Christian Business Network

What Christian Business Network does

Christian Business Network (CBN), LLC is a privately-held, for-profit professional networking platform organized as a Maryland-based LLC and self-described as the "Christian alternative to LinkedIn." Founded in concept in 2001-2002 by Michael Chetelat and legally formed in 2005, the company has operated for over 23 years and reports members across 100 countries on six continents. The platform serves Christian professionals seeking trustworthy business relationships grounded in shared Biblical values, with customer segments that include individual SMB members, Christian university students and alumni, Christian organizations and ministries (e.g., CBMC, Truth@Work), and Christian business associations.

The core product is a fully-customized Professional Engagement Platform featuring a Global Navigation System with maps for 6,000+ regional, industry, and professional groups; member registration and profile management with a Member Profile Scorecard; advanced member search; a community blogging system that auto-posts to Twitter; mobile-responsive design; and Private Business Community Groups for churches and organizations. Supporting infrastructure includes Zoom-based Professional Groups covering 12 topics (Business Strategies, Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Financial Stewardship, Leadership, etc.), RingCentral-powered member webinars, a Referral Rewards Program, and the Godly Wisdom@Work content publishing service.

CBN's revenue model combines four streams: annual membership dues (Standard and Premium tiers), regional sponsorship and banner advertising, third-party content licensing (notably the RightNow Media@Work partnership beginning 2019), and platform licensing to enterprise partners such as Christian universities. The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven, supported by Regional Directors and an Ambassador Council. The company is actively seeking $1-2 million in private equity and angel capital to complete and launch a rebuilt Professional Engagement Platform. Headcount is 11-50 employees, and the founder/president Michael Chetelat remains the central operating leader.

Name

Christian Business Network

Legal name

Christian Business Network, LLC

Website

https://christianbusinessnetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Christian Business Network operates a private online Professional Engagement Platform connecting Christian professionals globally through regional, industry, and professional groups — positioned as a faith-based alternative to LinkedIn for SMB members, Christian universities, and ministries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Christian Business Networking Platform

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAJAA

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

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

Keywords

• Christian business networking
• Professional engagement platform
• Faith-based community platform
• Membership networking organization
• Enterprise connectivity platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Dues-paying members pay membership fees to access the Professional Engagement Platform, networking groups, professional groups, and member resources
2. Premium Membership: High-caliber Premium members who facilitate Professional Groups, with tiered membership types, privileges, and dues structure
3. Regional Sponsorship and Banner Advertising: Banner advertising services enabling members to promote their organizations as Regional Sponsors; process refined in June 2015 to enable members to become regional sponsors
4. Third-Party Content Licensing: Partnership with RightNow Media@Work to offer their entire suite of videos to dues-paying members beginning 2019

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Christian Business Network operates a fully-customized Professional Engagement Platform that enables Christian business and ministry professionals worldwide to connect, communicate, collaborate, and congregate through regional, industry, and professional groups. The platform serves as a Christian alternative to LinkedIn, offering member profiles, group home pages, member search, blogging, and private community groups. The core offering is supported by annual membership subscriptions (Standard and Premium tiers), regional sponsorship banner advertising, content licensing partnerships, and enterprise white-label licensing to Christian universities and ministries.

Product overview

Christian Business Network (CBN) operates a unified Professional Engagement Platform designed as a Christian alternative to LinkedIn for connecting, communicating, collaborating, and congregating Christian professionals globally. The platform architecture consists of a core Professional Engagement Platform with integrated Regional Groups, Industry Groups, Professional Groups, and Private Business Community Groups. Supporting features include a Global Navigation System with geographic maps, Member Profile System with search and scorecard capabilities, Blogging Service, Godly Wisdom@Work content publishing, Member Resources with multimedia content, Referral Rewards Program, and Member Webinars. CBN also offers Regional Sponsorship advertising opportunities. The platform was rebuilt in 2022 with a seeking investment of up to $1,000,000.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Professional Engagement Platform A fully-customized, state-of-the-art online platform enabling Christian professionals worldwide to connect, communicate, collaborate, and congregate. Features include member profiles, group home pages, member search, regional/industry/professional groups, private business community groups, global navigation with maps, a member profile scorecard, blogging with social media auto-posting, and a mobile-responsive design. Available to individual dues-paying members globally and licensed as a private white-label platform to Christian universities and ministries.
• Professional Groups Profession-specific facilitated groups led by high-caliber Premium members with subject-matter expertise, covering areas such as Business Strategies, Career Development, Communication, Entrepreneurship, Financial Stewardship, Leadership, Management, Networking, Sales & Marketing, Social Media, Technology, and Worldview@Work. Meetings are conducted semi-monthly via Zoom for dues-paying members.
• Private Business Community Groups Private online community groups for churches, Christian organizations, Christian universities, and ministries to enable private connectivity, communication, and congregation among their members, students, alumni, and personnel on the CBN platform.
• Godly Wisdom@Work Content Publishing Service Content publishing service for original and curated content targeting Christian professionals in the marketplace. Provides multimedia publications and devotional resources to equip members with Biblical and business content.
• Regional Sponsorship Banner Advertising Banner advertising service enabling members to promote their organizations as Regional Sponsors across the CBN platform's regional and industry groups.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members from 100 countries on six continents as of December 2019
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• OneShare HealthminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Strategic partnership negotiated and sealed in Q4 2021 with OneShare Health, an ACA-exempt Health Care Sharing ministry. They provide a special discount for CBN members as part of member benefits.
• Columbia International UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Strategic partnership in Q4 2020 with Columbia International University's Alumni Department and School of Business and Professional Studies. They agreed to use CBN's member engagement platform as the primary means of enabling their students, alumni, and personnel to connect, communicate, and congregate online in various private groups. If successful, other Christian colleges and universities may follow suit.
• Leadership Revolution (Bruce Witt)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2019Beginning December 2019, CBN began a strong collaborative relationship with Bruce Witt, president of Leadership Revolution. Bruce has trained and equipped thousands of Christian leaders in many countries over many years.
• RightNow Media@WorkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Official partner starting December 2018 to offer RightNow Media@Work's entire suite of videos to dues-paying members beginning 2019. This partnership provided members with access to Christian video content for professional and personal development.
• Christian Business Networking (Maia Arneson)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Throughout 2019, CBN negotiated with Maia Arneson, president of Christian Business Networking, to enfold their organization into CBN. As a result, Maia agreed to become and remain a Premium Member of CBN and promote the same to her many contacts. Thousands of her contacts were added to CBN's membership role and contact database. As of January 1, 2020, ChristianBusinessNetworking.com is owned by CBN with all traffic redirected.
• Truth@WorkminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 November 2018In November 2018, CBN gained great favor with David Holly, president of Truth@Work, by being invited to be the only remote hosting site for their 2018 Truth@Work Conference.
• Kenya CBN BranchcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 October 2018CBN Branch in Kenya officially launched in July 2018 - the first regional CBN event outside the United States. David Tanki coordinated the official launch. Paul Muhami later headed up the establishment of the CBN Branch in Kenya after Tanki's replacement.
• RingCentralcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2017In April 2017, CBN gained favor while replacing their previous cloud communication service with RingCentral in order to establish a truly global communication system. RingCentral became CBN's new webinar platform of choice for conducting member webinars.
• ZoomcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 September 2016In September 2016, CBN gained wisdom to abandon use of WebEx in favor of Zoom web conferencing software, along with receiving a refund from WebEx. Zoom became the platform for semi-monthly Professional Group meetings.
• LeTourneau University Center for Faith & WorkminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 April 2016In April 2016, CBN gained favor with LeTourneau University's Center for Faith & Work, resulting in CBN being added to their list of endorsed ministries. The university also agreed to distribute CBN's Student Flyer and post it in their Career Center.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• RightNow Media: Large Christian video streaming and content library used by churches and faith-based organizations. Comparable to CBN as an adjacent, enabling platform — RightNow Media is a content licensing partner whose library is bundled into CBN's dues-paying membership offering.

Broad incumbents

• Meetup: Event-driven community and group platform enabling members to organize local and topical gatherings. Comparable to CBN's Regional Groups, Industry Groups, and in-person/networking event distribution model, though Meetup is secular and global.
• LinkedIn: Dominant general-purpose professional networking platform. CBN explicitly positions itself as 'Your Christian Alternative to LinkedIn,' making LinkedIn the most relevant broad incumbent peer — competing for the same professional networking use case with vastly greater scale.

Direct peers

• Faith Centered Coworking International (FCCI): Network of faith-centered coworking spaces serving Christian professionals, ministries, and entrepreneurs globally. Comparable to CBN in faith-based mission, member services, and global chapter model; CBN has spoken at FCCI's Impact Summit.
• C12 Group: Faith-based peer advisory platform for Christian CEOs, business owners, and executives operating in local groups led by trained Chairs. Comparable to CBN's Professional Groups model (12 topical groups, Premium facilitators) and shared focus on integrating faith and marketplace leadership.
• Faith Driven Entrepreneur: Community and content platform serving Christian entrepreneurs and business leaders through podcasts, resources, and events. Directly comparable to CBN's mission of integrating faith with marketplace activity, with overlapping audience and a similar content-plus-community GTM.
• CBMC (Christian Business Men's Connection): Long-established faith-based organization connecting Christian business and professional men through local chapters, peer groups, and conferences. Directly comparable to CBN in target audience (Christian professionals), mission, and networking/group-based delivery model; CBN already partners with CBMC globally.
• Truth@Work: Faith-based organization equipping Christians in the workplace through conferences and resources. Comparable to CBN in audience and mission; Truth@Work is also a documented CBN partner (hosted CBN as the only remote site for the 2018 Truth@Work Conference).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Christian Business Network