Grace Evangelical Free Church

What Grace Evangelical Free Church does

Grace Evangelical Free Church, operating under the trade name Grace Fridley, is a nonprofit religious organization headquartered at 755 73rd Avenue Northeast in Fridley, Minnesota. The church is an autonomous local congregation affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), governed by a board of elders and led by Senior Pastor Jon Christenson alongside Pastors Tim Schellhammer (Next Gen and Grace Institute) and Isaac Towianski (Youth and Administration), supported by an Operations Lead and Office Manager.

The church operates a comprehensive, multi-generational ministry portfolio that spans the full life cycle: Grace Kids covers nursery through 6th grade with programs such as AWANA, Vacation Bible School, and Upward Basketball; Grace Youth serves 7th–12th graders with Wednesday gatherings, Sunday classes, and Bible Quizzing; a Young Adults ministry hosts Sunday afternoon volleyball and evening Bible study; and Adult Ministries include Sunday School classes, Men's, Women's, and Seniors programs. The Grace Institute, launched in 2024, is a 3-year pastoral residency program combining seminary education, ministry skills training, and personal spiritual development, currently training three residents.

Grace Evangelical Free Church is funded almost entirely by voluntary tithes, offerings, and donations from its congregation and broader supporters, with no fees charged for services or programs. It supplements giving with revenue-adjacent community programs such as a monthly Second Harvest Heartland food distribution drive and Upward Basketball league registrations. Its technology footprint is modest and operational: the Church Center platform handles member management, online giving, and communications; YouTube livestreaming supports remote worship attendance; and an AVL production team uses ProPresenter and OBS to deliver weekly Sunday services and a Wednesday youth gathering. Distribution is primarily in-person at the Fridley campus, with regional outreach into the broader Twin Cities area through GO Teams evangelism, care home music ministry, and community events.

Name

Grace Evangelical Free Church

Legal name

Grace Evangelical Free Church

Website

https://gracefree.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grace Evangelical Free Church (dba Grace Fridley) is a Fridley, Minnesota-based nonprofit church affiliated with the EFCA, serving Twin Cities congregation members and community through age-specific ministries, pastoral training, and local outreach programs funded by voluntary donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Worship Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Bible Colleges (Undergraduate Ministry & Biblical Studies) (EDAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Christian worship services
• Religious ministry programs
• Youth religious education
• Pastoral training residency
• Community outreach ministry

Headquarters

HQ city

Fridley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Voluntary donations from congregation members during worship services and through online giving platform
2. Donations and Support: Church receives donations to support missions, community outreach programs, and benevolence needs

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Grace Evangelical Free Church operates as a local Christian church delivering weekly worship services, age-specific ministries (children, youth, young adults, adults, seniors), pastoral training through the Grace Institute, and community outreach programs including food distribution and youth sports. The church provides both in-person programming at its Fridley, Minnesota campus and digital access via YouTube livestream and the Church Center platform for giving and engagement.

Product overview

Grace Evangelical Free Church offers a comprehensive portfolio of ministry programs and services for all ages. The church provides in-person and digital worship experiences including Sunday services and online sermon libraries. Age-specific ministries include Grace Kids (nursery through 6th grade with AWANA and VBS), Grace Youth (7th-12th grade with Wednesday and Sunday gatherings), Young Adults Ministry, and Adult Ministries with various growth groups. The Grace Institute provides pastoral training residencies. Outreach programs include Upward Basketball sports league, monthly Food Distribution with Second Harvest, and GO Teams for local evangelism. The church utilizes Church Center platform for giving, calendar, and community management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grace Institute: Pastoral residency program that raises up the next generation of pastors and ministry leaders through formal seminary education, ministry skills training, and personal spiritual development.

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Second Harvest HeartlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonthly food distribution partnership where Grace hosts a drive-thru food giveaway on the second Friday of each month, partnering with Second Harvest to distribute free food and products as expression of God's love to the community

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wooddale Church: EFCA-affiliated megachurch based in Eden Prairie, MN—same denomination and Twin Cities market as Grace, making it the most directly comparable peer for theology, programming model, and regional competition dynamics.
• North Heights Church: Suburban Twin Cities (Arden Hills) evangelical church with multi-generational ministries and community outreach; closely comparable size, geography, and ministry mix to Grace.
• Eagle Brook Church: Large multisite evangelical church headquartered in the Twin Cities metro; comparable evangelical theology, family-focused programming, and community outreach, but at materially greater scale than Grace.
• Mill City Church: Twin Cities evangelical church focused on contemporary worship and urban outreach; comparable to Grace in regional market positioning and evangelical identity, though more urban-anchored.
• Bethlehem Baptist Church: Historically significant Minneapolis-based church with comparable multi-generational ministry and a strong pastoral-training/reformation legacy (TGC-affiliated), making it relevant for benchmarking residency and teaching programs.
• Living Word Christian Center: Large Minnesota-based charismatic/evangelical church; comparable in its multi-generational programming model and Twin Cities market presence, though with a different worship style.

Regional players

• Woodbury Lutheran Church: Suburban Twin Cities congregation with comparable family/youth programming scale and outreach; relevant as a regional benchmark even though denomination differs from Grace's evangelical free identity.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/embed/live_stream?channel=UCe0CEH-AfX4HEcVNS2Cefdw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grace-evangelical-free-church-of-fridley

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 Grace Evangelical Free Church