Word of God, and he desires to use his performance abilities for the glory of God alone.

Number of employees

Source: IRS Form 990

PIERCING WORD INC

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
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Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.

PIERCING WORD INC

Board of directors
as of 05/03/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board of directors data
Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization
Board chair

Aaron House

Piercing Word, Inc.

Mark Hoffman

Vice President

Cliff House

Treasurer

Emily House

Secretary

Roy Russell

Nathanael Waite

Mark Black

Mandy Black

Michael Lapham

Peggy House

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/8/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Decline to state
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

Transgender Identity

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 02/03/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Policies and processes
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.