Bethany Christian Church

What Bethany Christian Church does

Bethany Christian Church is a nonprofit Disciples of Christ congregation founded in 1915 (originally as South End Christian Church) and headquartered in Houston, Texas. For over 110 years it conducted weekly worship, Christian education, pastoral care, and mission giving, with a peak membership of 950 in 1954. The organization historically differentiated itself through first-mover initiatives (first air-conditioned Houston congregation in 1947) and founding roles in institutions such as the Christian Community Service Center (1980) and Amazing Place. Its operating revenue derives entirely from voluntary tithes and offerings from its congregation; no fees are charged for services or programs.

Facing an aging congregation and an aging building, the congregation sold its Westheimer property to The Story in 2022 for $23 million and is transitioning from an operating congregation into a legacy grantmaking entity. The proceeds were deployed as $14.375 million in major gifts to 8 mission partners, $8.25 million invested in a permanent fund for perpetual giving, and $155,000 distributed to 23 additional nonprofits nominated by the congregation. A Legacy Celebration and Dedication of Permanent Fund was held November 16, 2025.

The church's stakeholder base comprises its congregation, the broader Houston community served through food, housing, education, and refugee support programs, and global mission partners including Micah Project in Honduras and Disciples Historical Society in West Virginia. Mission partnerships span dementia care (Amazing Place), hunger relief (CCSC), chaplaincy education (Brite Divinity School), disaster relief (Week of Compassion), refugee ministry (Southwest Good Samaritan Ministry), and housing for medical patients (Hospitality Apartments). Leadership currently consists of Rev. Blair Parker (Pastor since 2012) and Rev. Randy Spleth (Interim Pastor since 2024), the latter engaged to shepherd the mission investment plan and legacy transition.

Name

Bethany Christian Church

Legal name

Bethany Christian Church

Website

https://bethanycc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (81311), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Religious services
• Congregational worship
• Pastoral care
• Community outreach
• Mission giving

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Voluntary contributions from congregation members including regular tithes, offerings, and donations to support church operations and mission work.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Bethany Christian Church conducts weekly worship services, provides pastoral care, runs Sunday School and Christian education programs, and channels charitable contributions to local and global mission partners. Following the 2022 sale of its Westheimer sanctuary, the church is transitioning to a permanent mission investment model that distributes major gifts to nonprofit partners in Houston and beyond.

Product overview

Bethany Christian Church is a religious organization that provided worship services and community programs. The church operated for over 110 years in Houston before selling its building in 2023. The organization is not a technology product company and does not offer commercial products or services. The website functions as an informational resource for the congregation and general public.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Weekly Worship Services Weekly congregational worship services offered free of charge to members and visitors of Bethany Christian Church as a Disciples of Christ congregation in Houston, Texas. Services provide spiritual leadership, fellowship, and communal worship.
• Pastoral Care and Christian Education Pastoral care provided by ordained ministers (Pastor and Interim Pastor) along with Sunday School and Christian education programs for congregation members of all ages.
• Permanent Mission Investment Fund A long-term charitable mission-giving program that distributes grants from invested principal and earnings to local and global mission partners, supporting food security, refugee services, dementia care, chaplaincy training, and disaster relief.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Amazing PlacemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBethany was one of the founding churches of Amazing Place nearly 30 years ago. The church gave $3 million to the Amazing Together Campaign, doubling capacity to serve adults with mild-moderate cognitive impairment and opening a new campus in Katy. Amazing Place's original campus was renamed 'Bethany' to honor this legacy.
• Disciples Historical SocietymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBethany gave $1.5 million to help build a permanent home for the Alexander Campbell Collection at the Disciples Historical Society in Bethany, West Virginia. The gift includes a commitment to write and share Bethany's own book-length history.
• Brite Divinity SchoolmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWith a $3 million gift, Bethany established the Bethany Program for Chaplaincy Studies at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth. This prepares chaplains to bring spiritual care to hospitals, hospices, campuses, the military, and workplaces. Dr. Elmer D. Henson, who helped build Bethany's Westheimer sanctuary, later served as Dean at Brite.
• Micah ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBethany gave $500,000 to build and equip new vocational training spaces for Micah Works and Micah Cooks programs that teach woodworking, welding, plumbing, and culinary skills to street-connected youth in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This partnership began through the Bellaire Christian Church merger.
• Week of CompassionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWith a $1.5 million gift, Bethany is funding domestic disaster relief through Week of Compassion, paying forward help received during Hurricane Harvey. Bethany has long supported this ministry that brings disaster relief across the U.S. and Canada.
• Southwest Good Samaritan MinistrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBethany gave $1.2 million to strengthen refugee ministry along the Texas border. The funds will support refugee work, family reunification, and programs for vulnerable children in the Rio Grande Valley and northern Mexico. Bethany has been a faithful supporter for decades, sending mission teams, supplies, and prayers.
• Christian Community Service Center (CCSC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBethany gave $3 million to help CCSC launch a new vision to serve 50% more families in central and southwest Houston by their 50th anniversary in 2030. Bethany helped found CCSC 45 years ago and has stood by its mission to feed the hungry, provide basic needs, and offer pathways to success.
• Hospitality ApartmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBethany's $675,000 gift will renovate the building's exterior, modernize the elevator, and install a backup generator at Hospitality Apartments, which has offered free housing to out-of-town medical patients and their families near Houston's Texas Medical Center since 1968. Many Bethany members have long volunteered here.
• The Story (property buyer)minorOthersIn 2022, Bethany sold its property to The Story, providing $23 million to be donated to mission partners. Rev. Don Tuttle guided the congregation in this decision from 2018-2023.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Lakewood Church: Houston's largest congregation by attendance, operating in the former Compaq Center. Not directly comparable in scale or theology, but the closest Houston analog for how a local congregation deploys real-estate assets into mission and broadcast reach.
• First Baptist Houston: Significantly larger Houston Baptist congregation with a much broader ministry portfolio. Comparable in city and faith-based service mission, but operates at a larger scale and more evangelical tradition than Bethany's Disciples of Christ roots.

Direct peers

• First Christian Church of Houston: Another Disciples of Christ congregation in Houston with a similar historical, downtown-adjacent footprint. Shares Bethany's mainline Protestant demographic and the same national denominational structure.
• Memorial Drive Christian Church: Houston-area Disciples of Christ congregation that was itself founded with Bethany's support in the 1960s. Same denomination, same city, same mainline Protestant profile — making it the closest direct peer for membership, governance and ministry model comparison.
• Tallowood Baptist Church: Houston-area Southern Baptist congregation of similar size and tenure with an active local-missions portfolio. Comparable in operational scale and program mix though denominationally distinct.
• River Oaks Baptist Church: Large, established Houston mainline congregation with comparable membership scale, aging-congregation profile, and significant community-outreach programming — a useful peer for benchmarking giving and engagement trends.
• Woodlands Church: Houston-area non-denominational Christian congregation with comparable age of congregation and community-outreach programming; useful as a peer for retention and giving patterns among similarly aged mainline and evangelical churches.

Others

• Brite Divinity School: Fort Worth theological school that received a $3M Bethany-funded chaplaincy program. Not a peer congregation, but a recipient partner organization — useful for understanding how Bethany's capital flows into institutional capacity-building.
• Amazing Place: Houston nonprofit for adults with cognitive impairment that Bethany helped found and supported with a $3M gift (campus renamed 'Bethany'). A faith-affiliated social-services peer rather than a worship congregation, but directly comparable in operational footprint.
• Christian Community Service Center (CCSC): Houston nonprofit co-founded by Bethany in 1980 that received a $3M gift. A mission recipient rather than a peer, but a directly comparable faith-rooted social-services operator in the same Houston geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bethanycchou
• Facebookfacebook.com/BethanyChristianHouston
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bethany-christian-church-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Bethany Christian Church