Sunday School Publishing Board

What Sunday School Publishing Board does

Sunday School Publishing Board (SSPB) is the official publishing arm of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., operating as a private, ministry-affiliated entity headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1915, SSPB produces Christian educational curriculum, books, Bibles, theological commentaries, hymnals, and periodicals — including the Faith Series Sunday school curriculum, Townsend Press commentary imprint, Total Praise hymnal, Jubilee Black History Series, and magazines such as FirstLadyDom, The Christian Education Informer, and The National Baptist Convention Voice Magazine. The organization serves churches, Christian educators, pastors, and individual believers — particularly within the African American Baptist community — providing age-segmented curriculum for children, youth, and adults alongside discipleship series such as S.E.E.D. and Living The Baptist Faith.

SSPB's underlying technology is conventional publishing infrastructure — a WordPress/WooCommerce-style e-commerce platform at sspbnbc.com supporting product catalogs, account management, credit applications for institutional buyers, and a digital downloads portal. The 2025 launch of SSPB Digital Editions extended the product set into downloadable electronic curriculum and commentary files, priced $4.50-$6.95. Townsend Press operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary focused on theological commentary. SSPB runs an annual product refresh cadence with Summer 2026 curriculum editions and a 2026 Vacation Bible School program, and maintains a recurring training and certification infrastructure through Christian Leadership Schools and the Certificate of Progress Program (COPP).

Revenue is generated through a mix of one-time product sales (books, Bibles, curriculum units priced $4.50-$25.00), subscription-style recurring revenue (periodicals such as FirstLadyDom at $15.00 per issue, digital editions), and professional services revenue from training events, workshops, and conferences. GTM motion is product-led via direct e-commerce, supplemented by event-driven acquisition through the Annual Christian Educators Conference in Nashville, Regional Conferences, Transformative Faith Workshops, and SSPB Institute. SSPB does not operate outside the United States, has no external funding, no disclosed revenue figures, and no public listing.

Name

Sunday School Publishing Board

Legal name

Sunday School Publishing Board

Website

https://sspbnbc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Sunday School Publishing Board (SSPB) is the official publishing arm of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., producing Christian educational curriculum, books, Bibles, periodicals, and digital editions for African American Baptist churches, educators, and individual believers across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Religious Education & Catechetical Publishing (Sunday School, Catechism, Study Guides) (MPAJAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Religious Reference & Study Tools Publishing (Commentaries, Concordances, Lexicons) (MPAJAHAL), Sermon, Homiletics & Ministry Resource Publishing (Preaching Aids, Pastoral Resources) (MPAJAHAD), Children’s Religious & Values-Based Publishing (MPAJAFAL), Worship & Liturgy Publishing (Liturgical Texts, Missals, Service Books, Hymnals) (MPAJAHAE)

Keywords

• Religious publishing
• Christian curriculum
• Bible study materials
• Sunday school resources
• Christian education

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Sales (Books & Bibles): Sale of printed books, Bibles, and religious educational materials through the online store. Includes adult, children, youth, and specialty category books.
2. Curriculum Sales: Sale of Sunday school curriculum, Bible study materials, and educational resources for churches. Includes Faith Series, Townsend Press Commentary, and specialized curriculum lines.
3. Digital Editions Subscriptions: Digital editions of curriculum and periodicals available for download, providing recurring revenue opportunity through the SSPB Digital Download platform.
4. Periodicals: Sale of magazines and periodicals including The Christian Education Informer, The National Baptist Convention USA Inc. Voice Magazine, and FirstLadyDom Magazine.
5. Training & Events: Revenue from Christian Leadership Schools, Certificate of Progress Program (COPP), and registration fees for conferences and training events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sunday School Publishing Board (SSPB) publishes and distributes Christian education materials, including Sunday school curriculum (Faith Series), Bible study guides, theological commentaries (Townsend Press), discipleship series, Vacation Bible School materials, hymnals, and periodicals. The organization also provides digital editions of its curriculum and books, and offers training programs through Christian Leadership Schools, Regional Conferences, and the SSPB Institute.

Product overview

Sunday School Publishing Board (SSPB) is a publishing organization that operates as the official publisher of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. The company offers a diversified portfolio of religious publishing products organized into three main divisions: Christian Education, Publishing, and Townsend Press. The core product lines include Faith Series Sunday school curriculum (the flagship educational materials), various discipleship series (S.E.E.D., Living The Baptist Faith), Vacation Bible School (VBS) materials, theological commentaries, and periodical publications. The company has expanded into digital publishing with SSPB Digital Editions and maintains retail operations through its online store. SSPB also provides educational programs through Christian Leadership Schools and regional conferences, offering training and professional development for church educators. The product ecosystem is characterized by age-segmented offerings spanning children, youth, and adults, with curriculum materials designed for Sunday school classes, Bible study groups, and ministry leadership development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Townsend Press: Commentary and book publishing division offering commentaries and digital book resources
• Faith Series
• FirstLadyDom Magazine
• Total Praise
• S.E.E.D. Discipleship Series
• Living The Baptist Faith
• Jubilee Black History Series

Products and services

• Faith Pathway Bible Studies for Adults

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSSPB is the official publisher of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. This is a primary strategic affiliation that positions SSPB as the designated publishing arm for one of the largest African American religious organizations in the United States.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lifeway Christian Resources: The publishing and curriculum arm of the Southern Baptist Convention; offers Sunday school curriculum, Bible studies, church resources, conferences, and training—directly comparable to SSPB's denominational publishing model for a different (but adjacent) major Protestant denomination.
• David C Cook: Major interdenominational publisher of Sunday school curriculum, Vacation Bible School, and children's ministry resources; competes with SSPB's Faith Series and VBS materials across U.S. churches.
• Group Publishing: Leading publisher of Vacation Bible School programs and children's/youth ministry curriculum; a direct competitor to SSPB's VBS materials and youth Sunday school lines.
• Regular Baptist Press: Curriculum publisher affiliated with the Regular Baptist Churches; produces Sunday school and discipleship materials serving a Baptist audience comparable to SSPB's NBCUSA constituency.
• Gospel Publishing House (Assemblies of God): The official publishing arm of the Assemblies of God denomination; produces Sunday school curriculum, periodicals, and discipleship materials—a structurally analogous denominational publisher to SSPB.
• Concordia Publishing House: Official publishing house of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod; produces Sunday school curriculum, hymnals, and theological resources—directly comparable to SSPB's denominational publishing and hymnal operations (Total Praise).

Broad incumbents

• Abingdon Press: United Methodist publishing house offering curriculum, theological books, and ministry resources; operates as a broader incumbent denominational publisher comparable in scope to SSPB's catalog.
• B&H Publishing Group: Publishing arm of LifeWay (Southern Baptist) producing theological books, commentaries, and academic titles; competes with SSPB's Townsend Press commentary and book lines in the broader Baptist/evangelical market.
• Moody Publishers: Established Christian publisher of theological books, commentaries, and Bible study resources; competes with Townsend Press in the commentary/reference segment that SSPB serves.

Emerging players

• Charisma Media: Independent Christian publisher producing books, magazines, and digital content with charismatic/Pentecostal orientation; an adjacent emerging player in faith-based periodicals and curriculum-style content.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/luvSSPB
• Facebookfacebook.com/LuvSSPB

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunday School Publishing Board