Northwestern Ohio Synod

What Northwestern Ohio Synod does

The Northwestern Ohio Synod is a regional governing body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), serving approximately 140-145 member parishes across 23 counties in northwestern Ohio and ministering to a regional population of roughly 1.5 million people. It is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio at 1701 Tiffin Avenue, and is led by Bishop Daniel Beaudoin under the governance of a Synod Council. Its core function is to provide spiritual leadership, administrative coordination, and program support to its member congregations through the Office of the Bishop, the call process for placing pastors, candidacy and Synod Authorized Ministry (SAM) programs, and a portfolio of ministry initiatives including Growing In Faith (discipleship), NWOS Cares (community support), Global Mission Board resources, and New Ministry Journey development.

The synod's product surface spans faith formation programs (Growing In Faith, Year of the Way of Love 2026), vocational discernment services (Call Process, Candidacy, SAM), mission resources (Global Mission Board, New Ministry Journey), communications (Bishop's Messages, On The Way Newsletters, Stay Connected! email), community outreach (NWOS Cares), and special programs including the Steps of Paul 2027 international pilgrimage and the annual Synod Assembly. Technology infrastructure is minimal: no proprietary platforms are described; the digital footprint consists of a WordPress-based website (nwos-elca.church), a Facebook presence, email newsletters, and the Pushpay digital giving platform that handles recurring and one-time donations. There is no API, SDK, mobile application, or integration ecosystem.

The organization operates as a religious non-profit under the ELCA's connectional church structure, funded entirely by voluntary donations and offerings from member parishes and individual donors. Its go-to-market motion is community-led rather than commercial: outreach occurs through the website, ELCA church finder directory, social media, newsletters, and event-driven gatherings such as the Synod Assembly. No formal pricing exists, no venture or institutional capital is involved, and financial information is not publicly disclosed. As a regional ecclesiastical body, its competitive position is defined by denominational affiliation, parish network density, and pastoral leadership rather than commercial differentiation.

Name

Northwestern Ohio Synod

Legal name

Northwestern Ohio Synod, ELCA

Website

https://nwos-elca.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Northwestern Ohio Synod is a regional governing body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, serving 140-145 member parishes across 23 counties in northwestern Ohio under Bishop Daniel Beaudoin, providing spiritual leadership, pastoral call processes, and ministry programs funded by voluntary donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Organization Governance & Ministry Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (813110)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAJAB

Denominational & Ecclesiastical Governance Bodies (Dioceses, Synods, Conferences)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGAJAD

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

Keywords

• Lutheran synod governance
• Parish ministry support
• Religious community services
• Discipleship formation programs
• Elca regional body

Headquarters

HQ city

Findlay

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Offerings: The synod operates on charitable contributions from member parishes and individual donors. It collects donations through the Pushpay digital giving platform with options for monthly recurring donations and one-time gifts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Northwestern Ohio Synod serves as the regional governing body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for 140-145 parishes across 23 counties in Northwestern Ohio. It provides spiritual leadership through the Office of the Bishop, supports parish ministry, coordinates the call process for pastors, delivers faith formation programs such as Growing In Faith, facilitates the annual Synod Assembly, and coordinates mission initiatives including the Global Mission Board and New Ministry Journey. Operations are funded primarily by voluntary donations collected through the Pushpay digital giving platform.

Product overview

Northwestern Ohio Synod is a regional governing body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) comprising 145 parishes across 23 counties in northwestern Ohio. The synod offers a portfolio of ministry programs and services including faith formation initiatives (Growing In Faith, Year of the Way of Love 2026), vocational discernment programs (Call Process, Candidacy, SAM), mission resources (Global Mission Board, New Ministry Journey), communication services (Bishop's Messages, On The Way Newsletters), community support (NWOS Cares), and spiritual pilgrimage experiences (Steps of Paul 2027 Trip). The organization also facilitates annual assemblies, provides administrative resources for congregations, and operates a church directory service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NWOS Cares: A care initiative operated by the synod
• Growing In Faith

Products and services

• NWOS Cares

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Diocese of Toledo (Roman Catholic): A Catholic diocese serving the same Northwestern Ohio region with parallel governance (Bishop, parishes, schools), donation-based funding, and ministry programs. Directly comparable in operating model and customer base.
• Ohio Conference of the United Church of Christ: UCC regional conference serving Ohio with overlapping member-church constituency, regional conference minister leadership, and similar stewardship/mission programming.
• Episcopal Diocese of Ohio: Episcopal regional diocese serving Ohio with similar Bishop-led structure, parish network, stewardship model, and formation programs. Comparable in scale and operating model to a Lutheran synod.
• Northeastern Ohio Synod, ELCA: A fellow ELCA regional synod serving Northeastern Ohio with the same governance structure, Office of the Bishop model, parish-support mission, and donation-driven funding as Northwestern Ohio Synod. Closely comparable in product, customer base, and business model.
• Southern Ohio Synod, ELCA: Another ELCA synod in Ohio with parallel structure, programmatic offerings (discipleship, candidacy, mission), and a comparable network of member congregations. Strongest direct peer in the same state.
• Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA: ELCA synod covering Indiana and Kentucky with similar regional governance, parish network, donation-funded model, and ministry portfolio (call process, candidacy, global mission). Operates at comparable scale to NWOS.
• Presbytery of Lake Erie (Presbyterian Church USA): A PC(USA) regional governing body (presbytery) covering Northwest Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio. Operates with same regional governance model, parish support function, and donation-driven funding as a synod.
• West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church: United Methodist regional conference covering Western Ohio with parallel episcopal governance, member churches, connectional resourcing, and donation-funded ministry. Directly analogous to an ELCA synod in structure and mission.

Others

• Pushpay: Digital giving platform provider used by NWOS for donations and offerings. Not a competitor but an enabling technology vendor whose adoption signals sector-standard digital fundraising infrastructure for mid-sized faith-based organizations.

Broad incumbents

• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA): The national parent denomination of Northwestern Ohio Synod, operating at a much larger scale and providing shared resources, theology, and the Church Finder platform. Overlaps in mission and capability but at a much broader portfolio level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/nwoselca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northwestern-ohio-synod

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Northwestern Ohio Synod