SOCIAL ACTION INTERNATIONAL

What SOCIAL ACTION INTERNATIONAL does

Christians for Social Action (CSA), operated by Social Action International, is a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at the Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. The organization traces its origins to the 1973 Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern founded by Ronald J. Sider, formally launched in 1978 as Evangelicals for Social Action (ESA), and rebranded to Christians for Social Action in 2020 to reflect a broader audience beyond the evangelical label. It operates as a "think-and-do tank" linking evangelical theological reflection with social justice programs, and serves churches, pastors, individual Christians, scholars, and grassroots faith-based organizations primarily in the United States with global digital reach. Leadership rests with Executive Director Nikki Toyama-Szeto (since 2017), supported by a small staff (1-10 employees) and an advisory board chaired by Kathy Khang.

Name

SOCIAL ACTION INTERNATIONAL

Legal name

Christians for Social Action

Website

https://christiansforsocialaction.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Christians for Social Action is a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that links evangelical theology with social justice programming for churches, pastors, scholars, and individuals, delivered through training institutes, podcasts, newsletters, multimedia storytelling, and educational resources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Faith-Based Nonprofit Education and Social Justice Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAJAK

Faith-Based Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

SECONDARYBPAFADAK

Nonprofit & Cause Communications

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Public Relations & Communications

SECONDARYMPAJAHAI

Denominational & Community Periodicals (Church Magazines, Diocesan/Temple Newsletters)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Religious & Spiritual Publishing

Keywords

• Faith-based education
• Social justice programs
• Theological formation
• Racial justice training
• Community dialogue facilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Wayne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: CSA operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization primarily funded through donations. The organization accepts donations through its website (credit card, eCheck, PayPal, bank account), Donor Advised Funds, stock gifts, and checks mailed to their office. Donors can designate gifts to specific funds including General Fund, Racial Justice, Oriented to Love, Storytellers Collective, Virago, and CAAPIC.
2. Store Sales: CSA generates revenue through sales of educational resources and publications in its online store, including digital guides and printed materials priced between $6.95-$10.
3. Sider Scholarship Program: Palmer Seminary awards Sider Scholarships covering half tuition cost for qualified theological students. The scholarship recipients complete 240 hours of work per calendar year for CSA, creating an indirect funding mechanism.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Christians for Social Action is a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers theological education, dialogue facilitation, racial justice training, and storytelling programs connecting Christian discipleship with social justice. It runs three flagship programs — the Racial Justice Institute, Oriented to Love, and the Storytellers Collective — alongside podcasts, a weekly newsletter, an online article library, an immersive art installation, a music album, and a small store of downloadable guides. Revenue is primarily generated through donations, grants, and modest product sales.

Product overview

Christians for Social Action (CSA) is a faith-based 'think-and-do' tank that offers a portfolio of programs and content offerings centered on justice, reconciliation, and faithful Christian engagement. The core programs include the Storytellers Collective (a multi-year national storytelling initiative producing podcasts, videos, and written stories), Racial Justice Institute (learning experiences around racial justice), and Oriented to Love (dialogue programs on sexuality and gender). Supporting offerings include the Storybook Album (a seven-song music album), God's Secrets immersive chair experience, 20 Minute Takes and Credible Witness podcasts, Sider Scholars scholarship program, an online article library, and a weekly newsletter. The organization also operates an online store for downloadable guides and resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Oriented to Love: Program creating space for honest, thoughtful conversations about faith, sexuality, gender, and belonging
• Racial Justice Institute
• Storytellers Collective
• 20 Minute Takes Podcast
• Credible Witness Podcast
• God's Secrets Chair
• Storybook Album
• Sider Scholars
• Sider Center

Products and services

• Storytellers Collective A multi-year national storytelling initiative amplifying stories of Christian faith and life from overlooked communities. Convenes storytelling cohorts, trains community-embedded storytellers, and produces stories in podcast, video, and written formats.
• Racial Justice Institute (RJI) Develops learning experiences including pilgrimages, courses, media, writing, and video engaging people of faith around issues of identity, history, and justice at the intersection of race. Creates brave spaces for deep understanding of racism's roots.
• Oriented to Love Creates space for honest conversations about faith, sexuality, gender, and belonging. Uses fishbowl dialogues, webinars, and public conversations to help Christians engage diversity of LGBTQ+ voices and pursue unity deeper than agreement.
• Storybook Album A seven-song album created in partnership with Common Hymnal and emerging from the Storytellers Collective. Conveys gospel hope in the midst of ambiguity and weariness.
• God's Secrets: An Immersive Chair Experience Traveling immersive installation featuring audio stories of overlooked Black Christian freedom fighters. Designed by Shabazz Larkin and narrated by Dr. Jemar Tisby. Full experience is 25 minutes.
• 20 Minute Takes Podcast Podcast hosted by Nikki Toyama-Szeto providing quick takes on complex justice issues. Features interviews with people pursuing justice in their communities and breaks down headlines into actionable insights. Distributed via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Buzzsprout.
• Credible Witness Podcast Podcast hosted by Nikki Toyama-Szeto about Christians navigating social tension and personal sacrifice in pursuit of Jesus. Invites listeners to hear honest stories of hope, struggle, and steadfast faith.
• Sider Scholars Program Scholarship program at Palmer Seminary of Eastern University covering half tuition. Named for founder Ronald J. Sider. Recipients complete 240 hours of work per year at CSA/Sider Center and receive mentorship.
• Downloadable Resources and Guides Store offering downloadable guides including Project Confrontation field guide ($10), A Booklet of Uncommon Prayer ($6.95), and The Stony Road Pilgrimage guide ($10 print) for educational and community use.

Quantifiable outcome

• 400,000+ books sold in 9 languages
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

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

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Common HymnalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership with Common Hymnal artists to create the Storybook album - a seven-song album emerging from the Storytellers Collective, shaped by a year of listening, shared experience, and creative collaboration. CSA partnered with Common Hymnal and four other organizations to create this album capturing gospel hope.
• Storytellers Collective Cohort OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025First cohort of five organizations: Chasing Justice, Leadership LINKS, HopeWords, A Rocha USA, and CAAPIC. These organizations completed an 8-month training sequence with storytelling practitioners and theologians and are releasing multi-format stories (documentaries, podcasts, essays, music, toolkits). Additional cohorts will expand to reach 20-30 organizations total.
• Eastern University / Palmer Theological SeminaryflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005In 2005, Evangelicals for Social Action joined Eastern University, where The Sider Center opened to promote peaceful coexistence and social justice through theological reflection, academic programs, rigorous scholarship, and timely conversations. CSA is now a center at Palmer Seminary of Eastern University. The partnership enables the Sider Scholars program, shared faculty mentorship, and integration of theological education with social action.
• National Religious Partnership for the EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1991CSA (ESA) was part of the founding of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment in 1991, and successfully lobbied for the Endangered Species Act in 1994 in partnership with this coalition. The partnership coordinates evangelical engagement on environmental issues.
• Servants to Asia's Urban PoorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSA references Servants as a partner organization working at the intersection of community and spiritual development in Metro Manila slums. CSA highlights Efren Roxas's story of community organizing with this partner to gain legal access to basic needs for slum communities.
• Washington Community FellowshipminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWashington Community Fellowship hosts the God's Secrets Chair immersive experience at their Washington DC location. The church at 907 Maryland Ave NE offers Sunday access 9am-12pm, extending CSA's reach through in-person experiential programming.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: InterVarsity is a large evangelical campus and formation organization whose prior employment of CSA's Executive Director and overlapping evangelical-discipleship framing make it a comparable player in faith-rooted formation and justice work.
• World Vision US: World Vision is a large established Christian humanitarian organization that mobilizes evangelical donors around poverty and justice issues globally, serving an overlapping evangelical donor and church-partner base as CSA though at much greater scale and with a humanitarian aid focus.
• International Justice Mission: IJM is a large evangelical human-rights organization whose prior employment of CSA's Executive Director and overlapping Christian-justice framing make it a clear adjacent organization in the same faith-and-justice ecosystem.
• National Council of Churches: The NCC is a large ecumenical Christian body engaging in faith-rooted advocacy across social-justice issues, comparable to CSA in issue breadth and mobilization of Christian communities but serving a mainline rather than evangelical audience.

Direct peers

• Bread for the World: Bread for the World is a faith-based advocacy organization mobilizing Christians to influence U.S. policy on hunger and poverty, directly comparable to CSA in faith-rooted advocacy framing and grassroots church mobilization.
• Sojourners: Sojourners is a faith-based social-justice magazine and advocacy organization that, like CSA, mobilizes evangelical Christians around issues such as poverty, racial justice, and peace from a progressive Christian perspective — directly overlapping on mission, audience, and programmatic mix.
• Be the Bridge: Be the Bridge is a nonprofit focused on racial reconciliation within the church and Christian community, directly comparable to CSA's Racial Justice Institute and overlapping on faith-rooted anti-racism training, dialogue, and Christian audience.
• Faith in Public Life: Faith in Public Life is a progressive faith-based advocacy network mobilizing faith leaders on social-justice and public-policy issues, directly comparable to CSA in advocacy posture, network-building approach, and digital content strategy.

Emerging players

• Zioness Movement: Zioness is a smaller progressive Jewish-and-faith-rooted advocacy organization mobilizing faith communities on social-justice issues; it overlaps with CSA on the faith-justice mobilization model but serves a different religious audience.
• Evangelical Environmental Network: EEN was spun out of CSA's predecessor organization (ESA) in 1999, making it a former affiliate and the clearest precedent for a focused issue-vertical spinoff from CSA's broad justice portfolio, sharing donor and audience pools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ChristianSocAct
• YouTubevimeo.com/christiansocact
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChristiansforSocialAction
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/christians-for-social-action
• Instagraminstagram.com/christiansocact

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 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 SOCIAL ACTION INTERNATIONAL