St. Paulus

What St. Paulus does

Saint Paulus Lutheran Church is a historically significant Lutheran congregation founded on May 15, 1867, by Pastor Jacob Buehler in San Francisco. The church operates as a single-site religious ministry out of 2325 Polk Street (Polk Gulch, at the edge of Russian Hill) and is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Sierra Pacific Lutheran Synod. Its ministry is explicitly inclusive, welcoming LGBTQAI+ members, foster and kinship-care youth, unhoused individuals, and people exploring questions of faith. The current pastor, The Rev. Rebecca Edwards, was installed on June 7, 2026, succeeding Pastor Dan Solberg, who retired after 26 years of service.

The church's core 'products' are weekly Sunday worship services (held in-person at 10 AM and livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, approximately 60 minutes in duration), a Coffee Hour fellowship, and a set of social-justice ministries delivered through a partner ecosystem rather than internal programs. Core partner relationships include Braid Mission (foster-care mentoring, co-founded by Pastor Edwards), San Francisco Night Ministry (after-hours street outreach), Singers of the Street (community choir of people affected by homelessness), and SF Cares (services for underserved populations, founded by Pastor Solberg in 2012). Supporting digital products include an online donation page (Zeffy), a community blog/events hub, a prayer-request submission form, and a digitized church history archive. The church has no disclosed proprietary technology, no app, no API, and no AI capabilities; its technology footprint consists entirely of standard consumer platforms.

The business model is a donation-funded nonprofit with no commercial revenue. All worship services and programs are offered free of charge; revenue is generated entirely through voluntary tithes and offerings accepted online via Zeffy, through Amazon Smile, via Facebook fundraisers, and by mailed checks. The stated 'go-to-market' is community-led: word-of-mouth, neighborhood events (e.g., Future of Us festival, Playdate on Polk), social media livestreaming, and the visibility generated by pastoral leadership transitions. The congregation does not disclose financials, membership counts, or attendance figures.

Name

St. Paulus

Legal name

Saint Paulus Lutheran Church

Website

https://saintpaulus.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1867

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Saint Paulus Lutheran Church is a historic, inclusive ELCA congregation in San Francisco's Polk Gulch, offering Sunday worship services and a partner-network of social-justice ministries serving foster youth, the unhoused, and LGBTQAI+ community members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Lutheran church services
• Religious congregation
• Community worship
• Faith-based outreach
• Sunday worship services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: The church accepts financial donations through online giving, checks mailed to the church, and third-party platforms including Amazon Smile. Donations support the church's ministries and partner organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

St. Paulus is a Lutheran church that provides weekly Sunday worship services (in-person at 2325 Polk St, San Francisco and livestreamed via YouTube and Facebook), community fellowship (Coffee Hour after services), and partner ministry programs supporting foster youth, unhoused individuals, and underserved populations through partnerships with Braid Mission, San Francisco Night Ministry, Singers of the Street, and SF Cares. All services and programs are offered free of charge, supported by voluntary donations.

Product overview

St. Paulus Lutheran Church operates as a single, unified ministry offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The church's primary service offerings include Sunday worship services (in-person and livestreamed via YouTube and Facebook), an online donation platform, community blog and events management, prayer request submission, and partner ministry programs. The church is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and partners with organizations including Braid Mission, San Francisco Night Ministry, Singers of the Street, and SF Cares. Founded in 1867, the church has a historical archive documenting its Pacific Coast Lutheran history.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services Weekly Sunday worship services held at 10 AM at 2325 Polk St, San Francisco, featuring liturgy and sermon lasting approximately 60 minutes. Services are streamed live via YouTube and Facebook for remote attendees, with a Coffee Hour fellowship following at 11 AM. Open to all community members free of charge, with no dress code and no membership requirement.
• Livestreamed Worship Service Live broadcast of the 10 AM Sunday service via YouTube and Facebook, with archives of past sermons and services available on the church's YouTube channel. Enables community members unable to attend in person to participate in worship remotely.
• Online Donation Platform Donation platform allowing community members to support the church financially through online giving (Zeffy), Amazon Smile, Facebook fundraisers, and mailed checks. Funds support church ministries and partner organizations including SF Cares, supporting the homeless.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Braid MissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBraid Mission is a nonprofit ministry in the Bay Area that supports young people who have spent time in foster care and kinship care. Through a team-oriented approach to mentoring, volunteers at Braid Mission help heal the wounds of foster care by building trusted and supportive relationships. Pastor Rebecca Edwards is the co-founder and director of Braid Mission.
• San Francisco Night MinistrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSan Francisco Night Ministry provides spiritual care and multi-faith community at night on the phones and in the streets of San Francisco, meeting people where they are and offering the radical gift of undivided attention and loving presence.
• Singers of the StreetsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerSingers of the Street is a unique, San Francisco-based community choir comprised of people affected by homelessness and their supporters. The choir performs at church events and in the community.
• SF CarescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSF Cares is a collaborative ministry engaged in providing services and assistance to the under-served of San Francisco. Pastor Dan Solberg was instrumental in founding SF Cares in 2012. The organization supports the needs of the unhoused.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Glide Memorial Church: A progressive, inclusive San Francisco congregation (Methodist-affiliated) with deep social-justice programming serving unhoused and underserved populations. Directly comparable to St. Paulus in identity, target community, and partner-ecosystem-driven mission delivery.
• First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco: Historic progressive San Francisco congregation with an inclusive, social-justice-oriented identity and community outreach programs. Comparable as a long-established liberal-faith congregation serving similar demographics in the same city.
• Grace Cathedral: Prominent Episcopal cathedral in San Francisco with progressive social-justice programming, inclusive theology, and a physical anchor on Nob Hill. Comparable in city footprint, progressive Episcopal-adjacent identity, and scale of community outreach.
• St. Mark's Lutheran Church (San Francisco): Lutheran congregation in San Francisco — the very church St. Paulus's founder Pastor Buehler originally helped establish in 1860 before founding St. Paulus. Direct denominational and geographic peer within the same Lutheran community.
• Ebenezer Lutheran Church (Oakland): ELCA-affiliated Lutheran congregation in the broader Bay Area. Comparable as a denominational peer operating under the same ELCA structure and Sierra Pacific Synod context, though serving Oakland rather than San Francisco.

Regional players

• Saint Andrew Lutheran Church (Saratoga, CA): ELCA Lutheran congregation in the Bay Area (Saratoga) with active community programs. Comparable as a fellow Sierra Pacific Synod ELCA church with similar Lutheran identity, though serving the South Bay rather than San Francisco.
• Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish: Historic progressive Catholic parish in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood known for LGBTQ+ inclusion and social-justice work. Comparable as another inclusive Bay Area congregation serving similar values-aligned communities, but Catholic rather than Lutheran.

Others

• San Francisco Night Ministry: Multi-faith nonprofit providing after-hours spiritual care and street outreach in San Francisco. Comparable as a closely aligned ministry partner through which St. Paulus delivers much of its unhoused-population programming.
• Braid Mission: Bay Area nonprofit ministry supporting foster and kinship youth, co-founded and directed by St. Paulus's current pastor. Comparable not as a congregational peer but as a closely affiliated ministry partner that channels the church's foster-youth mission.

Emerging players

• City Church San Francisco: A younger, progressive, non-denominational congregation in San Francisco with a focus on inclusive community and social engagement. Comparable as a San Francisco-based inclusive congregation, though smaller and newer than St. Paulus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SaintPaulusLutheran
• Facebookfacebook.com/saintpauluschurch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-paulus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 St. Paulus