Grace Fellowship Church

What Grace Fellowship Church does

Grace Fellowship Church (legal name: Grace Fellowship Evangelical Free Church) is a Bible-based, grace-based, multisite nonprofit church affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America (Great Lakes District) and headquartered in Florence, Kentucky. Founded in 1994 (with Brad Bigney beginning as Lead Pastor in January 1996), the church operates three physical campuses across Northern Kentucky — Florence (main campus, 9379 Gunpowder Road), Fort Thomas (90 Alexandria Pike), and Independence (1800 Declaration Drive) — serving the tri-state area of Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. The church is led by a board of elders under an elder-led governance model codified in a constitution adopted March 1, 2020, with congregational voting rights on significant matters including pastoral calls and budget approval.

The church's product portfolio centers on weekly worship gatherings (Sundays 9am & 10:45am), a Community Groups ministry of 50+ small groups across the region, age-segregated programming (Grace Kids for birth-5th grade, Grace Students for grades 6-12), free Biblical Counseling services, and training programs including the annual Counseling & Discipleship Training (CDT) Conference and Servant Leadership Development. The technology stack is standard for mid-size churches: CCB Church for member management and event registration, Pushpay for online giving, YouTube for sermon/worship content, and the myGFC member portal. No proprietary AI or technology systems are referenced.

Grace Fellowship is funded almost entirely by voluntary tithes and offerings from its congregation, with a minor revenue stream from the CDT Conference (Foundations track $150-$165, Advanced track $110-$125). Core services — worship, community groups, biblical counseling — are provided free of charge. The church is currently in a planned leadership transition: Brad Bigney is retiring December 31, 2027, and Peter LaRuffa has been confirmed by congregational vote (March 15, 2026) as the next Lead Pastor effective January 1, 2028.

Name

Grace Fellowship Church

Legal name

Grace Fellowship Evangelical Free Church

Website

https://graceky.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grace Fellowship Evangelical Free Church is a Bible-based, multisite nonprofit church operating three campuses across Northern Kentucky (Florence, Fort Thomas, Independence), serving the Kentucky-Ohio-Indiana tri-state area with worship, community groups, children's and student ministries, free biblical counseling, and training programs. Revenue comes from tithes, offerings, and the annual CDT Conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (813110), Religious Organizations (81311), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Christian church services
• Biblical counseling ministry
• Worship services
• Community small groups
• Leadership development

Headquarters

HQ city

Florence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: The church relies on voluntary financial contributions from congregation members through Sunday offerings and online giving to fund operations and ministry activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Grace Fellowship Church (legal name: Grace Fellowship Evangelical Free Church) is a Bible-based, grace-centered evangelical church operating three campuses across Northern Kentucky in Florence, Fort Thomas, and Independence. It delivers weekly worship services in multiple styles, age-graded ministry programs for children, students, and adults, biblical counseling, community small groups, structured leadership development, and missions outreach, sustained primarily by member tithes and offerings.

Product overview

Grace Fellowship Church operates as a multisite Bible-based, grace-based church with three physical campuses in Northern Kentucky (Florence, Fort Thomas, and Independence) plus digital ministry offerings. The church's ministry portfolio centers on weekly worship Gatherings at 9am and 10:45am, Community Groups for small-group fellowship, Grace Kids (birth-5th grade), Grace Students (grades 6-12), and Biblical Counseling services. Key training programs include the annual Counseling & Discipleship Training (CDT) Conference and Servant Leadership Development program. The digital presence includes myGFC member portal, online giving via Pushpay, sermon recordings and notes, and resource libraries for group leaders and counselors. The church is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Weekend Worship Services Weekly in-person worship gatherings held across all three Grace Fellowship Church campuses in multiple service styles (traditional and contemporary), providing biblical teaching, corporate worship, and community for attendees.
• Grace Kids Children's Ministry Age-graded children's ministry program designed for kids, offered during services and events at Grace Fellowship Church campuses.
• Grace Students Student Ministry Ministry program for middle and high school students, providing teaching, community, and discipleship at Grace Fellowship Church.
• Biblical Counseling Free, faith-based counseling service provided by Grace Fellowship Church, led by the Director of Counseling, offering biblical guidance to individuals seeking personal support.
• Community Groups Small-group Bible study and community ministry, providing regular gatherings for adults across the Grace Fellowship Church campuses to foster spiritual growth and relationships.
• Care Groups Short-term support groups providing focused care to individuals experiencing specific life needs, supplementing the ongoing Community Groups ministry.
• CDT Conference Annual training conference hosted by Grace Fellowship Church, offering paid ministry and leadership training with tiered pricing for attendees.
• Servant Leadership Development Structured leadership development program designed to train servant leaders, providing pathways for leadership growth within the church and beyond.
• Missions Program Church-wide missions and outreach program, led by the Director of Missions and Mobilization, supporting local and global ministry engagement and mobilization of congregants.

Quantifiable outcome

• Free Biblical Counseling provided to all GFC members and regular attendees

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• VanderbloemencoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 December 2024Vanderbloemen is an executive search firm that works with churches and nonprofits across the country. They partnered with Grace Fellowship Church's elders during the Lead Pastor succession process to provide external insight, assessment, and perspective in evaluating candidates and planning the transition. The firm helped shape the succession plan and provided recommendations throughout the evaluation phase.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• North Point Community Church: Large multi-campus evangelical church in metro Atlanta founded by Andy Stanley; comparable as a multi-site Bible-centered church with comparable governance and ministry programming, but on a much larger scale (100K+ weekly attendance across many campuses).

Direct peers

• Elevation Church: Steven Furtick's multisite evangelical church headquartered in Charlotte NC operating across numerous US locations; directly comparable multisite model with Bible-based teaching and modern worship production.
• Summit Church: Durham NC-based multisite evangelical church led by J.D. Greear; comparable as a multi-campus expository-teaching church with similar small-group ("community group")-centric ministry strategy.
• Watermark Community Church: Dallas-area multisite evangelical church pastored by David Platt; similar in offering free biblical counseling, leadership development programs, and a strong emphasis on discipleship and community groups—highly comparable operating model.
• Cross Church: Multisite evangelical church based in Northwest Arkansas operating across several campuses with full children's, student, and adult ministry programming; a direct comparable in scale and multisite operating model.
• McLean Bible Church: Non-denominational multisite church in the Washington DC metro operating 4+ campuses with comparable children, student, and adult ministry programming; very similar operational structure to GFC's three-campus model.
• Church of the Highlands: One of the largest multisite churches in the US pastored by Chris Hodges with 20+ campuses in Alabama; comparable as a multisite evangelical church with small group-centric ministry DNA similar to GFC's 50+ Community Groups structure.
• Southeast Christian Church: Large multisite church in Louisville KY with similar Bible-teaching emphasis, community-group-driven ministry model, and 7-day-a-week programming across multiple locations; closely matches GFC's Northern Kentucky regional profile.
• The Village Church: Multisite evangelical church led by Matt Chandler, affiliated with Acts 29 network and committed to expository Bible teaching; closely matches GFC's Bible-based, grace-based, elder-led multisite model in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Regional players

• Fellowship Church: Ed Young Jr.'s multisite non-denominational church headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with comparable Bible-emphasis and small-group-driven ministry; comparable in operating model but geographically separate from GFC's Kentucky footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/graceky
• YouTubeyoutube.com/gracefellowshipchurch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/graceky

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Fellowship Church