James Island Baptist Church

What James Island Baptist Church does

James Island Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist congregation located on James Island in the Charleston, South Carolina area, founded in 1947 and led for the past 40 years by Pastor Tom Brown. The church operates 8 employees and delivers a multi-generational ministry portfolio including Sunday worship services, youth programs, children's ministry, senior adult ministry, Celebrate Recovery (a 12-step discipleship program), and Discover Classes covering baptism and church membership. Its physical delivery is supplemented by a digital presence including livestream, a mobile app, and a website built on SnapPages, with giving and member management handled by ChurchTeams.

The organization's revenue model is a hybrid of voluntary congregational giving (tithes and offerings) and earned income from JIBC Day School, a subsidiary preschool charging tuition of $330-$500 per month. The church also engages in cross-border ministry through a sister-church partnership with a Romanian congregation and acts as a regional convener through Pray Charleston 2026, an initiative mobilizing 100+ Charleston-area churches. The underlying technology stack is composed of off-the-shelf SaaS tools (SnapPages, ChurchTeams, livestreaming, mobile app) rather than proprietary systems, and there is no evidence of AI/ML or custom platform development. The business model is fundamentally a nonprofit ministry budget funded by donations, in-kind service, and a small earned-revenue arm through the preschool.

Name

James Island Baptist Church

Legal name

James Island Baptist Church

Website

https://jamesislandbaptist.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

James Island Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist congregation in Charleston, SC, founded 1947, serving members through worship, youth, recovery, and senior ministries, with a subsidiary preschool (JIBC Day School) and a regional prayer initiative mobilizing 100+ churches.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311), Religious Organizations (813110)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Religious worship services
• Christian ministry programs
• Preschool education
• Community prayer initiatives
• Discipleship pathway

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

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. No stated pricing for worship services.
2. Day School Tuition: Monthly tuition fees for preschool program serving children from 18 months through 4K. Revenue supports early childhood education program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

James Island Baptist Church is a religious nonprofit that provides weekly worship services, age-specific ministries for children, youth, and seniors, small-group connection programs, recovery support, and a preschool (JIBC Day School for ages 18 months through 4K). It also operates the Pray Charleston 2026 ecumenical prayer initiative and the NextSteps discipleship pathway of four Discovery classes. Worship is delivered in-person and through livestream on the church app, Facebook, and YouTube.

Product overview

James Island Baptist Church offers a comprehensive suite of ministry programs and services centered on worship, discipleship, and community engagement. Core offerings include Sunday worship services (in-person and online/livestream), Connection Groups (small groups), and age-specific ministries for children (JIBC Kids), youth (JI Youth), and seniors. The church operates JIBC Dayschool, a preschool program for children 18 months through 4K. Additional programs include Celebrate Recovery support ministry, Discover Classes for spiritual growth, and community outreach events. The Pray Charleston 2026 initiative provides prayer resources for the broader Charleston community. The church utilizes digital platforms (church app, Facebook, YouTube) for online worship delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JIBC Day School: A preschool program for children 18 months through 4K that provides biblically-based age-appropriate education, operated as an extension of the church's ministry.

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services In-person and online worship services held on Sunday mornings at 9AM and 11AM, featuring musical worship led by a Praise Band and in-depth Bible study and prayer from pastors. Open to the community and free of charge, funded by voluntary tithes and offerings.
• Connection Groups Small groups for developing friendships with other believers, growing in faith, and serving God and others together. Offered on Sunday mornings at 10AM.
• JIBC Kids Children's ministry for kids from 1st-5th grade with dedicated Kids Worship at 11AM on Sunday mornings, and AWANA Kids Ministry on Wednesday nights during the school year.
• JI Youth Youth group for middle and high school students meeting Sunday nights at 6PM.
• Sr Adults Ministry Senior adult ministry providing fellowship and spiritual growth opportunities for older members.
• Mom's Bible Study Bible study group specifically for mothers.
• Celebrate Recovery Recovery ministry meeting Sunday nights at 6:30PM with CR Dinner at 5:30PM, providing support for those dealing with life's hurts, habits, and hang-ups.
• JIBC Day School Preschool program for children 18 months through 4K at Riverland Terrace, offering Biblically-based age-appropriate education. Uses WEE Learn curriculum with bi-weekly units, chapel, and music programs. Registration fee is $110-$130 with monthly tuition ranging from $330-$500 depending on age and days attended.
• Media/Livestream Online worship and sermon recordings available through the church app, Facebook page, and YouTube channel. Full services are recorded and accessible throughout the week.
• Discover Classes Four sequential classes (101-401) helping members grow: Class 101 Discovering Membership, Class 201 Discovering Maturity, Class 301 Discovering Ministry, and Class 401 Discovering Missions.
• Community Events Family-friendly events including Fall Festival on October 31st, Vacation Bible School for kids 3K-5th grade during summer, Sports Camp in summer, and Christmas Eve services at 4PM and 6PM.
• Pray Charleston 2026 Year-long prayer campaign inviting daily prayer for Charleston, SC with different weekly focus areas including evangelism, children and families, connection groups, students, volunteers, worship, and preaching.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pray Charleston 2026 has mobilized over 100 churches and 20+ denominations to pray for Charleston

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Biserica Baptista Betania Campulung (Câmpulung, Romania)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Sister church partnership with Baptist church in Câmpulung, Romania. Churches join together monthly for Day of Prayer on the 10th of each month. JIBC supports Romanian church's prayer initiatives including village spiritual awakening in Gypsy community, young people returning to the Lord, and evangelism events. Pastor Marius leads the Romanian congregation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• ChurchTeams: Church management software provider that powers JIBC's online giving infrastructure; relevant as a technology vendor peer whose platform enables the church's recurring donation revenue stream.
• Awana Clubs International: International children's ministry program that JIBC operates as a Wednesday-night Awana Kids Ministry; relevant as the upstream curriculum and program provider that enables JIBC's grade-school outreach.
• Celebrate Recovery: National Christ-centered recovery ministry program that JIBC runs as a hosted chapter; relevant as the parent organization whose curriculum, branding, and training infrastructure support JIBC's Sunday-night recovery offering.

Broad incumbents

• Seacoast Church: One of the largest multi-site churches in the Charleston region with multiple campuses, extensive children's and student ministries, and large-scale digital media production — representing a well-resourced incumbent competing for the same local family demographic.
• Primrose Schools: National for-profit early childhood education franchise operating preschool programs for ages 6 weeks through pre-K — a direct functional peer to JIBC Day School on the tuition-driven preschool side of the business.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Large national operator of early childhood education and preschool centers, providing a benchmark for tuition pricing, curriculum structure, and operational scale relevant to evaluating JIBC Day School's preschool business.

Direct peers

• Awaken Church: Charleston-area church plant / multi-site congregation focused on contemporary worship and next-generation outreach, directly competing with JIBC for young families and digital-first attendees.
• East Cooper Baptist Church: Large Southern Baptist congregation in Mount Pleasant in the Charleston metro, offering multi-generational ministries, contemporary worship, and small groups comparable to JIBC's programming model.
• First Baptist Church of Charleston: Historic Baptist church located in downtown Charleston, SC, serving a similar congregational demographic with comparable Sunday worship, discipleship, and missions programming. Closest denominational and geographic peer to James Island Baptist Church.

Regional players

• Northside Baptist Church: Baptist congregation in the greater Charleston region offering traditional worship, Bible study, and missions programming similar to JIBC's denomination-aligned model, though geographically distinct from the James Island catchment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC
• Facebookfacebook.com/jamesislandbaptist
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/james-island-baptist-church

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 James Island Baptist Church