Emmanuel
Emmanuel Church (Clarendon Trust Limited) is a registered UK charity operating four multi-site Christian congregations across Brighton, Hove, Hangleton, and Shoreham since 1984, serving congregants, students, families, youth, and vulnerable community members through worship, education, and outreach funded by voluntary donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1984
- Headquarters—
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Emmanuel does
Emmanuel Church, legally constituted as Clarendon Trust Limited, is a registered UK charity (No. 1069942) and company limited by guarantee (No. 3546759) operating since 1984. The organization runs a multi-site Christian congregation with four physical locations across Brighton, Hove (Villas), Hangleton (Oasis), and Shoreham-by-Sea, supported by 46 employees and a network of site-level leadership teams and a Board of nine trustees. Emmanuel serves five primary segments: general congregation members, university students from Sussex and Brighton, children and families, youth (school years 7-13), and vulnerable community members accessing social support.
The ministry operates a portfolio of spiritual formation and community programmes including Bible Every Day (a structured daily reading plan), the Alpha Course, weekly small groups, dedicated students ministry with free campus transport and the BLESS Society, Emmanuel Kids work, youth ministry, and the 'Care for Our City' outreach umbrella spanning four food banks, Charis Counselling, KEYS Detox, Baby Basics, and housing support. Digital channels include YouTube for live and on-demand services, Instagram accounts for general and student/young adult audiences, and a Spotify artist profile for worship content.
Emmanuel's revenue model is voluntary donations and tithes from congregation members with no fees charged for any service. Back-office operations are managed on ChurchSuite (third-party church management platform) handling donations, event registration, small group signups, volunteer rotas, and member administration; donations are augmented by gift aid, payroll giving, legacy giving, and building hire. GDPR compliance is maintained under the legal basis of Article 6(1)(f) for legitimate interests and Article 9(2)(d) for religious data, with a designated Data Protection Officer.
Emmanuel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Emmanuel
- Legal name
- Clarendon Trust Limited
- Website
- https://weareemmanuel.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1984
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Emmanuel Church (Clarendon Trust Limited) is a registered UK charity operating four multi-site Christian congregations across Brighton, Hove, Hangleton, and Shoreham since 1984, serving congregants, students, families, youth, and vulnerable community members through worship, education, and outreach funded by voluntary donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Emmanuel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Religious services (Christian church and community ministry)
- 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 Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE), Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)
Keywords
Emmanuel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Emmanuel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Emmanuel Church is a multi-site Christian congregation operating four physical locations across Brighton, Hove, and Shoreham (UK), delivering Sunday worship services, Bible teaching, faith-exploration courses (Alpha), student and children's ministries, small groups, and community outreach programs including food banks, counseling, and housing support. The church is funded primarily through voluntary donations and tithes from its congregation and operates under the legal entity Clarendon Trust Limited, a registered charity.
Product overview
Emmanuel Church is a multi-site Christian congregation operating four locations in Brighton, Hove, and Shoreham areas. The church offers a unified portfolio of spiritual formation programs (Bible Every Day, Alpha Course, Smallgroups), student ministry, children's programs (Emmanuel Kids), community outreach (Care for Our City), and digital giving tools. Emmanuel's digital presence includes online donation processing via ChurchSuite, event registration, and a YouTube channel for digital services. The church operates under the legal entity Clarendon Trust Ltd.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sunday Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Alpha course has reached over 24 million people in 100 countries
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Emmanuel
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Emmanuel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Emmanuel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Emmanuel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- St Luke's Church Brighton: Anglican church serving central Brighton with comparable community outreach and student engagement around the same university population Emmanuel targets. A direct local competitor for congregation members and volunteers in the same geography.
- Brighton Food Bank (Brighton & Hove Food Bank): Brighton-based charity operating food bank and welfare assistance programmes serving overlapping beneficiary populations to Emmanuel's Care for Our City food insecurity arm. Comparable as a regional community-service provider rather than as a place of worship.
Others
- ChurchSuite: Church management software platform that Emmanuel uses for donations, event registration, small group signups, and member administration. An enabling technology vendor rather than a peer, but the operational dependency is material.
- Alpha International: Global organisation that produces and licenses the Alpha course that Emmanuel runs. Not a competitor but a key upstream partner/supplier whose curriculum adoption, marketing tooling, and brand association materially shape Emmanuel's evangelism programme.
Direct peers
- KingsGate Community Church: Multi-site evangelical church with locations across the UK including Cambridge and Peterborough, running Alpha, Kids, Youth, and Smallgroups programmes. Closely comparable in operational model, programme mix, and stage of multi-site development to Emmanuel's four-campus structure.
- Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland: UK network of evangelical churches running Alpha, Kids, Youth, and Smallgroups programmes with comparable governance and volunteer-led operating models. Emmanuel's multi-site community-care emphasis aligns with the Vineyard movement's missional orientation.
- Jubilee Church London: Multi-site UK charismatic evangelical church running Alpha, student ministry, and community outreach programmes with a comparable target audience of young adults and families. Similar stage of multi-site development and programme portfolio to Emmanuel.
- Soul Survivor Watford: UK-based evangelical church and conference movement with strong student and young-adult ministry orientation. Comparable to Emmanuel in its emphasis on the 18-25 demographic, Alpha-style faith exploration, and event-based outreach model.
Broad incumbents
- Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB): One of the largest Anglican churches in the UK, operates multiple sites in London and originated the Alpha course that Emmanuel runs. Comparable as a multi-site UK church using Alpha, with similar digital content and church-planting ambition, but at materially larger scale and broader national footprint.
- Hillsong Church UK: International multi-site evangelical church with UK presence, operating worship-music production (Spotify/iTunes catalogues), student outreach, and digital content channels similar to Emmanuel's media footprint, though at significantly larger global scale.
Market position
Strengths6 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Emmanuel social profiles
Digital presenceEmmanuel compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Emmanuel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Emmanuel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Emmanuel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Emmanuel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Emmanuel
What does Emmanuel do?
Emmanuel Church is a multi-site Christian congregation operating four physical locations across Brighton, Hove, and Shoreham (UK), delivering Sunday worship services, Bible teaching, faith-exploration courses (Alpha), student and children's ministries, small groups, and community outreach programs including food banks, counseling, and housing support. The church is funded primarily through voluntary donations and tithes from its congregation and operates under the legal entity Clarendon Trust Limited, a registered charity.
Is Emmanuel a public or private company?
Emmanuel is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Emmanuel founded?
Emmanuel was founded in 1984. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Who are Emmanuel's main competitors?
Regional players on record are St Luke's Church Brighton and Brighton Food Bank (Brighton & Hove Food Bank). Others are ChurchSuite and Alpha International. Direct peers are KingsGate Community Church, Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland, Jubilee Church London and Soul Survivor Watford. Broad incumbents are Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) and Hillsong Church UK.
Does Emmanuel have an API?
No public API is recorded for Emmanuel.
What industry is Emmanuel in?
Emmanuel's product category is Religious services (Christian church and community ministry). Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAJAA, Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues), with a secondary code of BPAGAJAG, Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling). Its NAICS code is 8131 and its SIC code is 8600.