Practicing The Way

What Practicing The Way does

Practicing The Way is a Portland, Oregon-based 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry that develops and distributes spiritual formation curricula and resources for churches and individual Christians. It operates as an integrated auxiliary of Bridgetown Church and was founded by New York Times bestselling author John Mark Comer. The organization publishes The Course, the Practices library, Lectio Bible studies, books, podcasts, and the Sabbath Box physical product, distributing the core curriculum free of charge through its digital platform at launch.practicingtheway.org and reaching an audience that includes 23,600+ churches across 167 countries, 3,300+ monthly givers, and 8,000+ pastors subscribed to its newsletter.

The underlying technology footprint is modest: a public-facing web platform for curriculum delivery, podcast distribution channels, and e-commerce functionality for the Sabbath Box (manufactured and fulfilled in partnership with Ugmonk). There is no disclosed proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML capability, and operational scale remains lean at 1–10 employees despite the global reach.

The business model is a crowdfunded ministry hybrid: the core curriculum is offered free, supported by recurring donations from 3,300+ monthly givers, supplemented by revenue from book sales, Sabbath Box sales (priced at approximately $199, sold at cost), and the newly introduced Church Formation Incubator — a nine-month paid cohort program priced at $1,900 per pastor. The paid incubator represents the organization's first substantive monetization of high-engagement B2B customers and signals a potential shift toward a tiered free/paid model.

Name

Practicing The Way

Legal name

Practicing the Way

Website

https://practicingtheway.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Practicing The Way is a Portland-based non-profit ministry that produces free spiritual formation curricula, podcasts, and the Sabbath Box for 23,600+ churches across 167 countries, funded by donations and a new paid pastor cohort.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Christian Spiritual Formation

NAICS

Religious Organizations (81311)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Religious Fundraising / Telethon & Ministry Support Channels (MPABALAO)

Keywords

• Spiritual formation resources
• Church discipleship training
• Faith-based curriculum
• Christian education resources
• Ministry training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations from The Circle (Monthly Givers): Crowdfunded ministry supported by a community of monthly givers called The Circle, who contribute recurring donations to sustain the free resources.
2. One-time Gifts: Individual one-time donations from supporters who want to contribute to the ministry.
3. Product Sales - Sabbath Box: Sale of the Sabbath Box physical product at $199, priced at cost to cover design, production, and fulfillment.
4. Church Formation Incubator Fees: Training program costing $1,900 per pastor ($3,800 per church) for the 9-month cohort program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Practicing the Way develops and distributes free spiritual formation resources — including The Course (eight-session introduction), nine ancient Practices (Sabbath, Prayer, Fasting, Solitude, Scripture, Community, Generosity, Service, Witness), podcasts, The Book, Sabbath Meditations, and digital tools (Rule of Life Builder, Spiritual Health Reflection) — for churches and individuals pursuing apprenticeship to Jesus. It supplements the free library with a paid 9-month Church Formation Incubator cohort for pastors and physical products such as the Sabbath Box, all sustained by donations from monthly givers called The Circle.

Product overview

Practicing the Way is a ministry offering centered on spiritual formation resources for churches. The portfolio consists of a unified platform combining free digital resources (The Course, nine Practices, Rule of Life Builder, Spiritual Health Reflection) with published content (The Book, Sabbath Meditations, Companion Guides, Lectio Bible), podcasts (Rule of Life, The Contemplative Pastor, Practicing the Way with John Mark Comer), and physical products (Sabbath Box). The ecosystem is anchored by The Course as the entry point into a five-year discipleship pathway, supported by the Church Formation Incubator as a paid cohort program for pastors. Resources are designed for flexible use in small groups, dinner parties, mid-week courses, or entire church settings, with most digital resources provided free of charge and physical products (books, Sabbath Box) sold at cost.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Contemplative Pastor Podcast: A podcast featuring teachings from guides and sages on spiritual formation, practical conversations, and guided prayers for pastors.
• Rule of Life Podcast
• Practicing the Way with John Mark Comer Podcast
• The Course
• The Book
• The Circle

Products and services

• The Course

Quantifiable outcome

• 167 countries using resources
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 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

One partnership is on record.

• Bridgetown ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPracticing the Way is an integrated auxiliary of Bridgetown Church, a church based in Portland, Oregon. The organization grew out of ministry at Bridgetown Church, where founder John Mark Comer served as pastor for two decades. The organization maintains this close relationship as its parent organization.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Emotionally Healthy Discipleship (Peter Scazzero): Church-focused discipleship and spiritual formation ministry offering courses, church resources, and conferences targeting the same 'crisis of discipleship' problem Practicing the Way addresses. Closely aligned in audience (pastors and churches) and methodology.
• Renovaré: Long-standing Christian spiritual formation ministry founded by Richard Foster (author of 'Celebration of Discipline'). Renovaré offers formation resources, courses, and conferences very similar to Practicing the Way's model, making it the most directly comparable faith-based formation nonprofit.
• RightNow Media: Streaming video library of biblical content used by tens of thousands of churches for discipleship and formation. Directly comparable as a paid (church subscription) digital resource platform serving the same church and small-group use case.
• BibleProject: Nonprofit that produces animated Bible videos, podcasts, and free educational resources used widely by churches and small groups. Shares Practicing the Way's church-targeted, free, crowdfunded, video-and-podcast-led distribution model.
• The Upper Room: A global Methodist spiritual formation ministry offering daily devotionals, formation courses, and retreat resources to churches and individuals. Comparable as a faith-based formation content provider serving congregational spiritual growth.
• Henri Nouwen Society: Spiritual formation organization continuing Henri Nouwen's legacy of contemplative formation resources, retreats, and teaching. Comparable as a nonprofit producing formation content and community resources for Christians seeking spiritual depth.

Broad incumbents

• Fuller Theological Seminary: Large evangelical seminary offering theological education, spiritual formation programs, and church leader training. Comparable as an incumbent formation and pastoral education provider, though operating through formal academic credentials rather than free digital resources.
• Christianity Today: Major evangelical media organization producing magazines, podcasts, and leadership resources for pastors and churches. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the Christian content and church-leadership media space.

Emerging players

• Logos Bible Software: Bible study software platform serving pastors and serious Bible readers with paid digital study tools. Comparable as a paid digital formation/Bible study resource targeting a similar pastor and serious-Christian user base.
• Faithful.ly: A digital spiritual formation and devotional app targeting individual Christians with daily practices. Comparable as a tech-enabled formation player overlapping with Practicing the Way's individual-Christian segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/practicingtheway
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@PracticingtheWay
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/practicing-the-way
• Facebookfacebook.com/practicingtheway

Compliance1 record

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 Practicing The Way