Church of England

What Church of England does

The Church of England, operating through its national body The Archbishops' Council (a charitable body established under the National Institutions Measure 1998, charity number 1074857), is the established church of England headquartered at Church House, Great Smith Street, London. Its primary digital product is 'A Church Near You' (achurchnearyou.com), a web-based directory and content management platform that enables individuals in England to locate Church of England churches by location, postcode, or tag, and enables local parishes and benefices to manage their own online presence, publish event listings, and share service information including weddings, christenings, funerals, and community activities. The platform is built around a church finder, an event management system, a free website builder for parishes, and a detailed accessibility features database (wheelchair access, hearing loops, dementia-friendly, neurodivergence inclusion, BSL, Makaton), and is supported by third-party integrations with MailChimp for communications and Cloudflare for security. The platform is provided free of charge to both end users and churches, with no disclosed pricing tiers; the Archbishops' Council funds operations through diocesan contributions, investment income from the Church Commissioners, and voluntary giving, making it a charitable, non-commercial digital infrastructure rather than a revenue-generating product. Geographic scope is strictly domestic to England, and customer segments include the general public seeking church services, local parishes managing their digital presence, and individuals navigating significant life events.

Name

Church of England

Legal name

The Archbishops' Council

Website

https://achurchnearyou.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Church of England, via its Archbishops' Council, operates 'A Church Near You' — a free web-based directory and CMS platform that helps the English public find local C of E parishes and helps parishes publish events, manage services, and build websites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Institution Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (813110)

akta.pro primary industry

Denominational & Ecclesiastical Governance Bodies (Dioceses, Synods, Conferences) (BPAGAJAB)

Keywords

• Religious services
• Church directory platform
• Parish event management
• Life event ceremonies
• Worship community platform

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable Operations: The Archbishops' Council operates as a charitable body (Charity number 1074857) established under the National Institutions Measure 1998. Funded through Church of England's central resources, which include contributions from dioceses, investment income from the Church Commissioners, and voluntary giving.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Church of England delivers religious services through thousands of local parishes across England, including regular worship, weddings, christenings/baptisms, funerals, and faith-based community programs. Its primary digital offering, A Church Near You, is a free web-based directory and content management platform that allows churches to create online listings, manage events, share service times and accessibility information, and connect with their local communities.

Product overview

Church of England operates 'A Church Near You' as its primary digital product - a unified web platform that combines a church finder/directory service with content management capabilities. The platform enables individual churches to create and manage their own online presence, publish event listings, share service information (including live streaming), and facilitate community connections for life events such as weddings, christenings, and funerals. The platform includes user account registration for church editors to manage their church pages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• A Church Near You Web-based directory and content management platform that allows Church of England churches to create online listings, manage events, share services, and connect with communities. Includes a free website builder for churches and multi-church benefices with event calendars and accessibility information.
• Wedding Services Church of England wedding ceremonies offered at local parish churches for couples seeking personal, meaningful, and spiritual marriage services, including pre-event guidance and ongoing pastoral support.
• Christening and Baptism Services Church of England christening and baptism services for children, marking the start of their journey of faith. Available to anyone contacting a local parish church.
• Funeral Services Church of England-led funeral services available to everyone, providing spiritual support and pastoral care before, during, and after the service for as long as needed.
• Daily Prayer Service Free online daily prayer resources offered by the Church of England, enabling users to join in regular communal prayer through the churchofengland.org website.
• Everyday Faith Resources Free faith-based resources to help individuals find and follow God in everyday life, accessible to anyone regardless of background.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Church Institutions (NCIs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe A Church Near You platform is operated by the Archbishops' Council as part of the National Church Institutions network. NCIs include the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, The Church Commissioners for England, The Church of England Pensions Board, Lambeth Palace Library, The National Society for Promoting Education, and Church of England Central Services. These institutions collaborate on shared data systems, policies, and mission activities.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Faithlife (Logos): Christian software and content company offering Bible study, church management, and community tools. Partial overlap through church directory and community engagement features targeted at faith audiences.
• Tithe.ly: Digital giving, church app, and engagement platform serving faith communities. Partial overlap with A Church Near You on event communication and community engagement, with stronger focus on giving workflows.

Direct peers

• ChurchSuite: UK-based SaaS platform providing church management, events, calendars, and communication tools for churches and charities. Direct competitor to A Church Near You in the UK church administration and event-listing space.
• Subsplash: Church engagement platform offering apps, websites, giving, and media tools for churches and faith-based organizations. Comparable integrated platform covering directory, events, and community engagement.
• Planning Center: Modular church management software suite (People, Services, Calendar, Giving, etc.) serving tens of thousands of US-based churches. Comparable integrated approach to church operations and event scheduling.
• Pushpay: Church engagement and giving platform providing mobile apps, online giving, and church management software to faith communities. Comparable SaaS-style church engagement stack with overlapping event, directory, and community functionality.
• Breeze ChMS: Web-based church management system covering people, events, giving, and communication. Directly comparable church management functionality, particularly for small and mid-sized congregations.

Others

• Eventbrite: General-purpose event discovery and ticketing platform. Adjacent to A Church Near You on event listing and discovery functionality, but serves a far broader secular audience with no faith-based specialization.

Regional players

• ChurchDesk: Dutch-origin church management and communication platform serving European congregations with website, event, and community tools. Comparable product offering and target customer, but operates primarily in continental Europe rather than England.

Broad incumbents

• Google Maps: Dominant global location and place-finding platform with extensive church listings, reviews, and accessibility information. Serves the same general "find a nearby church" use case as A Church Near You, but as part of a much broader mapping portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/churchofengland
• YouTubeyoutube.com/thechurchofengland
• Facebookfacebook.com/thechurchofengland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/church-of-england_2
• Instagraminstagram.com/thechurchofengland

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Church of England