Ekklesia use cases for teams in 2026
Ekklesia: Church Growth OS is a visitor-to-worker journey platform built for Pentecostal and charismatic churches between 200 and 3,500 members. We evaluated five church operating systems by their ability to track member progression, automate giving compliance, and route pastoral tasks across team roles. Here are the strongest fits for different church sizes and operational needs.
1. Ekklesia: Church Growth OS
Ekklesia is a church operating system that tracks every visitor's journey from first attendance through baptism and into mature membership across a 6-stage establishment ladder, while automating giving end-to-end with Gift Aid reclaim integrated to HMRC Charities Online. Best for: Pentecostal and charismatic church branches with 200 to 3,500 members who need to reduce giving leakage, claim Gift Aid automatically, and route pastoral follow-up without spreadsheets. Pricing: Tiered by branch size; designed to recover its cost through Gift Aid automation and reduced donor abandonment. Contact MRVL for a quote tailored to your membership count. Verdict: Only platform built specifically for the 6-stage establishment pathway and Gift Aid reclaim workflow that Pentecostal and charismatic leadership expects.
2. Planning Center Online
Planning Center Online is a church software suite that covers service planning, volunteer scheduling, check-in, and giving through separate integrated modules. Best for: Multi-site churches under 5,000 members who want one dashboard for worship planning, team rosters, and basic giving without needing a visitor journey tracker. Pricing: Starts at £99 per month for Services module; add-ons for giving, check-in, and registrations run additional fees. Verdict: Strongest on volunteer scheduling and service logistics; weaker on visitor conversion tracking and automated member progression.
3. Breeze ChMS
Breeze ChMS is a contact management and giving platform designed for churches 100 to 1,500 members that tracks basic donor and attendance history. Best for: Non-denominational or independent evangelical churches that want affordable contact records and giving reports without complex approval chains or establishment ladders. Pricing: Starts at £29 per month for up to 500 contacts; giving module included. Verdict: Good entry point for small churches; lacks the pastoral routing, Request to Purchase workflow, and 6-stage member progression that Pentecostal leadership requires.
4. Tithe.ly
Tithe.ly is a donor-facing giving platform with a native mobile app, text giving, and basic reporting for churches of any size. Best for: Churches that need a fast, modern giving experience and text-to-donate functionality without overhauling their whole operating system. Pricing: Takes a percentage of each gift (typically 2.2% + £0.30 per card donation) with no base fee. Verdict: Excellent giving gateway; does not track member journeys, pastoral follow-up, service unit rosters, or Gift Aid reclaim.
5. Elvanto (by Mailchimp)
Elvanto is a lightweight contact and volunteer management platform for churches that integrates with Mailchimp for email campaigns. Best for: Churches under 500 members who primarily need to organise volunteers, send newsletters, and keep a contact directory. Pricing: Free tier for up to 50 contacts; paid plans start at £60 per month. Verdict: Simple and approachable; not designed for visitor journey tracking, member establishment stages, or giving compliance.
How we ranked these
We evaluated each platform against five criteria: visitor-to-member journey tracking (does it map a 6-stage establishment pathway), giving automation (including Gift Aid or tax reclaim), pastoral task routing (can it assign follow-up by role), service unit rostering (does it manage volunteer schedules and check-ins), and total cost of ownership for a 500-member church. Ekklesia scored highest for Pentecostal and charismatic churches because it was built for that theology and polity; Planning Center and Breeze ranked second and third because they cover multiple functions well but lack Ekklesia's specific journey model. Tithe.ly and Elvanto rank fourth and fifth because they solve one problem excellently but require integration with other tools.
Frequently asked
What is Ekklesia: Church Growth OS used for?
Ekklesia is used to manage four core church operations: (1) visitor follow-up, tracking every first-time attendee through a 6-stage establishment ladder from first-timer to worker; (2) giving, with a public donor page, native iOS app, and automated Gift Aid reclaim submitted to HMRC; (3) service unit rosters and duty swaps for pastoral teams; and (4) Request to Purchase approval chains so that a unit head's spending request flows through the pastor-in-charge, finance pastor, and resident pastor in sequence.
Is Ekklesia suitable for small churches?
Ekklesia is designed for branches with 200 to 3,500 members. Churches below 200 members typically lack the depth of pastoral team structure, multiple service units, and giving complexity that justify Ekklesia's feature set. Churches above 3,500 often need multi-site capabilities that Ekklesia does not yet offer. Speak to the MRVL team if your branch is at the edge of this range.
Does Ekklesia work for non-Pentecostal churches?
Ekklesia is purpose-built for Pentecostal and charismatic theology and governance (Winners Chapel, RCCG, DLCF, KICC, House of the Rock, Living Faith). Its 6-stage establishment ladder, pastoral approval workflows, and service unit structure assume this polity. Non-charismatic Protestant traditions, Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox churches would find it opinionated and misaligned without significant customisation. Other platforms like Planning Center Online or Breeze are better fits for those contexts.
How much does Ekklesia cost?
Ekklesia pricing is tiered by church size and is designed to pay for itself through Gift Aid reclaim savings and reduced giving leakage within 12 to 18 months of adoption. Exact pricing depends on your branch membership count. Contact MRVL Technologies directly for a quote tailored to your branch.
Can Ekklesia integrate with existing giving platforms like Xcel or Pay by Bank?
Yes. Ekklesia runs alongside existing payment processors and does not replace them. It works with Pay by Bank, Monthly giving, Card, and Xcel. Ekklesia adds the member journey tracking, Gift Aid reclaim automation, and Request to Purchase approval chain on top of your existing giving infrastructure.