CityLight Church

What CityLight Church does

CityLight Church, operating under the legal name CityLight International Assembly, is a non-profit religious organization founded in 2005 in Chicago, Illinois. It is a contemporary, family-oriented church led by Pastors Lan and Debo Ijiwola, conducting weekly Sunday worship services at 824 E 43rd St, Chicago, IL 60653 at 11:00AM. The organization operates as a unified ministry with five sub-brands and programs serving distinct life stages and community needs: Kidzciti (children's ministry), Teenciti (teens), LeadingLights Network (youth and young adult leadership training), Glow Church (a contemporary sister-church expression), and The Life Development Center (LDC), a community development arm providing services in youth development, leadership development, educational enrichment, economic empowerment, and community empowerment. Additional programming includes Growth Track (a discipleship pathway), Bible Master Class (delivered via Zoom), Small Groups, Water Baptism services, and Glow Morning Prayers (Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings).

The organization's underlying technology stack is minimal and non-proprietary: a WordPress-based website (thecitylight.org), a YouTube channel (Citylightchannel) hosting an archived sermon library organized by year (2022-2026), Zoom for virtual education, and standard social media presence across Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. There is no custom-built platform, mobile application, or proprietary software disclosed. The organization maintains an online giving platform (Breezechms) for donation processing.

CityLight operates on a donations-based revenue model with no pricing for services; all programs are free to attendees, and funding comes from voluntary tithes and offerings. The church functions as an independent non-profit with no parent company, no institutional investors, and no venture or private equity ownership. Its geographic footprint is primarily Chicago-based, with international extension through the Leading Lights Network partnership into Rwanda, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Southern Africa. The organization operates with 11-50 employees and is governed pastorally rather than through a corporate board structure.

Name

CityLight Church

Legal name

CityLight International Assembly

Website

https://thecitylight.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CityLight Church (CityLight International Assembly) is a Chicago-based non-profit religious organization founded in 2005, led by Pastors Lan and Debo Ijiwola, offering contemporary worship services, youth and children's ministries, and community development programs through its sub-brands Kidzciti, Teenciti, LeadingLights, Glow Church, and The Life Development Center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (81311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Religious services
• Worship services
• Community outreach
• Discipleship programs
• Youth ministry

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: The church accepts voluntary donations and tithes from members as its primary source of funding for operations and community programs.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CityLight Church (legal name: CityLight International Assembly) is a non-profit religious organization founded in 2005 in Chicago, IL. It offers worship services, ministry programs, and community outreach activities led by Pastors Lan and Debo Ijiwola, including children's, teen, and youth leadership programming, discipleship classes, small groups, water baptism services, and online message archives.

Product overview

CityLight Church (CityLight International Assembly) is a contemporary, family-oriented church offering religious services and community programs. The organization operates as a unified ministry with multiple sub-brands and programs including: Kidzciti (children's ministry), TeenCiti Church (teen ministry), LeadingLights Network (youth leadership training), Glow Church (contemporary ministry expression), and The Life Development Center (community development). Spiritual growth programs include Growth Track (discipleship), Bible Master Class (Bible study via Zoom), and Water Baptism services. The church also provides Small Groups for community connection, Glow Morning Prayers for daily prayer, and maintains an online message archive through YouTube.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Glow Church: A sub-brand/ministry of CityLight Church, referenced as http://myglow.church
• Kidzciti
• LeadingLights
• The Life Development Center (LDC)
• Teenciti

Products and services

• Kidzciti Children's ministry program affiliated with CityLight Church, designed to engage children in faith-based learning and worship tailored to their age group.
• TeenCiti Church Teen ministry program of CityLight Church, designed to engage teenagers in age-appropriate worship, faith education, and community activities.
• LeadingLights Network Youth leadership training program under CityLight Church, focused on developing leadership skills in young people.
• Glow Church Sub-brand ministry of CityLight Church, extending the church's worship and community programming under a separate brand identity.
• Life Development Center Program offered through CityLight Church in partnership with an external organization, focused on personal development and life skills for community members.
• Growth Track Discipleship program offered by CityLight Church, providing structured spiritual development pathways for members.
• Bible Master Class Educational program offered by CityLight Church for in-depth Bible study and instruction.
• Water Baptism Services Sacramental baptism services offered by CityLight Church for individuals making a public declaration of faith.
• Small Groups Community fellowship program offered by CityLight Church, where members meet in smaller settings for study, support, and connection.
• Glow Morning Prayers Scheduled prayer program offered under CityLight Church's Glow brand, providing members with a regular prayer gathering.
• Online Message Archive Digital archive of messages and sermons from CityLight Church, providing online access to recorded teaching content.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Life Development Center (LDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough partnership with various community organizations both locally and internationally, the church provides innovative services in five areas: Youth Development, Leadership Development, Educational Enrichment, Economic Empowerment, and Community Empowerment. LDC hosts events including Community Townhall BEAT 214 meetings, Vision Parties, and Food Distribution Outreach programs.
• Glow ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlow Church is a sister church ministry, with events like 'An Evening To Be Glad' and 'An Evening To Be Love' hosted together.
• Leading Lights NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA youth and young adult ministry network with training experiences including LLTE (Leading Lights Training Experience), youth camps, and leadership training in various locations including Chicago, LA, Tennessee, Rwanda, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Southern Africa.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harvest Bible Chapel: Multi-site contemporary evangelical church in the Chicago metro with strong youth and small-group programming. Closely comparable in service format, discipleship model, and community outreach emphasis.
• Christ Community Church: Chicago-area contemporary church with neighborhood-based ministry and significant community development focus. Comparable in mission orientation around holistic transformation and local outreach.
• Willow Creek Community Church: Large contemporary, family-oriented evangelical church headquartered in South Barrington in the Chicago metro. Highly comparable in worship style, community programming, and multi-generational ministry focus, and competes for the same regional pool of congregants.
• Elevation Church: Multi-site contemporary church with strong digital content distribution and youth programming. Comparable in modern worship format, online sermon archive strategy, and family-oriented branding.

Regional players

• Moody Church: Historic Chicago church with strong teaching and discipleship emphasis, located in the same metro. Comparable in biblical teaching focus but broader and more established, serving as a competing destination for Chicago Christians.

Broad incumbents

• Saddleback Church: Large Southern California megachurch with extensive community outreach, small groups, and leadership development programs. Comparable in small-group-driven discipleship and community engagement model, though at much larger scale.
• Lakewood Church: One of the largest contemporary churches in the U.S., with multi-channel broadcast and global digital reach. Comparable in contemporary worship format and media-driven ministry, though at substantially greater scale.
• The Potter's House: Large Dallas-based church with heavy emphasis on community services, youth development, and economic empowerment. Comparable in mission-driven community development and family-oriented programming.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/the_citylight
• YouTubeyoutube.com/Citylightchannel
• Facebookfacebook.com/thecitylight
• Instagraminstagram.com/the_citylight
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-citylight-church

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 CityLight Church