Five Lakes Church

What Five Lakes Church does

Five Lakes Church is a 501(c)(3) non-profit evangelical congregation headquartered in Sylvania, Ohio, founded in 1965 and operating two physical campuses: the main Mitchaw Road campus and the Life Center. The organization functions as a multi-generational ministry serving local families through Kids Ministry, Student Ministry, adult Life Groups, Care & Support, Baptism, Growth Track, and chapel services, while also coordinating outreach partnerships with entities such as Lifewise Academy, Pregnancy Center Greater Toledo, Water for Ishmael, Young Life, The Program Inc, and Symbis.

Its product surface extends beyond worship services into adjacent faith-based services, most notably Lionheart Children's Academy, an early-learning program that operates alongside the church's weekday operations and broadens engagement with working families. Digital infrastructure supports a hybrid in-person and online ministry model: a Church Center App for member engagement and online giving, YouTube live streaming of services, Bible Gateway integration, and curated daily devotions. Programmatic curriculum such as Experience Early Learning is sourced from third-party providers rather than built internally.

The business model is contribution-based: revenue is generated through tithes, offerings, and program fees (e.g., childcare at Lionheart), and is not publicly disclosed. The organization is staffed by approximately 8 employees, supplemented by a volunteer base that drives Life Groups, Outreach Ministry, and other programs. As a non-profit religious institution, Five Lakes Church does not pursue profit maximization or external funding rounds; its operating model is sustained by congregation participation and ancillary fee-for-service revenue from its children's academy.

Name

Five Lakes Church

Legal name

Five Lakes Church

Website

https://fivelakes.church

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Five Lakes Church is a 501(c)(3) evangelical congregation founded in 1965 in Sylvania, Ohio, operating two campuses with Kids, Student, and adult ministries, plus an integrated Lionheart Children's Academy and digital engagement via the Church Center App.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD), Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Church worship services
• Religious education
• Youth ministry programs
• Early childhood education
• Pastoral care services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sylvania

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: The church receives voluntary tithes and offerings from congregation members during weekend services (cash/check in envelopes) and through online giving portal. Members can set up one-time or recurring donations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Five Lakes Church is a nondenominational Christian church in Sylvania, Ohio that delivers weekend worship services and a secondary chapel service at two physical campuses. It offers an integrated ministry portfolio covering children, students, adults (Life Groups), pastoral care and support, baptism, and a Growth Track discipleship pathway, alongside outreach missions in public schools via Lifewise Academy and a separate tuition-based early childhood education program (Lionheart Children's Academy).

Product overview

Five Lakes Church offers a portfolio of ministry programs and resources centered on Christian worship, education, and community service. Core programs include Kids Ministry (birth-5th grade), Student Ministry (6th-12th grade), Life Groups, Care & Support Ministry, Baptism, Growth Track membership classes, and Outreach/Missions. Supporting resources include Daily Devotions with structured Bible reading plans, Lionheart Children's Academy (early childhood education), Chapel Service (intimate worship experience), Live Stream viewing, and Church Center App for church management. The church operates two campuses in Sylvania, OH (Mitchaw Road and Life Center) and is committed to local and global outreach, dedicating ten percent of its annual operating budget to missions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Weekend Worship Services Weekly Christian worship gatherings held at the Mitchaw Road campus for congregants and visitors seeking communal worship.
• Chapel Service A secondary worship service held at the Life Center campus for congregants seeking an additional or alternative worship gathering.
• Kids Ministry Age-appropriate Christian formation programming for children, provided alongside worship services at the church.
• Student Ministry Christian discipleship programming tailored for middle and high school students.
• Life Groups Small-group adult discipleship and community gatherings supporting relational and spiritual growth.
• Care & Support Ministry Pastoral care, marriage support, grief recovery, and Celebrate Recovery program addressing life-stage and personal struggles.
• Baptism Sacramental rite of Christian baptism offered to believers as a public declaration of faith.
• Growth Track A four-step discipleship pathway designed to help attendees discover, connect, grow, and serve within the church community.
• Outreach Missions (Lifewise Academy Partnership) Off-site public school program partnering with Lifewise Academy to share Christian teaching with public school children.
• Lionheart Children's Academy Tuition-based early childhood education center operated by Five Lakes Church, providing faith-aligned preschool and early learning programs.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Imagine LeaderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImagine Leaders is a Christian ministry that equips those in persecution, empowers those in poverty, and encourages those in discouragement. Five Lakes Church partners with them as part of its global outreach mission to serve God's purposes worldwide.
• Pregnancy Center Greater ToledocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides free pregnancy tests, free limited ultrasounds, and abortion information. Five Lakes supports this ministry as part of local outreach efforts to serve the community.
• Water for IshmaelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with the local church to build welcoming community for Toledo area internationals, sharing the hope and love of Jesus Christ, and empowering internationals with skills to become successful.
• Lifewise AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReleased-time religious instruction program allowing students to receive character-based Bible education during the school day. Five Lakes Church hosts LifeWise Sylvania beginning October 1, serving Central Trail Elementary students grades 2-5 on Wednesdays.
• Young LifeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChristian ministry reaching middle school, high school, and college students in all 50 U.S. states and over 100 countries. Five Lakes supports this global student ministry partnership.
• The Program IncminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelps boys develop social and life skills to deal effectively with everyday life demands. Five Lakes partners to help fill gaps and improve quality of life for program participants.
• SymbisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarriage preparation program partnered with Five Lakes Church's Marriage Prep Team to help engaged couples build a foundation for a lifelong, Christ-centered relationship.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Primrose Schools: Primrose Schools is a national franchise network of private early childhood education centers, comparable to Five Lakes' Lionheart Children's Academy. Both serve the 6-week-to-pre-K market with faith- or values-aligned curricula; Primrose is the dominant scaled operator against which Lionheart benchmarks.

Broad incumbents

• Life.Church: Life.Church is one of the largest U.S. nondenominational churches, headquartered in Edmond, OK, and a pioneer of online church experiences. Directly comparable in its online streaming strategy via the YouTube channel and digital outreach approach used by Five Lakes.
• Saddleback Church: Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA is a long-established large church (founded 1980) known for small groups, marriage/family ministry, and global missions partnerships. Comparable to Five Lakes in its emphasis on Life Groups, marriage prep, and global outreach giving.
• Willow Creek Community Church: Willow Creek is a well-known nondenominational church in South Barrington, IL, historically influential in shaping the small-groups and seeker-friendly models that Five Lakes also employs. Comparable in ministry architecture and small-group philosophy.
• Elevation Church: Elevation Church is a large nondenominational multi-site church in Charlotte, NC, with strong digital content distribution and family/next-gen programming. Comparable to Five Lakes' multi-campus approach and multigenerational ministry structure, though at substantially greater scale.
• North Point Community Church: North Point is a large nondenominational church in Alpharetta, GA, known for its small-groups model and multi-generational programming. It operates at much greater scale than Five Lakes but shares the same nondenominational, community-formation DNA.
• Church of the Resurrection: Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS is one of the largest United Methodist congregations in the U.S., with a similar ministry breadth (kids, students, adults, care, outreach). Comparable in portfolio diversity and local-community orientation to Five Lakes.

Direct peers

• CedarCreek Church: CedarCreek is a large nondenominational church based in Perrysburg, OH, just minutes from Five Lakes in Sylvania. It offers a similar multigenerational ministry model, multiple campuses, and competes directly for the same Sylvania/Toledo-area congregation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@FiveLakesChurch/streams
• Facebookfacebook.com/fivelakesstudents
• Instagraminstagram.com/fivelakesstudents
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/five-lakes-church

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 Five Lakes Church