Synod of the Great Lakes

Religious Denominational Servicesrcagl.org

Regional governing body of the Reformed Church in America serving member churches across the Great Lakes Region through leadership development, church planting support, and community engagement programs including Luminex and Block Party.

Company typePrivate
Founded-
HeadquartersGrand Rapids, United States
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Synod of the Great Lakes does

The Synod of the Great Lakes (legal entity: Great Lakes Region, RCA) is a regional governing body of the Reformed Church in America, headquartered at 4500 60th St SE in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It serves RCA member churches and their leaders across the Great Lakes Region by providing leadership development, church planting support, and community engagement programming. The organization's core offerings include the Luminex Group missional arm (church planting and engagement resources), the Block Party community engagement strategy, Assembly governance resources, and a centralized online Resource Library containing salary guidelines and church information.

The Synod operates as a non-profit religious organization with approximately 8 employees and no technology products. Its go-to-market is community-led, relying on direct relationships with member churches, regional assemblies, and a content-driven website (greatlakesrca.org) supplemented by email outreach and a Faithstreet online giving page. There are no commercial pricing models; resources and programs are provided at no cost to member churches. The organization has no external investors, no funding rounds, and no independent ownership structure — it operates under the governance of the RCA denominational hierarchy, with Luminex Group functioning as a wholly-owned subsidiary focused on missional programming.

Synod of the Great Lakes firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Synod of the Great Lakes
Legal name: Great Lakes Region, RCA
Website: https://rcagl.org
Company type: Private
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: Regional governing body of the Reformed Church in America serving member churches across the Great Lakes Region through leadership development, church planting support, and community engagement programs including Luminex and Block Party.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Synod of the Great Lakes industry classification

Industry

Product category: Religious Denominational Services
NAICS: Religious Organizations (813110)
SIC: Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
akta.pro primary industry: Denominational & Ecclesiastical Governance Bodies (Dioceses, Synods, Conferences) (BPAGAJAB)

Keywords

Church development
Leadership development
Church planting
Community engagement
Religious denomination

Where Synod of the Great Lakes is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Grand Rapids
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Synod of the Great Lakes business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

Tithes and Offerings: As a religious organization within the Reformed Church in America (RCA), the Synod likely receives financial contributions from member churches and individuals. They also accept giving through the Faithstreet online platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Synod of the Great Lakes product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Synod of the Great Lakes (legal name: Great Lakes Region, RCA) is a regional denominational body of the Reformed Church in America that supports member churches by developing leaders, planting new churches, and facilitating community engagement. It delivers church development programming through its missional arm (Luminex Group), community outreach initiatives (Block Party), regional assemblies for governance and collaboration, and a Resource Library containing practical tools such as salary guidelines.

Product overview

Synod of the Great Lakes (Great Lakes Region, RCA) is a regional church development organization that offers a unified suite of programs and resources focused on starting and strengthening churches through leadership development. The core offering includes the Luminex missional program (their primary church planting and engagement arm), Block Party community engagement initiatives, Assembly Resources for governance and collaboration, and a Resource Library with practical tools like salary guidelines. The organization is structured as a single-purpose ministry rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Luminex Group: The missional arm of the Great Lakes Region, providing resources for churches and leaders

Products and services

Luminex Group

Companies that use Synod of the Great Lakes

Customer profile

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Synod of the Great Lakes technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Synod of the Great Lakes partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Synod of the Great Lakes competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Regional players

Synod of New York (RCA): A regional governing body of the Reformed Church in America serving churches in the New York region. Comparable as a peer RCA regional synod offering parallel programs for church planting, leader development, and assembly governance.
Synod of the Mid-Atlantics (RCA): Another regional governing body of the Reformed Church in America serving churches in the Mid-Atlantic states. Directly comparable as a peer RCA regional synod providing similar church development, leadership, and missional support within a different US geography.
Synod of the Heartland (RCA): A peer regional governing body of the Reformed Church in America serving churches in central US states. Directly comparable as a parallel RCA regional synod providing church development and leadership resources within its territory.

Broad incumbents

Christian Reformed Church in North America: A larger, established Reformed denomination operating regional classes that support church planting, leadership development, and ministry resources. Comparable as a peer Reformed tradition denomination with overlapping geographic footprint in the Great Lakes region and similar regional governance model.
Evangelical Covenant Church: A mainline Protestant denomination with regional conferences that support church planting and leadership development. Comparable as a peer denomination operating a similar regional structure that supports member congregations across multiple US geographies.

Emerging players

Association of Related Churches (ARC): A church planting and revitalization network that supports new and multiplying churches across denominations. Comparable as a peer organization in the church planting and leadership development space, operating as a broader multi-denominational network rather than a regional denominational body.
Stadia Church Planting: A church planting organization that provides coaching, training, and resources for new church starts. Comparable as a peer organization in the church planting and leadership development space, with a different operational model than a regional denominational body.

Others

Presbyterian Church (USA): A larger mainline Protestant denomination operating regional presbyteries that support church development, governance, and leadership. Comparable as an adjacent denominational peer with parallel regional governance structure, though operating at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Synod of the Great Lakes financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Synod of the Great Lakes leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Synod of the Great Lakes subsidiaries and ownership

Company hierarchy

Subsidiaries1 record

Synod of the Great Lakes funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Synod of the Great Lakes M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Synod of the Great Lakes

What does Synod of the Great Lakes do?

Is Synod of the Great Lakes a public or private company?

Synod of the Great Lakes is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Synod of the Great Lakes founded?

Synod of the Great Lakes was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is Synod of the Great Lakes based?

Synod of the Great Lakes is headquartered in Grand Rapids, United States, in the North America region.

How does Synod of the Great Lakes make money?

One revenue line is on record: tithes and Offerings.

Who are Synod of the Great Lakes's main competitors?

Regional players on record are Synod of New York (RCA), Synod of the Mid-Atlantics (RCA) and Synod of the Heartland (RCA). Broad incumbents are Christian Reformed Church in North America and Evangelical Covenant Church. Emerging players are Association of Related Churches (ARC) and Stadia Church Planting. Presbyterian Church (USA) is listed as an others.

Does Synod of the Great Lakes have an API?

No public API is recorded for Synod of the Great Lakes.

What industry is Synod of the Great Lakes in?

Synod of the Great Lakes's product category is Religious Denominational Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAJAB, Denominational & Ecclesiastical Governance Bodies (Dioceses, Synods, Conferences). Its NAICS code is 813110 and its SIC code is 8600.