Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center

What Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center does

Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center operates as a program under Sunrise Community Church, a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious organization affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and City Classis, headquartered at 4430 Menchaca Road in Austin, Texas. The organization runs weekly Sunday worship services at 10AM across multiple venue formats — an indoor sanctuary, the pet-friendly and smoker-friendly Patio with big-screen viewing under oak trees, and the family-friendly Arbor with a playground — supplemented by Facebook Live and YouTube streaming for online participants. Beyond worship, the church operates missional small groups distributed across Austin neighborhoods, children's programming (Sunrise Kids), monthly combined Altogether Sundays, and a dedicated "Homeless on Sundays" hospitality program with a Sunday Sheriff role.

The affiliated Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center functions as a separate operating entity (sunrisenavigationcenter.org) with its own 8-member board, providing specialized homelessness outreach and housing navigation services. The organization's business model is entirely donation-driven: services are provided free of charge, and revenue comes from tax-deductible donations, tithes, and recurring giving processed through PayPal. The church is led by a Servant's Council governance structure with 9 named church staff (Lead Pastor, Associate Pastor, three Worship Leaders, Sunrise Kids Director, Custodian, two Production Assistants), while the Navigation Center maintains a separate team. Customer segments include people experiencing homelessness, general community members across all demographics, and demographic-specific small group cohorts.

The go-to-market motion is community-led: outreach occurs through small groups, Sunday worship, and deliberately inclusive venue design that lowers barriers for marginalized populations. Distribution is primarily physical (single Austin campus plus scattered small group homes) with online streaming extending reach globally. There is no proprietary technology, no AI/ML capabilities, no patents, no commercial revenue, and no funding rounds — the organization is a stable, community-rooted non-profit operating a social ministry rather than a venture-scale entity.

Name

Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center

Legal name

Sunrise Community Church

Website

https://sunriseaustin.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center is a non-profit program under Sunrise Community Church in Austin, Texas, affiliated with the Reformed Church in America. It provides inclusive worship services, missional small groups, children's programming, and dedicated homelessness outreach and housing navigation through a separately governed entity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious and Homeless Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Temporary Shelters (624221)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

Keywords

• Homeless services
• Worship services
• Community outreach
• Small group ministry
• Housing navigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Tithes: The organization accepts tax-deductible donations from congregation members and the public. Donations can be designated for specific programs or areas of ministry. PayPal Here platform enables one-time or recurring giving.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center is a program under Sunrise Community Church in Austin, Texas that provides homelessness outreach, housing navigation services, and inclusive Sunday worship hospitality for people experiencing homelessness. It operates alongside the parent church's worship services, small groups, children's programming, and community ministries, with a dedicated board overseeing its homelessness and housing work as a separately governed entity.

Product overview

Sunrise Community Church (with affiliated Homeless Navigation Center) offers a multi-faceted ministry portfolio centered on inclusive worship and community service. The core offerings include weekly Sunday worship services (with indoor, Patio, and Arbor outdoor venues, plus online streaming via Facebook and YouTube), small groups organized by demographic and schedule, and specialized programs for children (Sunrise Kids), families (Altogether Sundays), and people experiencing homelessness (Homeless on Sundays). The affiliated Homeless Navigation Center provides dedicated homeless outreach and housing navigation services. All programs emphasize radical inclusion, service to marginalized populations, and building authentic community across socioeconomic divides.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services Weekly worship gatherings held at 10AM at 4430 Menchaca Rd. in Austin, with indoor and outdoor venue options including the Patio (pet-friendly, smoker-friendly) and Arbor (family-friendly with playground). Services are available in-person and via Facebook Live and YouTube Live streaming.
• Small Groups Missional small groups organized by demographic and schedule that covenant together around seven rhythms: praying together, studying together, eating together, serving together, holding each other accountable, taking care of each other, and building community through invitation and planting new groups.
• Sunrise Kids Weekly worship gathering for children from infant through 5th grade featuring lessons, crafts, snacks, songs, and play activities. Sunrise Kids Lite is offered for children 4 and under on Altogether Sundays.
• Altogether Sundays Monthly worship gatherings held on the first Sunday of each month featuring combined kids and adult worship, purposefully-fun worship elements, communion, baptisms, and often a potluck lunch.
• The Patio Outdoor worship venue offering an alternate worship experience on Sunday mornings with big screen viewing of the worship service under oak trees, accommodating those who prefer outdoor settings, have pets, or need to smoke.
• Homeless on Sundays Sunday worship program specifically welcoming people experiencing homelessness, offering indoor or outdoor worship on the Patio with big screen access and a designated Sunday Sheriff for hospitality and peace-keeping.
• Homeless Navigation Center A separate organization affiliated with Sunrise Community Church that focuses on homeless outreach and housing services, led by a dedicated board and staffed by a separate team.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Reformed Church in America (RCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSunrise is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA) denomination and City Classis. This affiliation provides denominational support, shared theological framework, and connection to broader RCA network of churches.
• Navigation Center BoardcoreOthersDedicated board with 8 members (Dr. Andy Schell - President, Christopher Johnson - Vice President, Jennifer Thrift - Secretary, David Johnson, Dr. Debra Johnson, Circe Mitchell, Juanpablo Wright) that provides leadership over all homelessness and housing work. Operates as a subsidiary governance structure.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Catholic Charities of Central Texas: Regional faith-based social services organization providing housing assistance, refugee services, and homelessness support, comparable in nonprofit service delivery model and Central Texas footprint though at larger scale.
• Salvation Army Austin Area Command: National faith-based nonprofit with substantial Austin-area operations providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, addiction recovery, and homelessness services; comparable mission with much broader institutional scale.

Regional players

• Austin Stone Community Church: Large Austin church with active community outreach, missional communities (small groups), and social-justice programming, comparable as a multi-venue, community-led Austin church with similar GTM motion though not focused specifically on homelessness navigation.
• Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH): Publicly operated Austin facility providing day shelter, intake, and coordinated housing navigation services, comparable as a regional housing-access hub but operated as a city government service rather than faith-based nonprofit.

Others

• National Alliance to End Homelessness: National advocacy and research organization that sets policy frameworks and best-practice standards for homelessness navigation programs, comparable as an ecosystem participant that shapes funding and operating models for direct-service providers like Sunrise.

Direct peers

• Trinity Center Austin: A faith-based organization in Austin that provides shelter, housing navigation, and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness, operating a comparable church-affiliated service model with on-site case management.
• Mobile Loaves & Fishes: Austin-based faith-inspired nonprofit serving people experiencing homelessness through direct outreach (food trucks), transitional housing (Community First! Village), and case management, comparable in both mission and Austin footprint.
• Caritas of Austin: A faith-rooted Austin nonprofit providing housing-focused services, case management, and homelessness prevention for low-income individuals and families, overlapping directly with Sunrise's Navigation Center work.
• Front Steps (Austin): Austin nonprofit providing shelter, case management, and housing-focused programs for people experiencing homelessness, directly comparable in mission and geography to the Sunrise Navigation Center.

Emerging players

• Habitat for Humanity Austin: Local affiliate focused on affordable housing construction and homeownership pathways, complementary rather than directly competitive, but addressing the same housing-insecurity population that Sunrise's Navigation Center serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sunrisecommunitychurch2366/streams
• Facebookfacebook.com/SunriseAustin
• Instagraminstagram.com/explore/tags/humansofsunrise
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sunrise-church-austin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center