What Immanuel Baptist Church does

Immanuel Baptist Church (IBC, fka Tabernacle Baptist Church) is a Southern Baptist-affiliated multi-site church founded in January 1909 in Lexington, Kentucky, currently operating four physical campuses across Central Kentucky (Tates Creek as the flagship, Armstrong Mill, Georgetown, and Winchester Road) plus an online campus and a WLEX-TV Channel 18 broadcast campus. The church serves families and individuals across all life stages through age-segmented ministries including iKids (birth through 5th grade), student ministry (6th-12th grade), college, young adults (22-30), women's ministry, and 55+ seniors, alongside a Recreation Outreach Center (ROC) fitness facility, Creekside Cafe, Parents Day Out childcare program, baptism services, community groups, counseling referrals, and an extensive network of 15+ local and global mission partnerships.

The technology stack is composed of third-party SaaS rather than proprietary systems: Church Community Builder for member and financial data, SecureGive for online/text/kiosk giving, Church Center for event registration and group enrollment, Glofox for ROC fitness management, YouTube Live and Facebook Live for streaming, and the IBCLex mobile app for cross-campus engagement. No AI/ML, proprietary platforms, or data flywheel mechanics are present.

Revenue is generated through traditional tithes and offerings (encouraged at 10% of income), one-time and recurring digital gifts via SecureGive, stock and asset donations through National Christian Foundation and Baird brokerage, the annual Joash facility offering ($200,000 goal for 2026), ROC fitness memberships and personal training, and passive partnership programs with Kroger Community Rewards and Bluegrass Hospitality gift cards. 10% of general fund giving is allocated through cooperative channels to the Central Kentucky Network of Baptists, Kentucky Baptist Convention, and Southern Baptist Convention. The church is independently governed with no parent company, led by Lead Pastor Ron Edmondson (returned August 2022) and a pastoral executive team that includes specialized pastors for communications, technology, administration, community engagement, and each individual campus. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Immanuel Baptist Church

Legal name

Immanuel Baptist Church

Website

https://ibc.family

Company type

Private

Founded year

1909

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Immanuel Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist-affiliated multi-site church founded in 1909 in Lexington, Kentucky, operating four physical campuses across Central Kentucky plus online and TV broadcasts, and serving families and individuals of all ages through age-segmented ministries and community programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Organization Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Christian Broadcasting (TV & Radio) (MPABALAA)

Keywords

• Religious worship services
• Bible teaching ministry
• Children's ministry programs
• Community small groups
• Missions and outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Traditional tithes and offerings collected during worship services and through various digital methods. God calls upon members to give back a tithe (10%) of what they earn. This is the primary revenue stream supporting church ministries.
2. Online Giving: One-time and recurring gifts by card or bank account through SecureGive platform. Kiosks available at every campus for in-person digital giving. Text-to-give option.
3. Stock and Asset Donations: Donations of publicly traded stock or other assets through National Christian Foundation or direct transfer to Baird brokerage account. Supports estate planning and larger giving.
4. Joash Offering: Annual special offering in June inspired by King Joash's story, designated for facility repairs, updates, and improvements. 2026 goal: $200,000.
5. ROC Fitness Center Memberships: Recreation Outreach Center (ROC) offers fitness memberships, group fitness classes, personal training, and facility rentals. Generated revenue to support community fitness and outreach programs.
6. Shop for Good Programs: Partnership with Kroger for community rewards and Bluegrass Hospitality gift card purchases where a percentage goes to the church.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Immanuel Baptist Church is a multi-site Baptist congregation operating four physical campuses in central Kentucky (Leestown, East, TV/online, and Winchester) that delivers weekly worship services, age-segregated discipleship ministries (children, students, college, young adults, and 55+), community groups, missions programs, pastoral counseling, and a paid membership-based recreation and fitness facility (ROC). The church is supported primarily by member tithes and offerings and broadcasts services via television, app, and online channels.

Product overview

Immanuel Baptist Church operates as a multi-site church with four physical campuses (Tates Creek, Armstrong Mill, Georgetown, and Winchester Road) plus online and TV campuses across the Lexington, Kentucky area. The church's primary offerings center on worship services, Bible teaching, and spiritual formation programs. Key products include iKids (children's ministry for birth-5th grade), iKIDS Student Ministry (middle and high school), the ROC Recreation Outreach Center (fitness facility with group classes and personal training), daily devotionals and Bible reading plans, online giving via SecureGive, baptism services, care and counseling ministry, missions programs, community groups, and specialized ministries for women, 55+ adults, young adults, and college students. The church also operates Creekside Cafe and a Parents Day Out childcare program. Digital engagement is facilitated through the IBCLex mobile app, streaming on Facebook and YouTube, and Church Center for registrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• iKids: Children's ministry for preschool through 5th grade at Immanuel campuses
• ROC (Recreation Outreach Center)
• Creekside Cafe
• Summit
• Elevate
• Thrive
• iKIDS
• Joash

Products and services

• Weekly Worship Services In-person worship services held across all four campuses (Leestown, East, TV broadcast, and Winchester) for congregants and visitors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Recognized twice in Outreach Magazine's Top 100 fastest growing churches
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, core and minor.

• National Christian FoundationsupportingOthersProvides infrastructure for donors to give stock and assets to the church through Fund #1302252, enabling tax-advantaged giving options for generous donors.
• Baird (Brokerage)supportingOthersDirect brokerage transfer account for publicly traded stock donations. DTC # 0547, Account # 4640-9464 for broker-to-broker gift transfers.
• SecureGivecoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline giving platform for one-time and recurring gifts by card or bank account. Kiosks available at every campus. Handles all digital giving transactions.
• KrogerminorOthersCommunity Rewards program where Kroger donates a percentage of total purchases to IBC when members register and select IBC as their charity.
• Bluegrass HospitalityminorOthersGift card program where 20% of gift card purchases go to IBC when Immanuel is selected as the recipient.
• Central Kentucky Network of BaptistscoreOthersLocal Baptist network receiving 10% of all general fund giving for regional ministry support.
• Kentucky Baptist ConventioncoreOthersState Baptist convention receiving 10% of all general fund giving for statewide missions and ministry.
• Southern Baptist ConventioncoreOthersNational Baptist convention receiving 10% of all general fund giving for national and international missions through Lottie Moon/Cooperative Giving.
• International Mission Board (IMB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for international mission trips and missionaries. IBC sends teams and supports missionaries in places like Central Asia, Europe, Colombia, Middle East, Horn of Africa, and Chile.
• North American Mission Board (NAMB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting church planters in North America including Luke Watson in Burnaby, BC, Canada.
• LifeLine Christian MissionsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal ministry partner for meal packing events and serving locally and globally.
• CarePortalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform connecting caring people to meet needs of kids and families in crisis in Central Kentucky.
• God's PantrysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal food bank partner for warehouse work, stuffing backpacks, and serving at local market.
• Lexington Rescue MissionsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal ministry serving vulnerable community members through volunteer opportunities.
• Step by StepsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal ministry supporting young single mothers through healing, encouragement, faith and education.
• Fayette County Public SchoolssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for volunteer reading programs, mentoring, 4Kids Leadership Academy, and parent education.
• Amachi MentoringsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMentoring program for children affected by incarceration, one hour per week for one year commitment.
• Natalie's SisterssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal ministry reaching out to trafficked women in Lexington.
• Orphan Care AlliancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry to kids and families in all stages of adoption and foster care.
• Sunrise Children's ServicessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides safe place for abused and neglected children.
• Friendship InternationalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry serving international women living in Central Kentucky area.
• Sayre Christian VillagesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior living community with quality housing and rehab services.
• Lexington Leadership FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrban neighborhood transformation through faith with programs like Amachi mentoring and Fatherhood initiative.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Highview Baptist Church: Large Southern Baptist multi-site church in Louisville, Kentucky. Comparable to IBC as a similarly aligned SBC church serving a Kentucky metropolitan area with multiple campuses and community programs.
• Southeast Christian Church: Large multi-site Southern Baptist-affiliated church headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Comparable to IBC in denominational alignment, multi-site operating model, and Central Kentucky/Bluegrass regional footprint, though at a larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Life.Church: One of the largest multi-site churches in the U.S. with both physical campuses and a dominant online presence (Church Online Platform). Comparable as a similarly multi-site, technology-enabled church with online broadcast at scale.
• Church of the Highlands: One of the largest multi-site churches in the U.S. with a strong broadcast and online presence plus community programs. Comparable to IBC in scale of multi-site operations and digital engagement strategy.
• North Point Community Church: Multi-site church model pioneered by Andy Stanley with multiple physical campuses and an online presence. Comparable to IBC in its multi-site philosophy and congregational programming breadth.

Direct peers

• Gateway Church: Multi-site evangelical church with multiple campuses and online presence. Comparable to IBC in multi-site structure, programming for all ages, and community outreach orientation.
• Elevation Church: Multi-site evangelical church led by a charismatic lead pastor with weekly services across multiple locations plus online streaming. Comparable to IBC in multi-site structure, lead-pastor-driven brand, and digital campus strategy.
• The Summit Church: Large Southern Baptist Convention-affiliated multi-site church in Durham, NC. Comparable to IBC in SBC affiliation, multi-site model, and outward-focused missions emphasis.
• CrossPoint Church: Multi-site church known for online broadcast and digital reach. Comparable to IBC in prioritizing online/TV broadcast alongside physical campuses and age-segmented programming.
• Watermark Church: Large Texas-based multi-site church with extensive community programs and recovery/care ministries. Comparable to IBC in serving diverse demographic groups and operating broad community engagement programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCj4mDXzaZ2Gsscgkj8oxyiw
• Facebookfacebook.com/ibclex
• Instagraminstagram.com/ibc.youngadults
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ibclex

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Immanuel Baptist Church