California Southern Baptist Convention

What California Southern Baptist Convention does

The California Southern Baptist Convention (CSBC) is a private nonprofit religious convention and a state affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention, headquartered in Fresno, California. CSBC functions as a fellowship and resourcing body for approximately 2,300 language and multi-ethnic Southern Baptist congregations across California, representing roughly 450,000 members and 80 weekly represented language groups. The convention coordinates evangelism, church planting, missions, disaster relief (CSBDR), church health ("Church Matters"), and communications support for member churches, and also operates Jenness Park Christian Camp in the Sierra Nevada.

CSBC's revenue model is rooted in the Cooperative Program, a unified giving structure through which cooperating churches contribute a percentage of undesignated receipts to support state and national ministries, supplemented by the California Mission Offering and designated appeals such as Annie Armstrong and Lottie Moon. It is governed by an Executive Board and led by Executive Director Pete Ramirez, elected in 2022, alongside a Disaster Relief Director and Communications Team Leader. Distribution is executed through direct church support from Fresno, regional Baptist associations across California, an online church finder, and events and conferences including the Champions Retreat and Annual Meeting.

There is no proprietary technology platform; CSBC operates a standard content website (csbc.com), a bi-weekly newsletter, the Great Commission Collective podcast, social media channels, and an online church and association directory. The convention partners with SBC agencies (IMB, NAMB, Gateway Seminary, LifeWay, GuideStone, ERLC, WMU), institutions (California Baptist University, San Diego Christian College, Southern California Seminary), and ministry allies such as the California Family Council.

Name

California Southern Baptist Convention

Legal name

California Southern Baptist Convention

Website

https://csbc.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

California Southern Baptist Convention is a nonprofit fellowship of approximately 2,300 multi-ethnic Southern Baptist churches and 450,000 members across California, resourcing them in evangelism, church planting, missions, disaster relief, and church health through the Cooperative Program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Convention / Nonprofit Ministry Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (81311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Religious convention services
• Church planting support
• Disaster relief ministry
• Cooperative missions giving
• Pastoral training resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Fresno, California

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Cooperative Program Giving: CSBC churches commit to give a percentage of undesignated tithes and offerings for missions and ministries through the Cooperative Program. These funds support missions locally, nationally, and globally. The convention receives a portion while the remainder goes to the SBC National Cooperative Program.
2. California Mission Offering: An emphasis to pray for, give to, and encourage mission action in California. Gifts to the offering support evangelism, church planting, church matters, and mission ministries in the Golden State.
3. Designated Offerings: Churches also give to designated offerings including Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, and world hunger appeals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

California Southern Baptist Convention (CSBC) is a nonprofit state convention that resourcing approximately 2,300 Southern Baptist churches across California across six ministry pillars: Evangelism, Church Matters (church health/compliance), Missions, Church Planting, Disaster Relief (CSBDR volunteer network), and Communications. The convention coordinates cooperative giving through the Cooperative Program and special offerings, and provides training, compliance resources (AB 506, CalVECHS), church revitalization support, and a statewide event calendar to its member churches and the broader California population.

Product overview

California Southern Baptist Convention operates as a fellowship of approximately 450,000 members in 2,300 language and multi-ethnic congregations. The Convention offers a portfolio of ministry services centered on church resourcing: Evangelism resources and training, Church Matters (church health tools), Missions programs, Church Planting initiatives, and Disaster Relief (CSBDR). Supporting infrastructure includes the Cooperative Program (unified missions giving), California Mission Offering, Communications resources (This Week at CSBC newsletter, Great Commission Collective podcast), Jenness Park Christian Camp, and an Events Calendar. The organization also provides Association and Church Finder tools for locating congregations across California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Evangelism Resources and Training Ministry resources and training programs designed to help California believers engage in evangelism and be on mission, including event support and witnessing training for member churches.
• Church Matters Tools and resources to help churches stay healthy, including compliance resources (AB 506, CalVECHS background checks), leadership development, church revitalization, and church fostering models.
• Missions Programs Cooperative mission initiatives and partnerships for reaching the nations for Christ in California, the United States, and beyond through statewide, national, and international mission efforts.
• Church Planting Church planting initiatives supporting new church starts across California's diverse communities, including multi-ethnic and language-specific congregations in rural, suburban, and urban settings.
• California Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (CSBDR) Volunteer ministry providing help, hope, and healing to disaster survivors across California through trained Gold Shirt volunteers responding to fires, floods, earthquakes, and snowstorms.
• Cooperative Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 14,377 baptisms in 2010 (18.5% increase)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Southern Baptist ConventioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSBC cooperates with the SBC as part of the largest Protestant denomination in America. Through the Cooperative Program, CSBC churches give to support SBC national missions and ministries including IMB, NAMB, and seminaries.
• California Baptist UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSBC agency and institution partner. CBU is a Baptist university that sends students on international and domestic service projects and participates in CSBC Disaster Relief training.
• The Baptist Foundation of CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSBC agency that presented a $50,000 check from trusts and endowments to start new churches in California (2011). Supports church planting through financial resources.
• International Mission BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBC agency receiving 50.41% of SBC National Cooperative Program funds, helping fund over 3,500 full-time field missionaries for global missions.
• North American Mission BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBC agency receiving 22.79% of SBC National CP funds, supporting Send Network, Send Relief, and evangelism efforts in North America.
• Gateway SeminaryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBC seminary receiving 22.16% of theological education funding from CP. Trains future pastors and church leaders.
• LifeWay Christian ResourcesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBC agency providing Christian resources, curriculum, and research including Annual Church Profile (ACP) data.
• GuideStone Financial ResourcesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBC agency providing financial services, retirement plans, and insurance for churches and ministers.
• The Ethics & Religious Liberty CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBC agency receiving 1.65% of CP funds, dedicated to engaging culture with the gospel and protecting religious liberty.
• Woman's Missionary UnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBC women's missions organization partnering with CSBC for women's ministry network resources and initiatives.
• Baptist PressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial news service of the Southern Baptist Convention (bpnews.net) providing news coverage for CSBC.
• California Family CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry partner of CSBC that hosts the California March for Life and provides advocacy and policy engagement opportunities.
• Baptist World AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal fellowship of Baptist conventions worldwide, providing international Baptist connections and resources.
• Jenness Park Christian CampcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSBC's conference center near Sonora in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Hosts camps, retreats, and training events including Ministers' Wives Retreat.
• San Diego Christian CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChristian college in San Diego listed as other partner of CSBC.
• Southern California SeminaryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeminary in Southern California listed as other partner of CSBC.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability: An accreditation body for evangelical nonprofit and faith-based organizations. Comparable as part of the broader ecosystem in which CSBC operates, providing donor-trust and governance standards rather than direct ministry competition.

Direct peers

• International Mission Board: The SBC's global missions agency that receives a fixed share of national Cooperative Program funds and partners with state conventions like CSBC on missionary support and training — operating in the same cooperative giving economy.
• Florida Baptist Convention: State-level Southern Baptist convention providing church planting, missions, and disaster relief support to member churches in Florida via a Cooperative Program structure nearly identical to CSBC's.
• North American Mission Board: SBC agency that partners with state conventions like CSBC on church planting (Send Network) and compassion ministry (Send Relief). Functionally a peer and strategic counterparty in the same nationwide church-planting mission.
• Texas Baptists (Baptist General Convention of Texas): Another large state Baptist convention coordinating cooperating churches for missions, ministry resourcing, and disaster relief through a cooperative giving model. It is the closest structural and operational analogue to CSBC, just at greater scale.

Broad incumbents

• American Baptist Churches USA: A separate Baptist denomination with its own regional/state structures and cooperative resourcing model. Comparable to CSBC as a state-coordinating denominational body, though smaller and more moderate theologically.
• Church of the Nazarene: An evangelical Wesleyan-Holiness denomination with district-level governance that resources member churches for missions, education, and disaster response. Functionally comparable to CSBC as another evangelical denomination with district conventions.
• Assemblies of God: A nationwide evangelical Pentecostal denomination with district-level structures that resource churches in evangelism, missions, and discipleship. Comparable as a multi-ethnic evangelical denomination with overlapping mission focus.
• Southern Baptist Convention: The national parent body of CSBC, operating as the largest Protestant denomination in the US. It is the broader cooperative umbrella that channels and allocates much of CSBC's Cooperative Program receipts.
• California Catholic Conference: The public-policy and coordination arm of the Roman Catholic Church in California. Comparable as another statewide faith-services umbrella organization serving congregations across California, albeit with vastly different theology and structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CSBCDisasterRelief
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/californiasbc
• Instagraminstagram.com/csbdr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about California Southern Baptist Convention