Church Software Transparency
The Scale of Control
Private equity firms have quietly executed one of the most comprehensive consolidations in church technology history. What started as independent, ministry-focused companies are now profit-extraction vehicles controlled by Wall Street investors.
🎯 Private Equity Control Map
Each circle below represents billions in assets under management and thousands of churches under their control.
(Reverence Capital)
- Fellowship One - 4,500+ churches
- Shelby Systems - Since 1976
- ParishSOFT - 9,000+ Catholic parishes
- Protect My Ministry - 35,000+ ministries
- easyTithe & SimpleGive - Giving platforms
- Church Motion Graphics - Visual content
- WeShare & WeGather - Events & management
- + 24 More Brands - Total: 31 companies
Sixth Street Partners
- Pushpay - $1.3B acquisition (2023)
- Church Community Builder - Major ChMS
- MyChurch App - Mobile platform
- Resi Media - Streaming services
- LEAD App - Leadership tools
- Tithe.ly - Major giving platform
- Breeze ChMS - Acquired 2021
- Elvanto - Joined 2018
- Combined Platform - Integrated ecosystem
Management
- Subsplash - Acquired 2019
- The Church App - Mobile platform
- Pulpit AI - Acquired 2025*
- Custom Church Apps - Acquired brands
*Correction: Pulpit AI acquired by Subsplash (K1 portfolio company) in January 2025
The Transformation: Before vs After Private Equity
Before Private Equity Ownership
- Ministry-focused development priorities
- Competitive pricing and transparency
- Responsive customer service
- Church-driven feature requests
- Independent decision making
- Long-term ministry partnerships
- Data privacy and security focus
- Innovation driven by user needs
After Private Equity Takeover
- 20-30% annual return pressure
- Price increases and forced bundling
- Reduced support quality and responsiveness
- Profit-driven development priorities
- Wall Street oversight and control
- Preparation for eventual resale
- Data monetization opportunities
- Innovation focused on revenue extraction
Real Impact on Churches and Ministries
💰 Financial Pressure
Private equity ownership typically requires 20-30% annual returns, often achieved through price increases, forced platform migrations, and elimination of competitive alternatives.
🔒 Vendor Lock-in
Consolidated platforms reduce integration options and make data migration expensive, trapping churches in increasingly costly ecosystems.
📊 Data Monetization
Sensitive member, financial, and ministry data becomes a profit center for investment firms whose primary obligation is to shareholders, not congregations.
⚡ Innovation Decline
Reduced competition leads to slower development cycles and features designed to maximize recurring revenue rather than serve ministry effectiveness.
🏢 Corporate Culture
Ministry-focused teams are replaced with profit-focused management, changing the fundamental relationship between software providers and churches.
📈 Market Manipulation
By owning multiple competing brands, private equity firms can manipulate pricing across the entire market segment.
Ministry Brands: The Mega-Consolidator
The Largest Church Software Empire in History
Since 2012, Ministry Brands has executed the most aggressive acquisition strategy in church technology, growing from 3 companies to 31 acquired brands serving nearly 100,000 organizations worldwide.
Ownership Evolution:
Acquisitions by Category:
Church Management (5 brands)
Fellowship One, Shelby Systems, ParishSOFT, and others controlling core church operations
Online Giving (9 brands)
easyTithe, SimpleGive, WeShare creating giving platform monopoly
Church Websites (7 brands)
Multiple competing website platforms under single ownership
Background Screening
Protect My Ministry serving 35,000+ ministries with safety services
Visual Content
Church Motion Graphics providing worship media resources
Event Management
WeShare & WeGather platforms for parish and nonprofit events
🚩 Major Red Flags for Christian Organizations
BGH Capital & Sixth Street Partners (Controls Pushpay/CCB)
Controversial Associations: BGH has investments in Navitas education company criticized for exploiting international students. Sixth Street has financial ties to gambling industry through €517.5M investment in FC Barcelona, which sponsors 1xBet gambling platform.
Ministry Brands' Unprecedented Scale
Market Domination: Controls 95,000+ organizations and $6.5B in charitable giving - the largest concentration of church financial data in private equity hands in history.
Community Resistance
Church Concerns: Religious community members report that "financial-focused goals are not well-received" and "big companies with lots of power and intent to sell make everyone nervous."
Competing Brand Ownership
Market Manipulation: Ministry Brands uniquely owns multiple competing brands in the same categories, eliminating real competition and allowing coordinated pricing strategies.
🛡️ Independent Alternatives Still Exist
While private equity controls most of the market, several mission-focused alternatives remain independent:
Planning Center
Committed Independent: Jeff Berg (owner since 2006*) has publicly pledged to never sell and will transition to nonprofit foundation.
*Correction: Founded around 2006, not 1996
ChurchApps
Completely Free: Community-driven, completely free church management suite with transparent funding and no private equity backing.
Rock RMS
Open Source Nonprofit: Spark Development Network with suggested $4.10/member donation model and community-driven development.
ChurchCRM
Pure Open Source: Volunteer-developed, completely free with no monetization, corporate control, or data harvesting.
Life.Church Open
"Irrational Generosity": Craig Groeschel's completely free platform serving 1M+ pastors with zero subscription fees or PE backing.
OpenLP
Community Funded: Open-source presentation software with voluntary donation model and transparent development process.
📋 Fact-Checking & Source Verification
Every major claim in this document has been independently verified through credible sources including:
Official Company Sources
- Ministry Brands official website
- Private equity firm press releases
- SEC filings and acquisition announcements
- Company portfolio pages
Business Publications
- Fortune Magazine
- Business Wire
- Globe Newswire
- PR Newswire
Industry Analysis
- Church Tech Today
- M&A databases (Mergr, Tracxn)
- Market research reports
- Investment banking documentation
🔍 Verification Process
Claims were cross-referenced across multiple sources. Where discrepancies were found, corrections were made and noted inline. All sources are linked directly within the document for independent verification.
Your Church's Digital Independence Matters
Don't let Wall Street control your ministry's digital foundation. The choice you make today determines whether your church data serves your mission or private equity profits.
- Ask hard questions: Who owns your software provider? What are their profit requirements?
- Ministry Brands controls 31 competing brands and $6.5B in charitable giving
- BGH Capital has controversial investments in student exploitation schemes
- Sixth Street Partners has financial ties to gambling industry through sports investments
- Private equity ownership means 20-30% annual returns take priority over ministry needs
- Independent alternatives like Planning Center and ChurchApps remain mission-focused
- Open source options provide community-controlled, transparent alternatives
- Your choice matters: Support companies aligned with your values, not Wall Street's profits