St. Stephen UMC

What St. Stephen UMC does

St. Stephen United Methodist Church is a private non-profit congregation established on June 10, 1968, in southeast Charlotte, North Carolina, operating under the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. The church serves the Charlotte community from its 8-acre campus at 6800 Sardis Rd, offering two weekly in-person worship services — Traditional at 9 a.m. in the sanctuary and ENCOUNTER Modern Worship at 11 a.m. in the Youth Ministry Center — alongside online livestreaming via YouTube and BoxCast, and sermon audio distributed through Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Its programming is structured across the full life span, including nursery through elementary Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry (grades 6-12, plus chartered Boy Scout Troop 118 with 200+ Eagle Scouts), College Ministry, Adult Sunday School classes, Stephen Ministry one-to-one caregiving, and Adult Enrichment programs. Community outreach is delivered through the Little Free Food Pantry (2023), Common Table ecumenical dinners co-hosted with St. John's Baptist Church, and a Resource Center library of 2,000+ titles.

The church's technology stack is built entirely on third-party SaaS integrations rather than proprietary systems: PushPay powers online giving and recurring pledges, Church Community Builder (CCB) handles member management and event registrations, Mailchimp distributes the weekly e-Bulletin, Zoom supports midweek devotional meetings, and Tally processes visitor and worship-attendance forms. There is no proprietary technology, no mobile application, no API, and no disclosed AI/ML capability. The church also operates St. Stephen Preschool as a wholly-owned subsidiary extending into adjacent education services, and runs an Endowment Program (established 2009) managed by the United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina that accepts bequests, retirement designations, and charitable gift annuities.

The revenue model is donation-based with no pricing for services: voluntary tithes and offerings, recurring pledged giving (weekly, monthly, or quarterly via automatic bank draft or the PushPay portal), designated gifts (e.g., Pastor's Relief Fund), and endowment contributions fund operations. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on member referrals, welcome teams at services, the website, the weekly e-Bulletin, organic social media, and seasonal programming (Summer Study Series, youth retreats, mission trips, concerts, VBS) to attract and retain congregants. Distribution occurs in-person at the campus and globally through online streaming channels. St. Stephen was officially certified as a Green Church by the Western North Carolina Conference in November 2025.

Name

St. Stephen UMC

Legal name

St. Stephen United Methodist Church

Website

https://ststephenumc.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St. Stephen UMC is a non-profit United Methodist Church in southeast Charlotte, NC, founded 1968, offering traditional and modern worship services, full-lifespan ministries, community outreach programs, and a preschool subsidiary funded by voluntary donations and pledges.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Worship Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG), Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD), Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)

Keywords

• Religious worship services
• Community outreach programs
• Youth ministry programs
• Christian education programs
• Stewardship giving services

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Voluntary financial contributions from congregation members during worship services, both in-person and online, supporting the church's operating budget and ministry programs.
2. Pledged Giving: Annual commitments from members through pledge cards, enabling planned giving and budgeting for church operations and ministries. Pledges can be fulfilled through weekly, monthly, or quarterly gifts via automatic bank draft or online portal.
3. Endowment Gifts: Long-term planned gifts including bequests, retirement fund designations, life insurance beneficiaries, appreciated assets, and charitable gift annuities. The endowment supports specific needs and programs beyond the annual operating budget.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

St. Stephen United Methodist Church provides weekly worship services (Traditional at 9am and ENCOUNTER Modern at 11am), online streaming of services, and a comprehensive portfolio of age-based ministry programs including Children, Youth, College, and Adult ministries. The church supplements worship with community outreach programs such as the Little Free Food Pantry, Common Table ecumenical dinners, Stephen Ministry one-to-one caregiving, and a Resource Center library, all supported through voluntary donations and pledges from congregation members.

Product overview

St. Stephen United Methodist Church offers a multi-service worship program with Traditional Worship (9am) and ENCOUNTER Modern Worship (11am), both with online streaming options. The church provides extensive ministry programs for all ages including Youth Ministry (grades 6-12), Children's Ministry, College Ministry, and Adult programs. Community outreach includes a Little Free Food Pantry, Stephen Ministry (one-to-one caregiving), and Common Table (monthly faith dinners). Supporting services include an Online Giving Platform via PushPay, Church Community Builder for management, a Resource Center library, Prayer Wall digital tool, and Adult Enrichment programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Traditional Worship Service
• ENCOUNTER Modern Worship
• Church Online Livestream
• Common Table Community Dinners
• Stephen Ministry
• Little Free Food Pantry
• St. Stephen Preschool
• Endowment Program

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• St. John's Baptist ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcumenical partnership for Common Table program - an open community gathering monthly for dinner and faith conversations. St. Stephen and St. John's Baptist Church co-host this inclusive ministry providing safe space for seekers and believers to explore faith together.
• United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina, Inc.coreOthersAll endowment funds are managed by the United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina, Inc., which provides investment management services and planned giving support for the church's endowment program established in 2009.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• St. John's Baptist Church: Co-host of St. Stephen's Common Table ecumenical ministry in Charlotte, NC. Directly comparable as a Charlotte-area Christian congregation with similar community outreach scope and a formal partnership relationship.
• Marvin United Methodist Church: UMC in Waxhaw, NC (south Charlotte suburb) with multi-generational ministries, contemporary and traditional services, and community outreach. Comparable as a WNC Conference UMC peer in the same growth corridor.
• Davidson United Methodist Church: UMC in Davidson, NC, part of the Western North Carolina Conference with comparable programming across youth, children, adults, and worship. Comparable denominationally and regionally as a WNC Conference UMC peer.
• Sardis Presbyterian Church: Historic Presbyterian congregation in southeast Charlotte on Sardis Road, in close proximity to St. Stephen UMC. Directly comparable as a nearby mainline Protestant peer in the same catchment, with a historical relationship (St. Stephen held services in Sardis Presbyterian's former sanctuary in 1969).
• Myers Park United Methodist Church: Another United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC, with similar dual traditional and contemporary worship services, multi-generational programming, and long-standing community presence. Directly comparable as a WNC Conference UMC peer of comparable size and structure.
• Dilworth United Methodist Church: Historic United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC, with comparable ministry programs, small groups, and worship services. Similar denominational affiliation and scale as a direct UMC peer in the same metro area.
• Providence United Methodist Church: UMC congregation in the Charlotte region offering traditional and contemporary worship, youth and children's ministries, and community outreach. Directly comparable denominationally and geographically as a WNC Conference UMC peer.
• Christ Community Church (Charlotte): Charlotte-area Christian congregation offering multi-generational ministry, contemporary worship, and community outreach. Comparable as a peer Charlotte-area church with similar program breadth and mid-size congregation profile.
• Weddington United Methodist Church: UMC in the Charlotte suburbs (Weddington, NC) with traditional and modern worship, youth programs, and community mission focus. Comparable as a WNC Conference UMC peer in the suburban Charlotte catchment.

Broad incumbents

• Elevation Church: One of the largest churches in Charlotte, NC, and a nationally recognized multi-site congregation. Comparable as a Charlotte-based church operating with significantly larger scale, broader geographic reach, and digital distribution, making it a broad incumbent in the same local market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ststephenclt/streams
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st.-stephen-umc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 St. Stephen UMC