CPAS

What CPAS does

CPAS (Church Pastoral Aid Society) is a UK-registered Anglican evangelical mission agency founded in 1836 and headquartered in Coventry, West Midlands. Operating under the patronage of His Majesty King Charles III, CPAS enables Church of England churches to develop leaders, run effective governance, and grow in mission confidence. Its core customers are Anglican churches and clergy/leadership teams in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The organisation is supported by a core staff of approximately 26 employees and a much larger volunteer network of roughly 2,000 leaders across its Venture and Falcon youth holiday programmes. CPAS reached approximately 2,500 children and young people annually through around 60 residential holidays and has accumulated over 10,000 Growing Leaders course completions.

The product portfolio spans downloadable training courses (Growing Leaders £45, Thrive Collection £2.50–£17.50, PCC Tonight £15–£18.75), church-governance and multi-parish benefice resources, an 18-month Arrow Leadership Programme, blended coaching (£85–£5,000 per engagement), paid consultancy (Orientate, Align, Establish), area dean training (£21 per session), and the free Lead On newsletter/Lead On Live webinars reaching 7,000+ subscribers. The group also operates the School Pathways programme for school–church partnerships and runs grant-making through the Ministers in Training (MIT) fund and the Society for the Relief of Poor Clergy (SRPC). Sub-brands include Ventures and Falcons, Lead On, Thrive, Growing Leaders, PCC Tonight, and Arrow.

The business model is diversified across low-ticket resource sales (one-time/perpetual licence), professional services (consultancy and coaching), paid training events, and a substantial donation and fundraising arm (one-off gifts, regular giving, church giving, legacy gifts, JustGiving). The go-to-market is relationship-led, combining direct field engagement by staff and consultants with church leaders, the Lead On newsletter, webinars, residential events, and an Odoo-powered e-commerce shop. Active 2026 hires across communications, leadership enablement (with a Young Adult Specialism), leadership training, and fundraising indicate ongoing capacity build, and the 190th anniversary (1836–2026) is being marked with a refreshed visual identity and a new website. The technology stack is intentionally modest — Odoo e-commerce, Google Analytics, AddThis, YouTube — with no proprietary AI/ML systems.

Name

CPAS

Legal name

Church Pastoral Aid Society

Website

https://cpas.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1836

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CPAS is a 190-year-old UK-based Anglican evangelical mission agency that develops leadership, provides church resources, and runs youth ministry programmes for Church of England churches across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Church Leadership Development & Evangelical Mission Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAJAB

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

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

SECONDARYEDADACAF

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Accreditation Bodies (Institutional & Programmatic)

Keywords

• Church leadership development
• Anglican evangelical ministry
• Clergy training resources
• Religious mission services
• Church consultancy

Headquarters

HQ city

Coventry, West Midlands

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Resource Sales: CPAS sells leadership development resources including courses, books, and guides through its e-commerce platform. Products include Growing Leaders (£45), Thrive Collection items (£2.50-£17.50), and PCC Tonight (£15-£18.75).
2. Donations and Fundraising: CPAS relies on faithful generosity of supporters through one-off donations, regular giving (standing orders), church giving, and legacy gifts. Donations are processed through JustGiving and the ventures.org.uk site.
3. Grant-making: CPAS distributes grants through the Ministers in Training (MIT) fund for ordinands and the Society for the Relief of Poor Clergy (SRPC) for evangelical clergy in difficult personal times.
4. Consultancy and Coaching Services: CPAS offers paid consultancy services (Orientate, Align, Establish) and blended coaching programmes. Fees range from £85-£97 per session (one-to-one) to £5,000 for comprehensive consultancy engagements.
5. Training Events: CPAS generates revenue through paid training events including Area Dean Training (£21 per person per session) and Effective Line Management training days.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CPAS is an Anglican evangelical mission agency that equips churches with leadership development courses (Growing Leaders, Arrow), practical resources (PCC Tonight, Thrive Collection), consultancy, coaching and grant programmes, primarily serving the Church of England and other Anglican/evangelical churches across the UK and Republic of Ireland. The organisation also runs Venture and Falcon residential Christian holidays for children and young people.

Product overview

CPAS is an Anglican evangelical mission agency offering a portfolio of leadership development and church resource products. The core offerings include leadership courses (Growing Leaders, Arrow Programme), church governance resources (PCC Tonight), multi-parish benefice support (Thrive Collection), coaching services (Blended Coaching), area dean training, consultancy services, and school-church partnership programs (School Pathways). Products are sold as individual downloadable resources, printed materials, and service-based offerings (coaching, consultancy). The organization also operates the Emerging Leaders Network for Christians under 40 and provides grant programs for clergy in training or difficulty. Venture and Falcon Holidays operate through a separate website (ventures.org.uk).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ventures and Falcons: CPAS holiday programs for children and young people aged 8-18, providing residential experiences where they can build friendships, explore faith and come to know Jesus more deeply.
• Lead On
• Thrive
• Growing Leaders
• PCC Tonight
• Arrow Leadership Programme

Products and services

• Growing Leaders Course A ten-month (one session per month) downloadable leadership development course for church leaders combining teaching, mentoring and practical application, with leaders' notes, introductory videos, handouts, PowerPoints, leaders' guides and mentoring resources. Over 10,000 people have completed it.
• Thrive Collection An interlocking set of resources (book, PCC sessions, course, prayer guide) designed to help leaders and churches in multi-parish benefices (MPBs) thrive in mission and ministry, including bulk-pack prayer guide options.
• PCC Tonight A resource for clergy and PCCs covering 12 common PCC dysfunctions, including a leader's guide, six PCC sessions, and 35 online resources. Variants include a print edition, a leading-your-churches-in-evangelism module, and an MPB sessions module.
• Lead On Newsletter and Webinars A free monthly leadership email featuring original articles, viewpoints, reviews and curated links, plus monthly Lead On Live webinars exploring timely leadership themes, serving 7,000+ subscribers.
• Emerging Leaders Network A network for Christian leaders under 40 years old that provides resourcing emails, leadership events and coaching circles to help younger evangelical leaders thrive in their calling.
• Blended Coaching A paid coaching service combining coaching and mentoring for Christian leaders navigating complexity, offered in three streams: One-to-One, Group (online/hybrid/onsite), and Threshold (for transition points in ministry).
• Area Dean Training A practical online programme for Area and Rural Deans with four standalone two-hour sessions covering role clarity, chapter culture, workable strategy and conflict navigation.
• CPAS Consultancy Parish consulting services offered in three approaches: Orientate (one-day PCC workshop), Align (three-visit leadership review) and Establish (extended whole-parish evidence-led review).
• CPAS Grants Grant-making programmes including the Ministers in Training (MIT) Fund for ordinands and the Society for the Relief of Poor Clergy (SRPC) for evangelical clergy experiencing difficult personal times.
• School Pathways A nine-month programme helping school and church leaders build strong, purposeful partnerships through structured conversations, training and shared action planning.
• Arrow Leadership Programme An 18-month residential-based leadership development programme for church leaders, with a £200 deposit plus fees payable in four instalments before residentials.
• Venture and Falcon Holidays Residential Christian holidays for children and young people aged 8-18 run through approximately 60 Venture and Falcon holidays each year, reaching around 2,500 children and supported by approximately 2,000 volunteer leaders.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• All Saints Educational Trust UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting residential teaching resources for primary schools, particularly the Dangerous Kindness teaching programme for RE spiritual development on KS2 residentials. The trust provides funding enabling CPAS to rollout teaching resources and support partnerships between schools and churches.
• Arthur Rank CentresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal Thrive material was created in partnership with the Arthur Rank Centre, which supports rural churches and multi-parish benefices.
• LEAD AcademysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal Thrive material was created in partnership with LEAD Academy, contributing to the development of resources for multi-parish benefices.
• Church House PublishingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture between CPAS and Church House Publishing for the Thrive Collection. Church House Publishing is the publishing arm of the Church of England.
• Ventures and FalconscoreOthersRelated organization operating residential Christian holidays for children and young people. CPAS holidays have been running for over 100 years with foundations laid in 1924, supporting approximately 60 holidays reaching around 2,500 children annually.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Church Mission Society (CMS): CMS is a UK-based Anglican mission agency that equips and supports church leaders and cross-cultural mission workers, overlapping directly with CPAS's leadership development and resourcing role within the Church of England ecosystem.
• New Wine: New Wine is a UK evangelical network that trains church leaders, runs conferences, and resources churches for mission - directly comparable to CPAS's leadership development, conferences, and PCC/leadership resources.
• Crosslinks: Crosslinks is an Anglican evangelical mission society supporting and sending church workers, comparable to CPAS's patronage and clergy appointment support function across the UK and Ireland.
• Church Army: Church Army is an Anglican evangelical mission agency that trains and deploys evangelists and church planters, comparable to CPAS in mission focus, Anglican identity, and leadership development work.
• London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC): LICC equips Christians and church leaders to live out faith in everyday life through training, resources, and coaching, mirroring CPAS's Growing Leaders, PCC Tonight, and Blended Coaching offerings.
• Scripture Union: UK-based evangelical charity focused on children's and youth ministry with holiday programmes and schools work, closely comparable to CPAS's Venture/Falcon holidays and School Pathways programmes.

Broad incumbents

• Alpha International: Alpha runs a globally scaled church-equipping programme with courses, training, and events; it competes with CPAS in the equipping-leaders and evangelism-training category but at much larger scale.
• Church of England - Diocese Training Institutions: The Church of England's central and diocesan training bodies provide leadership development, ministerial education, and resourcing at scale across all parishes, making them a broader incumbent in the same equipping-leaders space.

Regional players

• Tearfund: Tearfund is a UK-based evangelical Christian charity that equips churches for mission and poverty action, adjacent to CPAS's mission-enablement remit but focused on relief and advocacy rather than leadership training.

Emerging players

• Church Planting Initiative (CPIT): CPIT focuses on training and resourcing church planters within the UK, overlapping with CPAS's Arrow Leadership Programme and consultancy on parish mission and growth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CPASnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/cpasnews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/church-pastoral-aid-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 CPAS