Living The Word Church

What Living The Word Church does

Living The Word Church (LTWC) is an independent, non-profit religious organization incorporated in Illinois and headquartered at 17 Gateway Dr., Collinsville, Illinois, serving the St. Louis Metro East region. Founded in 1985 by Elder Matthew Hawkins, the church came under the leadership of Senior Pastor David T. Hawkins in 1998, who has grown the congregation from two members to over 1,100 weekly attendees across three Sunday services (September–May) plus a global online campus. The church operates a multi-generational ministry stack including Kingdom Kidz Epicenter (children 7 months–12 years), Ascension Teen Ministries (grades 6–12), RARE for college and young adults (18–35), men's and women's ministries, Community Groups, and a Healing and Deliverance ministry.

The church's digital infrastructure consists of the Church Center App for event registrations, giving, and community engagement, supplemented by an online streaming platform, podcast distribution on Apple Podcasts, and YouTube sermon archives. Distribution channels include in-person services at the 450-seat Collinsville facility, campus ministry meetups at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and a network of in-person and Zoom-based community groups during the fall and spring semesters. Marketing is conducted through organic social (Facebook, Instagram), the church website (livingtheword.net), email newsletter, and community events such as Homecoming Weekend.

Revenue is generated entirely through voluntary tithes and offerings, one-time and recurring general donations, and capital campaigns. The "Time to Elevate" campaign launched in 2025 is seeking $3 million over three years toward a $6 million Phase II expansion that includes a new 550-seat worship center (expandable to 750 seats), Kingdom Kidz expansion, and connection space; the church had previously raised $1.2 million toward acquisition and Phase I remodel of the 17 Gateway Drive property. Living The Word Church has 106 employees and is governed by a Business Team, Ministry Elders, and an Executive Pastor (Monique R. Green, Wharton MBA).

Name

Living The Word Church

Legal name

Living The Word Church

Website

https://livingtheword.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Living The Word Church is an independent non-profit church in Collinsville, Illinois, serving 1,100+ weekly attendees across the St. Louis Metro East region through Sunday worship services, online streaming, community groups, and multi-generational ministry programs for children, teens, and young adults.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

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

• Religious worship services
• Christian church ministries
• Bible study programs
• Youth and children ministry
• Community outreach church

Headquarters

HQ city

Collinsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Regular Sunday offerings from congregants including tithes (10% giving) and general offerings
2. Capital Campaign Giving: Time to Elevate campaign seeking $3 million over three years for facility expansion
3. General Donations: One-time and recurring gifts for church operations and outreach

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Living The Word Church is a non-profit Christian church that delivers weekly worship services (in-person and online), biblical teaching, pastoral counseling, and multi-generational ministry programs including children's, youth, college, men's, and women's ministries. It operates a digital ecosystem (website, Church Center app, online streaming, podcast) that supports event registration, giving, and community engagement, alongside outreach programs such as community groups and global missions.

Product overview

Living The Word Church operates a church website and digital ministry ecosystem. The primary digital platform is their website (livingtheword.net) which serves as the central hub for church information, sermon content, event registration, and community connection. The church also utilizes the Church Center app as their mobile platform for giving, event management, and communications. Additional digital offerings include online streaming of worship services, a podcast for sermon recordings, and the Reclaim Your Life Video Course as an educational resource. Their ministry programs include Kingdom Kidz (children's ministry), Ascension Teen Ministries (youth), RARE (college and young adults), Community Groups, and the Healing and Deliverance ministry. The church also conducts an annual Capital Campaign (Time to Elevate) for facility expansion projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services In-person and online Sunday worship services held at the Collinsville, IL campus (8:30 AM & 10:30 AM summer schedule; 8 AM, 9:30 AM, 11:30 AM regular schedule) with live streaming for remote congregants.
• Kingdom Kidz Epicenter (Children's Ministry) Children's ministry for ages 7 months to 12 years with age-appropriate learning pathways and spiritual formation in a safe environment.
• Ascension Teen Ministries (ATM) Youth ministry for grades 6-12 with fellowship, food, biblical teaching, and community service projects held on 2nd and 4th Friday evenings.
• RARE (Real Adults Really Empowered) Ministry Ministry for college students and young adults ages 18-35 focusing on spiritual development, mentorship, life preparation, and authentic community building.
• Community Groups Small group ministry meeting in-person and via Zoom during Fall and Spring semesters for deeper connection, Bible study, and discipleship, serving as a pathway to church membership.
• Online Campus Streaming Live streaming of all worship services via livingthewordchurch.online.church, enabling remote attendance for congregants worldwide.
• Reclaim Your Life Video Course Five short, actionable educational videos from Pastor Hawkins delivered via email subscription to support personal spiritual growth.
• Healing and Deliverance Ministry Healing services and Biblical teaching on healing and Godly deliverance led by an evangelist intercessor.

Quantifiable outcome

• Grew from 2 members in 1998 to 1100+ weekly attendees
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Project CompassioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership to feed 25,000 area families in St. Louis Metro East region during 2020, addressing food insecurity in the community.
• Katie Harper Wright Elementary SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Church volunteers provided over 280 hours of assisted reading program support over two years to bolster literacy in East St. Louis.
• SIUE (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampus ministry partnership where LTWC holds weekly college meetings on SIUE campus during the regular school year.
• Zimbabwe Clean Water ProjectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported clean water projects providing clean water to a Zimbabwe village of 3,000 people through international outreach.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Life.Church: One of the largest U.S. evangelical churches, known for pioneering digital and online church experiences (Church Online Platform, YouVersion Bible app). Comparable to LTWC for its emphasis on streaming, app-based engagement, and multi-generational ministry, though at vastly larger scale.
• Gateway Church: Large multi-campus evangelical church with strong digital broadcasting, capital expansion campaigns, and multi-generational programming. Comparable in operating model and growth-phase posture to LTWC.

Direct peers

• Biltmore Church: Mid-sized evangelical church emphasizing community groups, sermon-based digital content, and family ministry. Comparable to LTWC for its mid-market scale and community-led GTM motion.
• North Point Community Church: Andy Stanley-led evangelical church with a strong small-groups/community-groups strategy, digital sermon distribution, and mid-sized multi-campus model — directly comparable to LTWC's community-groups-led GTM motion.
• Summit Church: J.D. Greear-led evangelical church that scaled rapidly via missional community groups, multi-generational ministries, and digital outreach. Comparable as a mid-sized church with strong next-gen and missions emphasis.
• McLean Bible Church: Mid-sized evangelical church with multiple campuses, online streaming, and active capital expansion initiatives. Comparable for its hybrid in-person/online model and multi-generational ministries.
• Christ Fellowship Church: Multi-site evangelical church with strong children's, youth, and young adult ministries, online streaming, and rapid attendance growth. Comparable to LTWC's multi-generational ministry emphasis and expansion trajectory.
• Elevation Church: Multi-site evangelical church founded in 2006 with rapid growth trajectory, strong young-adult appeal, and high-production worship and digital content. Comparable to LTWC for its growth-stage, generationally diverse congregation model.
• The Village Church: Matt Chandler-led evangelical church known for theological depth, sermon-driven digital distribution, and mid-sized community-group model. Comparable to LTWC in scale and ministry structure.

Others

• Church Center (by Planning Center): SaaS platform used by LTWC for event registration, giving, and congregant engagement — included as the directly-integrated technology peer powering the church's digital member experience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEsoTd40gadfLpQQOBvmakg
• Facebookfacebook.com/livingtheword
• Instagraminstagram.com/livingthewordchurch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/livingthewordchurch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Living The Word Church