CityLife Church

What CityLife Church does

CityLife Church Inc. is a multi-site evangelical Christian church headquartered in Wantirna South, Melbourne, Australia, operating since 1967. It runs approximately 10 physical campuses across the Melbourne metropolitan area (Knox, Casey, Manningham, Whittlesea, Beveridge, Mornington, and Melbourne City), dedicated Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese congregations, an international site in Ethiopia, and a global Online Church. Its ministry portfolio covers the full life cycle: CityLife Kids, EPIC Youth, Young Adults, Motherhood, Seniors, plus structured discipleship via LifeTracks, Life Groups, and Alpha. The church is the parent organization of Waverley Christian College (a Prep-to-Year 12 Christian school with 2,400+ students across two campuses) and CityLife Community Care (a social services arm serving approximately 900 households annually).

The operating model is donation-driven: tithes, freewill offerings, and dedicated funds (Vision Fund, World Impact / Nations, Kingdom Investment Fund) processed through Tithe.ly, BPAY, direct deposit, and envelope giving. A small number of paid programs (Kidz Bizz playgroups, Inspire events, youth camps) contribute ancillary fee revenue. The technology stack is entirely off-the-shelf SaaS: Tithe.ly for online giving, Planning Center Online and WhatsApp for scheduling and team communications, YouTube for sermon media, and Spotify/Apple Music/Google Play for the EPIC Youth music release. There is no proprietary technology, no disclosed AI/ML usage, and no consumer-facing mobile application; the "app" property of the website appears to be a web-based engagement layer.

The 2025-2026 "Overflowing Life" vision commits the organization to multiplying from 27 to 100 locations (sites plus Life Groups plus ministry plants) and to impacting 500+ international communities through World Impact. Two new campuses launched in 2025 (Beveridge and Mornington), and a $1M Vision Fund capital campaign is underway. Headcount is reported at 51-100 employees, supported by an extensive volunteer ecosystem. The entity is a registered Australian non-profit (CityLife Church Inc.) with no parent company, no external investors, and no public revenue disclosure.

Name

CityLife Church

Legal name

CityLife Church Inc.

Website

https://citylife.church

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CityLife Church is a multi-site evangelical Christian church headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, operating 10 physical campuses plus an online church, an Ethiopia site, and affiliated Waverley Christian College and CityLife Community Care ministries serving thousands of congregants and community members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE), Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD), Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL)

Keywords

• Christian church services
• Religious ministry programs
• Community care services
• Faith-based education
• Global mission outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Wantirna South

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: General giving from congregation members including tithes (10% of income教导) and freewill offerings. Processed via Tithe.ly platform, BPAY, direct deposit, and cash/envelope giving at services.
2. Vision Fund: Capital fundraising for vision projects including church planting, online church development, and new site multiplication. Goal of $1 million to support Overflowing Life vision initiatives.
3. World Impact / Nations: Missions giving through Partnership in Mission (PIM) fund and individual missions worker support for international church planting and community development.
4. Kingdom Investment Fund: Tax-deductible donations for outreach projects including community relief programs and World Impact projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CityLife Church operates multi-site Christian worship services across 10+ physical locations in Melbourne (plus an Online Church and an Ethiopia site), delivering weekly services, children's and youth ministry, small-group discipleship (Life Groups), faith-exploration courses (Alpha), leadership training (LifeTracks), community care support, and international missions. Programming is segmented by life stage (Kids, Youth, Young Adults, Motherhood, Seniors) and language (English, Cantonese, Mandarin), with affiliated education delivered through Waverley Christian College.

Product overview

CityLife Church is a multi-site Christian church operating as a unified platform with multiple ministry modules across 9+ physical locations (Knox Head Office, Casey, Manningham, Whittlesea, Melbourne City, Beveridge, Mornington, Chinese, Ethiopia) plus a global Online Church. The core offering includes weekend worship services supported by dedicated programs: CityLife Kids (children's ministry), EPIC Youth (high school youth), and Young Adults Ministry for spiritual development. Discipleship is facilitated through LifeTracks (structured training), Life Groups (small groups), and Alpha (exploration courses). Outreach programs include World Impact (global missions), Community Care (local social services), and short-term mission trips. The church also offers online digital engagement through Online Church, Kids Connect resources, and 24x7 Prayer initiatives. Supplementary programs target specific demographics: Seniors, Motherhood support, Kidz Bizz playgroups, and TASK Force youth leadership training. All locations are supported by integrated giving and event management systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Waverley Christian College: Christian school with over 2,400 students across Wantirna South and Narre Warren South campuses, Prep to Year 12
• CityLife Community Care
• EPIC Youth
• CityLife Church Mornington
• Young Adults Ministry
• CityLife Kids
• Kidz Bizz Playgroups
• CityLife Church Chinese
• Online Church

Products and services

• CityLife Kids Children's ministry program for ages 1 year through Primary 6, offered during weekend church services in a safe and engaging environment with age-appropriate Bible teaching and activities.
• EPIC Youth Youth ministry for high school students (Years 7-12) meeting Friday nights during school terms at multiple locations with worship, discipleship, leadership development, camps, and Life Groups.
• Life Groups Small groups meeting two to three times monthly for care, discipleship, gift development, and outreach, organized by interests, family life stage, and age groups.
• Alpha Course Interactive 8-week course exploring life, faith, and meaning, offered free at all physical locations and online for seekers exploring Christianity.
• LifeTracks Structured discipleship and leadership training program with multiple tracks (Christian Life, Church Life, Personal Life, Leader's Life, Group Life, Coach Life) for congregants at various stages of faith and ministry.
• World Impact Global missions ministry with international field partners, short-term mission trips, and a vision to positively impact more than 500 communities worldwide by 2026.
• CityLife Community Care Local community support services including food pantry, financial support, counselling, parenting groups, and family assistance serving approximately 900 households annually in Melbourne's local area.
• Young Adults Ministry Ministry program for 18-35 year olds offering Worship+Word services, workshops, Life Groups, camp, and local and global mission opportunities.
• Seniors Ministry Monthly gatherings held every 3rd Tuesday at Knox for over-65s community with worship and encouraging messages fostering fellowship.
• Motherhood Support group for mothers of children from birth to preschool age, providing speakers on relevant parenting topics, fellowship time, and on-site childcare.
• Kidz Bizz Playgroups Weekly playgroups for children aged 0-5 run by trained volunteer leaders, providing two-hour programs that develop fine and gross motor skills through play experiences, with concession pricing available.
• Online Church Digital congregation offering Sunday 9am online services, Kids Connect Online resources, and online Alpha, providing global access to CityLife's ministry content and community.
• Chinese Church Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking congregations at Knox offering bilingual worship services, courses, and children's ministry for Melbourne's Chinese-speaking community.
• 24x7 Prayer Non-stop prayer initiative with 30-minute time slot bookings across multiple days, supporting personal, Life Group, and community prayer engagement.
• Inspire Conference Annual leadership conference held at CityLife Knox gathering church leaders and teams for worship, biblical teaching, and ministry equipping, featuring guest speakers.
• CityLife Mornington Congregation Newly launched CityLife campus on the Mornington Peninsula offering monthly worship services and outreach activities for the Mornington community.

Quantifiable outcome

• 900 households/families ministered to annually through CityLife Community Care
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Waverley Christian CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated Christian school with over 2,400 students across Wantirna South and Narre Warren South campuses. Located at CityLife Casey campus. Major capital development programs underway including Senior Learning and Resource Centre.
• Indigenous Hope (formerly AAOM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld Impact partner supporting pastors serving in remote Indigenous communities across Australia. CityLife helped provide a replacement bus for pastors in Nhulunbuy.
• World Impact Field PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational missions partnerships supporting church planting and community development worldwide. Vision to impact 500+ communities by 2026.
• Red FrogsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Red Frogs to serve young people at schoolies, university parties, music festivals and sporting events as a friendly support presence.
• Southern Cross Kids Camp (SCKC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership blessing children trauma-affected in their family background with a week of joy and fun alongside young adult mentors.
• Maroondah Winter ShelterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership assisting men in local area experiencing homelessness during winter months (June-September).

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• NewSpring Church: US multi-site church focused on church planting and leadership development, comparable to CityLife's Overflowing Life vision of multiplying to 100 sites and its leadership development emphasis.

Broad incumbents

• Elevation Church: Large US multi-site church with campuses across multiple states and a strong online broadcast, comparable to CityLife in multi-site model, contemporary worship, and digital reach.
• North Point Ministries: US multi-site church network founded by Andy Stanley, recognized for developing small-groups and leadership pipelines (similar to CityLife's Life Groups and LifeTracks) and for multiplying healthy churches.
• Life.Church: One of the largest multi-site churches in the US, operating dozens of physical campuses plus a globally influential online church platform (Church Online Platform, Bible App); comparable as a multi-site/online church model benchmark.
• Saddleback Church: Large US multi-site church historically known for the PEACE plan missions model; comparable to CityLife on community-care outreach, missions giving (World Impact), and multi-site structure.

Direct peers

• Planetshakers: Melbourne-based international Christian church and worship movement with multi-site presence and youth-focused EPIC-style programming, making it a direct local peer for CityLife.
• Hillsong Church: Australian-founded global multi-site megachurch headquartered in Sydney with campuses worldwide, comparable to CityLife as a multi-site Australian evangelical church running worship, youth, college, and missions programs.
• C3 Church International: Global multi-site charismatic evangelical church founded in Sydney by Phil Pringle, with Australian campuses and international network; directly comparable to CityLife's multi-site evangelical model and missions focus.

Others

• World Vision Australia: Large Australian faith-inspired nonprofit with extensive international missions and donor funding programs; comparable to CityLife's World Impact/PIM missions giving stream from a fundraising and partnership model perspective.

Regional players

• Salvation Army Australia: Major Australian faith-based nonprofit operating worship, community care, and social services at national scale; comparable to CityLife on the integrated worship-plus-community-care model in the Australian market.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@EpicYouthCL
• Facebookfacebook.com/CityLifeChurch
• Instagraminstagram.com/epicyouth.cl

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 CityLife Church