Latest news with #faithbased
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pushpay targets church payment niche
This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. The payments company Pushpay has a clientele that makes it stand out from its industry peers. Rather than processing purchases for for-profit companies, the Redmond, Washington-based firm handles donations to faith-based non-profits. Pushpay CEO Kenny Wyatt explained this month how the Redmond, Washington-based company moved to the U.S. and settled on this niche customer base after being founded by New Zealanders Chris Heaslip and Eliot Crowther in 2011. Wyatt joined the company last year and became CEO last month. The vast majority of the company's customers are churches, he said. A Pushpay spokesperson declined to say what the company charges customers in monthly and transaction fees. In a May 9 interview, Wyatt noted that processing donations is different from handling other kinds of transactions, such as credit card purchases. The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. PAYMENTS DIVE: Tell me how Pushpay got started. KENNY WYATT: We were founded primarily as a payments provider focused on faith-based organizations as well as nonprofits, and we've continued to grow and move into more pieces of that category. Our church management system pairs churches with donations. We've also moved into streaming content, streaming media. We work with some of the largest churches in the United States. We serve about 15,000 churches preliminary across the U.S. Can you tell me a little bit about the history of your company? Our U.S. headquarters is here [in Redmond, Washington]. We were founded in New Zealand. The founders both came from New Zealand, but since the vast majority of our customers are here in the U.S., we consider the Great Northwest our home. Can you talk a bit more about the services you provide? I'll start with the software side. If you're an executive pastor for a church, what you care deeply about is connection. Who is walking through your front door, or who is watching you on a livestream? How do you create a connection? Sunday services, Wednesday services, running child check-ins, the volunteer schedule, the people database — organizing those things, that's the software piece of it. But the church all started around the congregants who walk in the front door [and donate to the church], and that's where the payments piece picks up. As they are in the service, or even outside of the service, they use the payments platform to process credit card donations or ACH donations. Do churches only see cash, credit card or ACH donations? Congregants can process crypto as well as other non-cash gifts [such as stock in a company]. Are stock and crypto donations common? It's a small total, but it does represent the largest gifts. We're seeing quite a few donations come through crypto. While it's a small percentage of total donation volume, it's multiples of cash or credit card gifts. How do you make money? The insights we can provide, people data, donation data, taking in the processes by which the church is operating and helping them do that better, that is worth something to them. [We charge] a monthly fee, and that gives them rich insights about their congregants. And then on the payments side, we are a payments business, so depending on the type of payment, we're collecting a very small fee. But it's making it much easier for the church to be able to collect donations and fund its ministry. Is processing donations different from processing payments for for-profit companies? The interface can be a bit different. If you're sitting at a service and there is a giving moment, there are multiple ways you can give. One is a recurring gift that you can set up on ACH or a credit card. One is a QR code, which is for new joiners or new congregants. Another is to be able to interact through a website or through a giving platform. We just launched Tap to Give [which lets congregants donate by tapping a button on a mobile app] a couple of weeks ago. Apple Pay has been adopted pretty heavily by many of our churches because of the ease of giving through the phone. There are a multitude of ways that congregants will engage that are different from swiping a credit card Recommended Reading BNPL growth prompts change from credit bureaus
Forbes
7 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Animated Biblical Movie Hit ‘The King Of Kings' Is Now Streaming
A scene from "The King of Kings." The King of Kings — the animated faith-based movie starring the voices of Oscar Isaac and Pierce Brosnan — is now on digital streaming. The King of Kings opened in theaters on April 11. The logline for the movie reads, 'Inspired by Charles Dickens, The King of Kings features a father telling his son the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. 'Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love, and redemption through the eyes of a child.' The voice cast of The King of Kings includes Isaac as Jesus Christ, Brosnan as Pontius Pilate, Kenneth Branagh as Charles Dickens, Uma Thurman as Catherine Dickens, Mark Hamill as King Herod, Roman Griffin Davis as Walter Dickens, Forest Whitaker as Peter and Ben Kingsley as High Priest Caiaphas. The King of Kings, per a press release from Angel Studios, is available on premium video on demand. However, viewers can only purchase or rent the movie on Apple TV or Fandango at Home. The digital purchase price of the movie is $24.99. Star Wars icon and prolific voice actor Mark Hamill was impressed with the way director Seong-ho Jang brought The King of Kings to life, especially in the way he creatively weaved Charles Dickens (Kenneth Branagh) and his son, Walter (Roman Griffith Davis), into the story. He's really known for being a master of special effects, this is his first time as a director,' Hamill told Screen Rant in early May. 'The visuals are astonishing, it has an epic feel to it, and it's not like they fade away from Charles and Walter in London and go to the story. 'They are in the story, and that's what I thought was so strong was that Walter is able to observe all of these things in real-time,' Hamill added. 'It's just a clever way to involve the audience, and that's why I had a feeling, 'This will be very appealing to the younger audiences, at least.'" The King of Kings was a big hit in theaters, earning $60 million in domestic ticket sales and nearly $6.9 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $66.9 million. The King of Kings had a production budget of $15 million before prints and advertising, per Collider. Rated PG, The King of Kings is exclusively available on PVOD on Apple TV and Fandango at Home.
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Hit Animated Biblical Movie ‘The King Of Kings' Gets Streaming Date
"The King of Kings" partial poster. Angel Studios The King of Kings — Angel Studios' hit animated Biblical movie starring the voices of Oscar Issac and Pierce Brosnan — is coming soon to digital streaming. Rated PG, The King of Kings opened in theaters on April 11 and set a record for the biggest opening weekend for an animated faith-based film with $19 million in ticket sales from 3,200 theaters domestically. The tally was enough to beat the record previously set by 1998's The Prince of Egypt, which earned $14.5 million in North American theaters in its opening weekend. The official summary for the movie reads, 'Inspired by Charles Dickens, The King of Kings features a father telling his son the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. 'Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love, and redemption through the eyes of a child.' Directed by Seong-Ho Jang, The King of Kings stars the voices of Isaac as Jesus Christ, Brosnan as Pontius Pilate, Kenneth Branagh as Charles Dickens, Uma Thurman as Catherine Dickens, Mark Hamill as King Herod, Roman Griffin Davis as Walter Dickens, Forest Whitaker as Peter, and Ben Kingsley as High Priest Caiaphas. Angel Studios announced in a press release on Thursday that The King of Kings will be released on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Tuesday, May 27, exclusively on Apple TV and Fandango at Home. The studio did not indicate how much The King of Kings will cost to purchase or rent on PVOD. Generally, PVOD purchases cost anywhere from $14.99 to $29.99, and rentals cost anywhere from $9.99 to $24.99 for a 48-hour period. The release of The King of Kings on digital streaming marks Angel Studios' first offering of one of its films on PVOD. The King of Kings to date has earned $60 million from North American theaters and $6.8 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $66.8 million. The King of Kings had a reported budget of $15 million before prints and advertising costs, according to Collider. The King of Kings earned a 63% 'fresh' rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 56 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus reads, 'Putting the Christ story in an approachable frame for children, The King of Kings isn't the most sophisticated example of family animation but makes for a solidly watchable Sunday school.' The film also received a 97% 'fresh' score on RT's Popcornmeter based on 2,500-plus verified user ratings. The RT audience summary reads, 'A meaningful offering from Angel Studios, The King of Kings movingly tells the story of the four Gospels with reverence and grace, and is revelatory for believers of all ages.' The King of Kings arrives exclusively on Apple TV and Fandango at Home on PVOD on May 27.
Fox News
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Kennedy Center promotes first explicitly pro-Christian feature in years as part of new ‘family-friendly' focus
The Kennedy Center is seeking to revamp its family-focused programming, including through offering more explicitly faith-based content that has often been left off the center's agenda. To kick off the new focus, the Kennedy Center will be holding a free family screening of the new Angel Studios animated movie "The King of Kings," which journeys through the life of Jesus from the viewpoint of a young boy who, throughout the movie, discovers the transformative power of faith. It is the first Jesus-centric show there since 2022. The "King of Kings" screening, which will be held on Sunday, June 1, marks a shift to providing more pro-Christian content at the Kennedy Center. According to the center, the only recent modern production that could be considered "Christian" was a 2022 showing of "Jesus Christ Superstar," a musical from the early 1970s that some critics (at least initially, such as the late Rev. Billy Graham) considered sacrilegious. "When I saw the advertising campaign for 'King of Kings,' I immediately knew we needed to have it come to the Kennedy Center," Ambassador Richard Grenell, President of The Kennedy Center, said. "And then coincidentally, I was asked to be on a panel with the CEO of Angel Studios, so I cornered him. This is family-friendly programming that we will be doing more of in the future." The special screening of "King of Kings" will mark the center's first Jesus-centric show since "Jesus Christ Superstar," the Kennedy Center indicated. The venue has hosted gospel singers and classical performances by composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, some of which were originally commissioned for church music. "The King of Kings has become the most successful theatrically released faith-based animated film in history," said David Fischer, Head of Acquisitions & Business Affairs at Angel Studios. "But its greatest achievement is in the hearts it's moved—and its screening at the Kennedy Center is a symbol of just how far truth and light can travel." The film, which came out last month, saw a strong box office performance, earning $19.3 million during its first weekend in theaters. It is produced by Angel Studios, which is a crowd-funded streaming service and film studio that produces a lot of pro-Christian content and aims to help boost independent creators.
Fox News
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Kennedy Center seeks to expand 'family-friendly' programming, starts with free Christian film screening
The Kennedy Center is seeking to revamp its family-focused programming, including through offering more faith-based content that has often been left off the center's agenda. To kick off the new focus, the Kennedy Center will be holding a free family screening of the new Angel Studios animated movie "The King of Kings," which journeys through the life of Jesus from the viewpoint of a young boy who, throughout the movie, discovers the transformative power of faith. The "King of Kings" screening, which will be held on Sunday, June 1, also marks a shift to providing more pro-Christian content at the Kennedy Center. According to the center, the only recent modern production that could be considered "Christian" was a 2022 showing of "Jesus Christ Superstar," a musical from the early 1970s that was considered by some critics, at least initially, such as the late Rev. Billy Graham, for being sacrilegious. "When I saw the advertising campaign for 'King of Kings' I immediately knew we needed to have it come to the Kennedy Center," Ambassador Richard Grenell, President of The Kennedy Center, said. "And then coincidentally, I was asked to be on a panel with the CEO of Angel Studios, so I cornered him. This is family-friendly programming that we will be doing more of in the future." The special screening of "King of Kings" will mark the center's first Jesus-centric show since "Jesus Christ Superstar," the Kennedy Center indicated. The venue has hosted gospel singers and classical performances by composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, some of which were originally commissioned for church music. "The King of Kings has become the most successful theatrically released faith-based animated film in history," David Fischer, Head of Acquisitions & Business Affairs at Angel Studios, said. "But its greatest achievement is in the hearts it's moved—and its screening at the Kennedy Center is a symbol of just how far truth and light can travel." The film, which came out last month, saw a strong box office performance, earning $19.3 million during its first weekend in theaters. It is produced by Angel Studios, which is a crowd-funded streaming service and film studio that produces a lot of pro-Christian content and aims to help boost independent creators.
