Illustrated Ministry

What Illustrated Ministry does

Illustrated Ministry, LLC is a privately held, bootstrapped independent publishing company founded in 2015 by Adam Walker Cleaveland, an ordained Presbyterian Church (USA) Teaching Elder with over 15 years of youth ministry experience. The company creates theologically progressive faith formation resources featuring hand-drawn illustrations that deliberately depict biblical characters with historically accurate Middle Eastern representation and emphasize racial, LGBTQIA+, and disability diversity. Its product portfolio spans the full liturgical calendar and includes large-format coloring posters, Vacation Bible School curriculum (Compassion Camp), youth faith formation subscription (Mini Revolutions), sticker sheets, family devotionals, worship bulletins, and youth curricula. Core product formats are digital downloads (PDF/vector) delivered immediately after purchase, supplemented by a smaller line of physical goods (sticker sheets, backpack tags, life-size nativity figures). The company operates a single-entity direct-to-consumer Shopify storefront at store.illustratedministry.com, with payments limited to credit/debit card and Apple Pay. Pricing is unit-based with church-size drop-down tiers and includes Single-Entity and Multi-Entity licensing options for institutions such as dioceses, synods, presbyteries, conferences, and camps. Primary customer segments are local congregations across multiple denominations, Christian and parochial schools, individual families, mission organizations, campus ministries, and healthcare/senior facilities, with documented reach to approximately 1,200 churches in a single annual poster cycle. The company operates with 1-10 employees plus a network of independent contractors for writing, illustration, and design, and ships physical products to the US and Canada while serving digital customers globally.

Name

Illustrated Ministry

Legal name

Illustrated Ministry, LLC

Website

https://illustratedministry.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Illustrated Ministry is an independent, bootstrapped publisher that sells theologically progressive, hand-illustrated faith formation resources (coloring posters, curriculum, devotionals, stickers) via a Shopify storefront to churches, Christian schools, families, and ministries primarily in North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Faith Formation Publishing

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Religious Education & Catechetical Publishing (Sunday School, Catechism, Study Guides) (MPAJAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Devotional & Prayer Publishing (Devotionals, Prayer Books, Meditation Guides) (MPAJAHAB), Worship & Liturgy Publishing (Liturgical Texts, Missals, Service Books, Hymnals) (MPAJAHAE), Religious Nonfiction & Theology Publishing (Apologetics, Doctrine, Ethics) (MPAJAHAG), Sermon, Homiletics & Ministry Resource Publishing (Preaching Aids, Pastoral Resources) (MPAJAHAD)

Keywords

• Faith formation resources
• Church curriculum publishing
• Coloring posters
• Vacation bible school
• Christian educational materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Racine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Digital product sales: One-time purchases of downloadable digital resources including coloring posters, curriculum, devotionals, worship materials. Delivered via immediate digital download through email and order page access.
2. Physical product sales: Sale of physical goods including pre-printed poster sets, sticker sheets, backpack tags. Products shipped to customers with 2-4 business day processing time.
3. Single-Entity License: Non-exclusive limited license for non-commercial internal use by a specific local family, church, school, or community group. Included with product purchase.
4. Multi-Entity License: License for dioceses, synods, presbyteries, conferences, camps, or multiple partnered churches to share resources across affiliated entities. Contact [email protected] to request.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Illustrated Ministry creates and sells progressive, theologically inclusive digital and physical faith resources for churches, families, schools, and ministry organizations. Its product portfolio centers on illustrated coloring posters, downloadable curricula (Advent, Lent, VBS, youth subscription), sticker sheets, worship bulletins, and family devotionals, offered in Church Edition and Family Edition variants with single-entity and multi-entity licensing options. All products are distributed primarily through a direct Shopify e-commerce storefront with immediate digital downloads and physical shipping within the US and Canada.

Product overview

Illustrated Ministry is a theologically progressive, independent publishing company that creates digital and physical faith resources for churches and families. The product portfolio centers on illustrated coloring posters (available in multiple sizes and themes including Advent, Lent, Psalms, and Stations of the Cross), curriculum and VBS programs (Compassion Camp VBS, Mini Revolutions subscription, Tell Me About the Bible), sticker sheet products (Nativity Stickers, Lord's Prayer Stickers), worship resources (children's moments, bulletins, liturgy), and family devotional materials. Products are offered in Church Edition and Family Edition formats, with Single-Entity and Multi-Entity licensing options for congregations and institutions. The company operates primarily as a digital product publisher using Shopify for its e-commerce store, with some physical products available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Coloring Posters Large-format illustrated coloring posters (sizes including 2'x3' and 4'x3') covering seasonal themes (Advent, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Psalms, Stations of the Cross), designed for intergenerational faith engagement in churches, schools, homes, and care facilities. Delivered as digital downloads or as pre-printed physical sets.
• An Illustrated Advent Advent and Christmas resource offered in Church Edition and Family Edition formats, providing illustrated children's moments, worship activity sheets, family devotions, coloring sheets, a flat wise men activity, and an Advent calendar guide for progressive congregations and households.
• An Illustrated Lent Lenten resource available in a Church Edition (illustrated children's moments, worship activity sheets, Lenten poster) and a Family Edition (weekly devotions, refrigerator signs, coloring sheets) for progressive congregations and households.
• Compassion Camp VBS Curriculum All-inclusive progressive Vacation Bible School (VBS) curriculum with engaging, meaningful content designed to simplify preparation work for church VBS programs and enrich intergenerational church VBS experiences.
• Mini Revolutions Subscription Monthly subscription curriculum for inclusive youth faith formation with bonus videos, youth materials, and consistent resources supporting ongoing intergenerational faith engagement.
• Nativity Sticker Sheets Best-selling diverse illustrated sticker sheets featuring biblical characters with accurate Middle Eastern representation. Each set includes 25 sticker sheets with 19 stickers each (priced at $24.99/set), includes black & white and color illustrations of stable, grotto, and First-Century Palestinian home. White vinyl stickers made in USA with matte clear coat.
• Lord's Prayer Sticker Sheets Sticker sheets featuring the Lord's Prayer, designed to help youth connect with God in prayer, part of the broader sticker sheet product line.
• Backpack Tags Tags designed for backpack blessings during worship services. Available in designs including 'God's Got Your Back' and 'Blessed to Be a Blessing' (English and Spanish versions).
• Tell Me About the Bible Youth Curriculum Progressive youth curriculum (marketed as the 'Extraordinary Leaders' curriculum) designed to foster biblical literacy and curiosity among middle and high school youth.
• Illustrated Nativity Figures Life-size illustrated nativity figures that can be painted and used for creative nativity displays in churches or homes.

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Common Hymnal: Independent creator of progressive, inclusive Christian music and accompanying liturgical/creative resources. Comparable as a small, independent, theologically progressive content studio targeting progressive mainline worship contexts.
• The Thoughtful Christian: Curated progressive Christian adult education and study resources sold to churches and small groups. Similar buyer (progressive mainline churches) and similar downloadable, per-purchase resource model.
• Sanctified Art: Progressive Christian publisher of art, liturgy, and worship resources for mainline congregations. Closest direct comparable to Illustrated Ministry's mix of hand-drawn progressive art and church/home faith formation materials.

Broad incumbents

• Group Publishing: One of the largest US publishers of VBS, Sunday School, and children's ministry curriculum. Comparable product category (seasonal church curriculum) but vastly larger scale and broader (less theologically niche) positioning.
• Cokesbury: Retail and publishing arm of The United Methodist Church selling books, curriculum, and church supplies. Comparable buyer (mainline congregations) and overlapping curriculum/worship products, though distribution-led rather than creator-led.
• Abingdon Press: United Methodist publishing house producing curriculum, Bible study, and worship resources for churches. Comparable mainline-church curriculum and seasonal content, but as part of a much broader book and journal portfolio.
• Forward Movement: Episcopal-affiliated publisher of devotional, formation, and congregational resources (including the popular Forward Day by Day). Comparable focus on inclusive liturgical-seasonal content for a mainline audience at scale.
• David C Cook: Major evangelical children's ministry and curriculum publisher (including Bible-in-Life, Echoes, and vacation Bible school lines). Comparable buyer overlap (churches seeking curriculum) but serving a more conservative theological segment.
• Church Publishing Incorporated: Official publisher of the Episcopal Church producing liturgical, worship, formation, and curriculum materials. Comparable mainline/Episcopal progressive-leaning content, with denomination affiliation providing structural advantages.
• Sparkhouse: Augsburg Fortress's church and family ministry imprint producing Sunday School, youth, and family resources for ELCA Lutheran congregations. Comparable liturgical-seasonal product structure with mainline church focus, though larger and denomination-tied.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCv5LqWX72wcqIOgLd7DxJLw
• Facebookfacebook.com/IllustratedMin
• Instagraminstagram.com/IllustratedMin
• TikToktiktok.com/@illustratedmin
• Pinterestpinterest.com/IllustratedMin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/illustratedmin

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 Illustrated Ministry