Empower One
Empower One is a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2006 that trains and supports indigenous African church leaders to plant churches in South Sudan, Sudan, DR Congo, and Ethiopia through its NEATS Bible school and Flagship Church Multiplication Center model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersDallas, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Empower One does
Empower One (legal name: Cush Empowerment Group) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Christian organization founded in 2006 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that trains and supports indigenous African church leaders to plant churches in hard-to-reach regions of Northeast Africa. Its core product is NEATS (North East Africa Theological Seminary), a Bible school established in 2007 in Kajo Keji, South Sudan, offering 2-year Certificate and 4-year Diploma programs to approximately 180 enrolled students; curriculum is delivered by African faculty and paired with field application in church planting. The second core program is the Flagship Church Multiplication Center model, under which four regional hubs (Nimule, Yei, Malakal, Kajo Keji) have been completed since April 2023, with a fifth under construction in Mvolo and a Vision 2032 target of 15 total centers across South Sudan, Sudan, and DR Congo. Each Flagship site bundles a mother church, NEATS extension, primary school, clean water kiosk, clinic, pharmacy, and radio station.
The organization operates an indigenous-led model in which every church planter, evangelist, and teacher on the field is African, while a small US-based team (11-50 total employees) in Dallas coordinates fundraising, communications, and short-term mission trips. Revenue is generated entirely through charitable contributions: individual donations (including a monthly giving community called "The Village"), church partnerships with 15+ named US churches (Prestonwood Baptist, Cypress, Hope, Northwest Bible, Fellowship Dallas, Ridgecrest, Trinity Presbyterian, Shandon Baptist, and others), NEATS student sponsorships tiered from $270 per term to $4,300 for a four-year diploma, designated project gifts, and stock/employer matching programs. Direct grants to African field operations averaged roughly $1.5-1.9M annually from 2022-2025, with 2025 total expenses of $2.5M and 76% of every dollar directed to program work. Supporting programs include the Lioness Collective Women's Ministry, E1 College Ministry, short-term mission trips, an intercessory prayer team, and the "Network Conversations" podcast. The organization holds ECFA accreditation, a Candid Gold Transparency Seal, and Excellence in Giving certification.
Empower One firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Empower One
- Legal name
- Cush Empowerment Group
- Website
- https://empower-one.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Empower One is a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2006 that trains and supports indigenous African church leaders to plant churches in South Sudan, Sudan, DR Congo, and Ethiopia through its NEATS Bible school and Flagship Church Multiplication Center model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Empower One industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Religious Nonprofit Ministry Services
- NAICS
- Religious Organizations (8131), Educational Services (611), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG), Faith-Based & Mission Service Programs (EDAIAGAI)
Keywords
Where Empower One is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dallas
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices7 records
Markets served
Empower One business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: One-time and monthly gifts from individuals supporting church planting and leader training in Northeast Africa. Monthly giving community called 'The Village' provides steady operational support.
- Church Partnerships: Partnerships with US churches who provide financial support, send trip teams, and engage in prayer partnerships. Churches listed as partner churches include Prestonwood, Cypress Church, Hope Church, Ridgecrest, Northwest Bible Church, Trinity Presbyterian, Shandon Baptist, and others.
- Student Sponsorships: Sponsorship funds covering NEATS students' tuition, room, board, and transportation. Sponsorship tiers range from one term ($270) to full four-year diploma ($4,300).
- Designated Project Gifts: Gifts designated for specific projects such as Flagship Churches, NEATS campus expansion, women's ministry, or general operations.
- Stock Gifts and Planned Giving: Appreciated stock donations and employer matching programs available to donors.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | One-time | One term sponsorship covering transportation, tuition, room, and board for one NEATS student |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Full year sponsorship covering one NEATS student |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Two-year Certificate program sponsorship |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Four-year Diploma program sponsorship |
| Unit Pricing | One-time | Campus expansion projects - classroom blocks, dining hall, faculty housing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Empower One product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Empower One is a 501(c)(3) Christian nonprofit organization that trains and supports indigenous African church leaders to plant churches in the hard-to-reach places of Northeast and Central Africa. Its core services include operating the Northeast Africa Theological Seminary (NEATS) in Kajo Keji, South Sudan, which delivers two-year Certificate and four-year Diploma programs; a network of Flagship Church Multiplication Centers combining mother churches, NEATS extension campuses, primary schools, clean water kiosks, clinics, and radio stations; and short-term mission trip programs serving US church partners.
Product overview
Empower One is a nonprofit Christian organization that operates a portfolio of interconnected ministry programs focused on training African leaders to plant churches in the hard places of Northeast Africa. The core offerings include NEATS (North East Africa Theological Seminary), a church-planting Bible school that trains leaders through classroom instruction and field application; Flagship Church Multiplication Centers that serve as regional hubs combining a mother church, NEATS extension center, primary school, clean water, clinic, and radio station; and the E1 College Ministry and Women's Ministry that empower specific demographic groups for global mission. Supporting programs include mission trips, the Intercessory Prayer Team, the Empower One Network Conversations podcast, and publications such as the book 'Eating with God's Fork.' The organization is US-based (Dallas, TX) with African-led operations in South Sudan, Sudan, and DR Congo.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- NEATS (North East Africa Theological Seminary): Church-planting Bible school in Kajo Keji, South Sudan established in 2007
- Lioness Collective
- The Village
- Vision 2032
Products and services
- NEATS (North East Africa Theological Seminary)
- Flagship Church Multiplication Centers
- E1 College Ministry
- Women's Ministry
- Mission Trips
- The Village Monthly Giving Program
Quantifiable outcome
- 580+ churches planted since 2007
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Empower One
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Empower One technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Empower One partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and founding.
- Prestonwood Baptist ChurchcoreMajor US partner church that has supported Empower One since early years. Part of the network of churches providing financial support, prayer partnerships, and short-term mission teams.
- Cypress ChurchsupportingUS partner church providing prayer and financial support to Empower One's African mission work.
- Hope ChurchsupportingUS partner church providing prayer and financial support to Empower One's African mission work.
- Ridgecrest Baptist ChurchsupportingUS partner church that has sent mission teams to South Sudan. Example of church-to-church partnership model.
- Northwest Bible Church DallassupportingUS partner church providing financial support. Home church of Doug Sullivan who serves as Board Treasurer.
- Trinity Presbyterian ChurchsupportingUS partner church providing prayer and financial support to Empower One's African mission work.
- Shandon Baptist ChurchsupportingUS partner church providing prayer and financial support to Empower One's African mission work.
- Fellowship DallassupportingUS partner church providing prayer and financial support to Empower One's African mission work.
- Fellowship Bible Church GreenvillesupportingUS partner church providing prayer and financial support to Empower One's African mission work.
- Barry Wood MinistriesfoundingLongtime trainer of church leaders across East Africa and member of Prestonwood Baptist Church. Connected Nathan Sheets with Joseph Oyuki, who connected with David Kaya, helping establish the network that led to Empower One.
- E3 Partners MinistryfoundingOriginal parent organization. Mike Congrove joined through this ministry. David Kaya was hired as EvangeCube trainer. In 2012, Empower One launched as independent organization after outgrowing E3 Partners.
- Seed EffectcoreMicrofinance ministry started by David and Missy Williams in 2009 under Empower One's umbrella. Spun off as independent organization serving refugees globally. Led by Yengi Bismarck as Country Director for South Sudan.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Empower One competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pioneer Bible Translators: Pioneer Bible Translators works among unreached language groups, training local church leaders and partnering with US churches — a comparable indigenous-led, partnership-funded model with a similar geographic focus on hard places.
- Africa Inland Mission (AIM): AIM has a long history of church planting and theological education in East and Central Africa, overlapping directly with Empower One's NEATS and South Sudan/Congo footprint and serving as a comparable missions-and-Bible-school operator.
- Pioneers: Pioneers mobilizes church-planting teams among unreached people groups and supports indigenous leaders, a near-identical operating model to Empower One's African-led church multiplication in South Sudan, Sudan, and DR Congo.
- SIM International: SIM is an evangelical mission agency with deep presence across sub-Saharan Africa that plants churches, trains national leaders, and partners with US sending churches — directly comparable to Empower One's indigenous-led, US-partner-funded model.
- Frontiers: Frontiers is a mission-sending organization that plants churches among unreached people groups through indigenous leader training and church partnerships, mirroring Empower One's model of training African church planters in hard-to-reach regions.
- E3 Partners Ministry: E3 Partners was Empower One's original parent organization before the 2012 spin-off and shares the same church-planting, leader-training DNA. Both deploy short-term mission teams, train indigenous leaders, and partner with US churches, making E3 the closest direct peer.
- Greater Europe Mission (GEM): GEM plants churches in difficult-to-reach areas of Europe through indigenous leader training and Western church partnerships, sharing Empower One's church-multiplication, partnership-driven approach adapted to a different geography.
- Mission of Hope: Mission of Hope operates church planting, education, and humanitarian programs in South Sudan, overlapping with Empower One on Flagship-style integrated ministry hubs and indigenous leadership development in the same country.
Broad incumbents
- Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ): Cru is a much larger evangelical organization with a college-ministry program comparable to Empower One's E1 College Ministry, plus global missions and church-planting initiatives that overlap thematically with Empower One's broader portfolio.
Emerging players
- Church Multiplication Network: CMN trains and deploys church planters among unreached peoples with a coaching and partnership model similar to Empower One's NEATS-plus-Flagship pipeline, making it a relevant emerging peer in the global church-multiplication space.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Empower One social profiles
Digital presenceEmpower One compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Empower One financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Empower One leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Empower One funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Empower One M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Empower One
What does Empower One do?
Empower One is a 501(c)(3) Christian nonprofit organization that trains and supports indigenous African church leaders to plant churches in the hard-to-reach places of Northeast and Central Africa. Its core services include operating the Northeast Africa Theological Seminary (NEATS) in Kajo Keji, South Sudan, which delivers two-year Certificate and four-year Diploma programs; a network of Flagship Church Multiplication Centers combining mother churches, NEATS extension campuses, primary schools, clean water kiosks, clinics, and radio stations; and short-term mission trip programs serving US church partners.
Is Empower One a public or private company?
Empower One is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Empower One founded?
Empower One was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Empower One based?
Empower One is headquartered in Dallas, United States, in the North America region.
How does Empower One make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are church Partnerships, student Sponsorships, designated Project Gifts and stock Gifts and Planned Giving.
Who are Empower One's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pioneer Bible Translators, Africa Inland Mission (AIM), Pioneers, SIM International, Frontiers, E3 Partners Ministry, Greater Europe Mission (GEM) and Mission of Hope. Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) is listed as a broad incumbent. Church Multiplication Network is listed as an emerging player.
Does Empower One have an API?
No public API is recorded for Empower One.
What industry is Empower One in?
Empower One's product category is Religious Nonprofit Ministry Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAJAE, Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International), with a secondary code of BPAGAJAG, Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling). Its NAICS code is 8131 and its SIC code is 8300.