Zeal Church

What Zeal Church does

Zeal Church is a privately-held, nonprofit Christian church headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, founded in 2013 by Lead Pastor JD Ost and his wife Leah. The church operates a main campus at 5807 Charlotte Pike in Nashville with three Sunday services (8:45am, 10:15am, 11:45am) plus monthly First Wednesday services, and is preparing to launch a second permanent campus in Franklin, TN in Fall 2026. Its ministry portfolio is organized across multiple age-cohort and programmatic tracks: Zeal Kids (nursery through 5th grade), Zeal Students (6th through 12th grade, meeting Wednesdays), Zeal Groups (seasonal community small groups across Nashville and online), and discipleship curricula including Stronger (11-week, $125) and Freedom Groups (12-week, $85). Supporting programs include the Dream Team volunteer ministry, baptism and care services, outreach initiatives (neighborhoods, homeless ministry, food distribution, Bags of Blessings), and a College Gathering launching for young adults.

The underlying technology stack is built on standard church-sector SaaS rather than proprietary infrastructure: Subsplash powers the mobile app, Church Center handles registrations and groups management, Pushpay processes online giving, and Church Online (zealttv.online.church) streams services. Sermon and worship content is distributed via YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, with community engagement supported by email newsletter and social channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok). No proprietary software, AI/ML systems, or developer-facing APIs are disclosed.

Revenue is generated primarily through voluntary tithes and offerings from congregants (modeled as subscription-recurring) supplemented by modest program registration fees for Stronger ($125), Freedom Groups ($85), and the Zeal Leadership Academy ($400 per 8-week term). The ZLA is operated in partnership with Highlands College Leadership Institute and offers three certificate tracks. The church is funded entirely through congregational giving with no disclosed equity, debt, or institutional capital, and its leadership team of roughly 26 staff and directors operates under a pastoral governance structure led by JD Ost.

Name

Zeal Church

Legal name

Zeal Church

Website

https://zealchurch.tv

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Zeal Church is a Nashville-based nonprofit Christian church founded in 2013, serving families, students, and adults in the Nashville MSA through weekend worship services, age-specific ministries, community groups, and discipleship programs, with a second campus planned in Franklin, TN for Fall 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services / Christian Church

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Christian Colleges with Theological Programs (EDAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Christian church services
• Worship services
• Faith-based community
• Religious education
• Student ministry programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Regular giving from congregants who contribute their tithe (10% of income) on a regular basis plus offerings above and beyond. The generosity of church members supports ministry operations, community outreach, and church expansion initiatives.
2. Program Registration Fees: Fees collected for educational programs including Stronger ($125 per participant), Freedom Groups ($85 total including conference and curriculum books), and Zeal Leadership Academy ($400 per 8-week term).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Zeal Church is a Christian church that delivers weekly worship services, small-group community gatherings, dedicated children's ministry, student ministry, and structured discipleship courses for congregants. Programming is offered both at physical Nashville-area campuses and through online streaming, supported by digital giving and church-management tools.

Product overview

Zeal Church is a multi-campus Christian church headquartered in Nashville, TN operating a main campus and an upcoming Franklin campus. The organization provides religious and spiritual services through a portfolio of interconnected ministry programs including weekend worship services, children's programming (Zeal Kids for nursery through 5th grade), student ministry (Zeal Students for 6th-12th grade), community groups, and specialized discipleship courses (Stronger, Freedom Groups). Supporting ministries include baptism services, outreach programs, care services, and the Dream Team volunteer program. The church also offers digital engagement through Church Online streaming, a mobile app, podcast distribution, and online giving via Pushpay. Additional programming includes the Zeal Leadership Academy certificate program in partnership with Highlands College Leadership Institute, seasonal prayer initiatives, and the Next Steps orientation class for new visitors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zeal Groups: Community groups designed to allow people to meet others with common interests to do life together, including Bible studies, coffee gatherings, and interest-based groups.
• Freedom Groups
• Stronger
• Zeal Leadership Academy (ZLA)
• Dream Team
• Zeal Franklin Campus

Products and services

• Worship Services

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Highlands College Leadership Institute (HCLI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024ZLA is offered in partnership with Highlands College Leadership Institute, a nationally recognized ministry education program based at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, AL. Over 1,400 HCLI-trained students have been sent to lead in 375 churches and ministries across 36 states and 23 countries. Zeal brings this curriculum to Nashville through the Zeal Leadership Academy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Church at West Nashville: Independent Nashville church on the west side with weekend services, kids/students ministries, and small groups—operating in the same geographic niche as Zeal's Charlotte Pike campus.
• CrossPoint Church Nashville: Nashville-based multi-site Christian church running multiple weekend services, community groups, kids and students ministries, and online streaming—directly overlapping Zeal's operating model and Nashville metro footprint.
• Brentwood Baptist Church: Multi-campus Southern Baptist church in the Nashville/Brentwood/Franklin corridor with comparable family, student, and small-group programming targeting the same Middle Tennessee demographic Zeal serves.

Others

• Subsplash: Technology vendor whose app platform powers Zeal's mobile experience; comparable as an enabling ecosystem participant serving the same digital-engagement strategy Zeal deploys.

Broad incumbents

• Gateway Church: Texas-based multi-campus church with age-segmented programming (kids, students, adults), online streaming, and an active outreach footprint—operating the same multi-site blueprint Zeal is pursuing in Middle Tennessee.
• Elevation Church: Multi-campus Charlotte-area megachurch with a satellite strategy, contemporary worship, and youth/family ministry emphasis that closely mirrors Zeal's stage-format service model and Next Gen focus.
• Life.Church: Large multi-site American church with a strong digital-first footprint (Church Online Platform that Zeal actually uses) and a comparable mix of in-person, online, kids, students, and small-group programming.
• North Point Community Church: Atlanta-area multi-site church with established small-groups culture and a leadership development arm—comparable organizational architecture to Zeal's groups + ZLA pipeline.

Regional players

• Church of the Highlands: Birmingham, AL-based multi-campus megachurch and parent of Highlands College Leadership Institute, Zeal's ZLA curriculum partner. Comparable multi-site service model and educational infrastructure, though serving a different primary metro.
• Hendersonville Church of Christ: Established Nashville-area congregation in nearby Hendersonville competing for the same Middle Tennessee family and student demographic Zeal targets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCUvV45fK07RBk8KMeB1v8dw
• Facebookfacebook.com/zealchurchtv
• Instagraminstagram.com/zealchurchtv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zeal-church

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 Zeal Church