Holy Trinity Church

What Holy Trinity Church does

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (HTLC) is a religious nonprofit organization and member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northeast Iowa Synod, founded in 1939 in Dubuque, Iowa. The church operates from a single facility at 1755 Delhi Street and serves approximately 143 congregants in average weekly worship attendance through Traditional (Sunday 8:30 AM), Contemporary/Alternative (Sunday 10:30 AM), Lift Children's (Wednesday 5:45 PM), Seasonal Lent/Advent (Wednesday 7:00 PM), and Summer Unity (10:00 AM, May–August) services. Its portfolio extends across worship, faith formation for all ages (Little Lights through High School Pathways), pastoral care, hunger relief (24-hour food pantry, quarterly giveaways, 2,500+ community dinners annually), and global relief engagement (200+ quilts to Lutheran World Relief annually).

The church's largest operating ministry is Noah's Ark Child Development Center, founded in 1975 as the oldest preschool in Dubuque. Noah's Ark provides licensed childcare from infants (8 weeks) through school-age children across eight program tiers, holds Iowa Quality for Kids (IQ4K) state qualification approaching Level 3 certification (2025), and serves primarily non-member families with flat-rate tuition and state assistance acceptance. HTLC also operates the HTLC Endowment and HTLC Foundation to channel planned giving and small project grants.

Revenue mechanics rest on voluntary tithes and offerings (described as a spiritual practice with no membership fees), Noah's Ark childcare tuition supplemented by state assistance, and planned giving/legacy gifts through the endowment. The underlying technology is a standard WordPress site with Elementor and WooCommerce for online giving, plus YouTube for live-streamed worship; there are no proprietary technology assets, AI capabilities, or third-party platform integrations. GTM is direct-to-consumer via in-person services, digital channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, weekly Trinity Times email newsletter), and community reputation. Strategic positioning emphasizes intergenerational community, cradle-to-grave programming, and outward service to the broader Dubuque community.

Name

Holy Trinity Church

Legal name

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

Website

https://htlcdbq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is a Dubuque, Iowa ELCA congregation founded in 1939 that provides worship, faith formation, pastoral care, and hunger relief, and operates Noah's Ark, the oldest licensed preschool in Dubuque.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Organization / Faith-Based Community Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Childcare Centers (EDACAAAN), Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG), Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD)

Keywords

• Religious worship services
• Early childhood education
• Faith formation programs
• Community outreach services
• Pastoral care ministry

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubuque

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Voluntary financial contributions from congregation members during worship services and through online giving platforms. Members are encouraged to share resources to support the mission of the church. Generosity is described as a spiritual practice.
2. Noah's Ark Childcare Fees: State-qualified childcare services with flat rate billing providing flexible scheduling for families. The program accepts state assistance for lower income families and offers need-based scholarships.
3. Planned Giving and Legacy Gifts: Estate planning donations, memorial gifts, charitable bequests, and planned giving through endowment options. The HTLC Endowment supports mission forever with earnings used for generations to come.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is a nonprofit religious congregation providing weekly worship services (Traditional, Contemporary/Alternative, Lift Children's Worship, Seasonal, and Summer Unity services), early childhood education and licensed childcare from infants through school age via the Noah's Ark Child Development Center, faith formation programs across all ages, pastoral care and grief support, and community hunger relief through a 24-hour food pantry and quarterly food giveaways. The organization is sustained by voluntary tithes and offerings, childcare tuition, planned/legacy giving, and community grants, and serves members and the broader Dubuque community from its facility at 1755 Delhi Street.

Product overview

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church offers a portfolio of faith-based programs and services centered around worship, faith formation, and community care. The church operates Noah's Ark Child Development Center (founded 1975), its largest ministry providing licensed childcare for infants through school-age children. Worship offerings include Traditional (8:30 AM Sundays with organ/piano/choral music), Alternative/Contemporary (10:30 AM Sundays with worship band), and Lift Wednesday evening children's worship. Faith formation programs serve all ages through Wednesday night classes (Little Lights, ECHO, Bible Explorers, Confirmation) and High School Pathways youth ministry. Community outreach centers on hunger relief through a 24-hour food pantry and quarterly food giveaways, alongside pastoral care and fellowship programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Noah's Ark Child Development Center: Early childhood education and childcare center operated by Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, serving children from infants through school age with programs including infant care, toddler programs, preschool, and summer programming
• HTLC Endowment
• HTLC Foundation
• 24-Hour Access Pantry
• Summer Connection Series

Products and services

• Noah's Ark Child Development Center Licensed, state IQ4K-qualified early childhood education and childcare programs for children from 8 weeks through school age, including Monkey (infants), Bear and Crocodile (one-year-olds), Turtle and Hippo (two-year-olds), Lion (three years), Giraffe (four and five years), and the Cheetah school-aged summer program, with the state-funded preschool offering 12 hours of free preschool per week for qualifying four-year-olds and need-based scholarships available.
• Traditional Worship Service Sunday 8:30 AM worship service featuring organ, piano, bells, and choral music, using liturgies and hymns from the Evangelical Lutheran Worship and All Creation Sings hymnals, designed for congregants seeking a classic Lutheran liturgical experience.
• Alternative (Contemporary) Worship Service Sunday 10:30 AM worship service featuring piano, voice, guitar, and drums, with eclectic liturgies drawn from All Creation Sings and 'Behold I Make All Things New' by Ben Larson, designed for congregants seeking a contemporary worship experience.
• Lift Children's Worship Wednesday evening 5:45 PM casual musical worship service for children K-8th grade, featuring camp-style songs and prayer before Wednesday evening classes, designed for families in the Wednesday faith formation program.
• Wednesday Night Faith Formation Programs Midweek Christian education classes including Little Lights (infants to pre-K), ECHO (K-2nd grade), Bible Explorers (3rd-5th grade), and Confirmation (6th-8th grade), held 6:00-7:15 PM Wednesdays with dinner at 5:00 PM, providing age-appropriate faith formation for children and youth.
• High School Pathways Youth Ministry High school ministry for grades 9-12 meeting on first and third Sundays for Bible study, fellowship, and leadership formation, with annual youth trips on a three-year rotation including the ELCA National Youth Gathering, Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp, and justice-based service trips.
• Hunger Outreach Programs Community hunger relief programs including a 24-hour access food pantry with ready-to-eat meals, quarterly food giveaways distributing tens of thousands of pounds of food annually, and the Hunger Outreach Fund providing direct food assistance to food-insecure neighbors in the Dubuque community.
• Summer Unity Worship Services Seasonal unified Sunday worship at 10:00 AM held May 24 through August 30, with community events following each service during the summer series.

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wartburg Theological SeminarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal seminary whose professors served in various capacities as early clergy in the church. Current Associate Pastor Jeanette Perrault works full-time as Director of Admissions at Wartburg and graduated with her Master of Divinity there in 2022.
• University of DubuquecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Chuck Barland serves as professor of music and organist at the University of Dubuque while also serving as Traditional Music Director at HTLC.
• Lutheran World ReliefcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHTLC quilters meet to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief. Over 200 quilts and 100 school kits are sent annually to support global relief efforts.
• Rainbow Trail Lutheran CampminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth are sent to Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp in Colorado as part of the three-year rotation of youth trips.
• Camp EWALUminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth are sent to Camp EWALU as part of the youth ministry summer programming.
• Dubuque Senior Giving RoomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHTLC serves and supports this neighboring organization as part of community outreach.
• Washington Middle SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHTLC provides support and engagement with Washington Middle School as part of community outreach.
• Dubuque Rescue MissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHTLC serves and supports Dubuque Rescue Mission as part of community outreach efforts.
• MercyOne HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHTLC serves and supports MercyOne Hospital as part of community care outreach.
• St. Stephen's Food BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHTLC serves and supports St. Stephen's Food Bank as part of hunger relief efforts.
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHTLC is a member congregation of the Northeast Iowa Synod of the ELCA. The ELCA is the largest Lutheran church body in the United States, with HTLC connected through collective advocacy communication on US legislation.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dubuque Community Church: Independent Protestant congregation in Dubuque with comparable Sunday worship programming, youth ministry, and community outreach focus. Directly competes with HTLC for the same pool of local Christian families seeking an active congregation.
• St. Luke's United Methodist Church (Dubuque, IA): Same-metro congregation explicitly named in HTLC's data; comparable size, programming depth (music programs, youth, outreach), and competition for members/tithes in Dubuque. Its organist/choir director is also active at HTLC, illustrating direct overlap in staffing and member base.

Others

• Wartburg Theological Seminary (Dubuque, IA): ELCA seminary in Dubuque producing pastoral talent (both HTLC pastors are Wartburg M.Div. graduates) and sharing staff. Not a peer in ministry delivery but a key supplier of leadership and a strategic ecosystem partner for HTLC's leadership pipeline.
• Dubuque Rescue Mission: Named HTLC partner delivering hunger and shelter services in the same geography. Comparable in mission (food/hunger relief, serving vulnerable populations) but non-competing — operates adjacent rather than overlapping programs to HTLC's food pantry and community dinners.

Regional players

• Camp EWALU: ELCA-affiliated camp in Strawberry Point, Iowa, listed as an HTLC partner that hosts its youth each summer. Directly competes with Rainbow Trail (HTLC's other camp partner) for the same Lutheran youth formation segment in the Iowa/Upper Midwest region.
• Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp: ELCA camp in Colorado's Sangre de Cristo range, named as a youth destination for HTLC high-schoolers. Regional peer in faith-based youth formation; competes with Camp EWALU for the same Lutheran summer-camp audience.

Broad incumbents

• Lutheran World Relief: Global ELCA-affiliated NGO receiving HTLC's quilts and school kits annually. Operates at a much larger scale as the denomination's international relief arm; broader incumbent in the faith-based humanitarian space rather than a direct competitor.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Nation's largest licensed childcare provider. Comparable to Noah's Ark's infant-through-school-age licensed childcare business in core service offering, but operates at vastly greater scale and competes for employer-sponsored and corporate child care contracts in larger metros.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@holytrinitylutheranchurchd63/streams
• Facebookfacebook.com/HTLCDBQ
• Instagraminstagram.com/htlcdbq?igsh=eXZuM3JhaDhrY3hq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/holy-trinity-lutheran-church-of-dubuque-iowa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 Holy Trinity Church