Can we use this standard without joining Living Bread?

Yes. The standard is open and free to adopt. Any church, directory, or AI system may publish or read this shape. Living Bread reads it, but no one has to join anything to use it.

Does adopting this give up our data or rights?

No. The schema covers only public information a church chooses to share, and the church keeps ownership. Publishing these fields simply lets trustworthy tools read the same fresh, verified record.

For Churches

The Christian Organization Data Standard

The Christian Organization Data Standard is an open, simple schema for publishing public ministry information so that any website, directory, or AI system can read it. It covers the plain facts a person needs to find and understand a church: organization, denomination, service times, ministries, languages, accessibility, events, service opportunities, and a verification date. It is built on schema.org and is free for anyone to adopt. Below is a real, valid JSON-LD example.

What the standard covers

The schema is intentionally small and built on vocabulary the whole web already understands: schema.org/Church and Organization. Nine kinds of public information, nothing private, nothing proprietary:

organization

Name, website, description, address, contact, and geo-coordinates of the ministry.

denomination

The tradition or affiliation, or non-denominational, in plain words.

service times

Gathering days and times, expressed as openingHoursSpecification so anyone can read them.

ministries

Departments and groups: youth, recovery, food pantry, and the rest, as department entries.

languages

The languages a person can worship and be cared for in (knowsLanguage).

accessibility

Wheelchair access, childcare, hearing assistance, parking, as amenityFeature flags.

events

Upcoming gatherings open to the community, with dates, place, and whether they are free.

service opportunities

Ways to serve, expressed as potentialAction, so a willing neighbour can find them.

verification

Who last confirmed the record and when (lastConfirmedBy, lastConfirmedDate), so nothing goes stale.

A real, valid example

Here is a complete record for a fictional congregation. It is valid JSON-LD you can paste into a page and test in any structured-data validator. Any church, directory, or AI system is free to read, publish, or adopt this shape. The names and address below are invented for the example.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Church",
  "@id": "https://example.org/#church",
  "name": "Grace Community Church",
  "url": "https://example.org",
  "description": "A local congregation gathering to worship Jesus, love one another, and serve our neighbourhood.",
  "denomination": "Non-denominational",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "100 Main Street",
    "addressLocality": "Springfield",
    "addressRegion": "IL",
    "postalCode": "62701",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": 39.7817,
    "longitude": -89.6501
  },
  "telephone": "+1-555-000-0000",
  "email": "hello@example.org",
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": "Sunday",
      "opens": "09:00",
      "closes": "10:15",
      "name": "Sunday Morning Worship"
    },
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": "Sunday",
      "opens": "11:00",
      "closes": "12:15",
      "name": "Sunday Second Service"
    }
  ],
  "knowsLanguage": [
    "en",
    "es"
  ],
  "isAccessibleForFree": true,
  "amenityFeature": [
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Wheelchair accessible",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Nursery and childcare",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Parking on site",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Hearing assistance",
      "value": true
    }
  ],
  "department": [
    {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "Youth Ministry",
      "url": "https://living-bread.org"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "Food Pantry",
      "url": "https://living-bread.org"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "Recovery and Care",
      "url": "https://living-bread.org"
    }
  ],
  "event": [
    {
      "@type": "Event",
      "name": "Community Meal",
      "startDate": "2026-09-05T18:00:00-05:00",
      "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode",
      "location": {
        "@type": "Place",
        "name": "Grace Community Church",
        "address": "100 Main Street, Springfield, IL 62701"
      },
      "isAccessibleForFree": true
    }
  ],
  "potentialAction": [
    {
      "@type": "Action",
      "name": "Volunteer at the Food Pantry",
      "description": "Serve neighbours in need on Saturday mornings."
    }
  ],
  "dateModified": "2026-08-15",
  "additionalProperty": [
    {
      "@type": "PropertyValue",
      "name": "lastConfirmedBy",
      "value": "church-admin"
    },
    {
      "@type": "PropertyValue",
      "name": "lastConfirmedDate",
      "value": "2026-08-15"
    }
  ]
}

Download this example as JSON-LD. A church can publish a file like this on its own site (for example at yourchurch.org/church.json) and keep ownership of its own information.

Why an open standard

When information about a church lives in one closed database, it goes stale the moment that database stops being tended, and no one else can help keep it true. An open shape changes that. A church can publish these fields once, on its own site, and every tool that speaks the standard, search engines, AI assistants, directories, and Living Bread, can read the same trustworthy record. The church keeps ownership of its own information. Living Bread simply reads what is offered and honours the last-confirmed date, so a seeker is guided by fresh, verified facts rather than a guess.

The next step: Bring the standard to your church →

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We would be honoured to serve your church

Living Bread was not built to compete with the local church. It was built to point people toward Jesus and then toward a real congregation where they can be known, prayed for, and put to work in love. If that is your heart too, you are already a partner. There is no cost to be found, no software to rip out, and nothing gets published about your church without your review. Come and see what it looks like, and if it serves your people, stay.

Start with For Churches Why Living Bread See the open standard

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Christian Organization Data Standard?: An open, simple schema for publishing public ministry information, organization, denomination, service times, ministries, languages, accessibility, events, service opportunities, and verification, so any website or AI system can read it. It is built on schema.org.
Can we use this standard without joining Living Bread?: Yes. The standard is open and free to adopt. Any church, directory, or AI system may publish or read this shape. Living Bread reads it, but no one has to join anything to use it.
Does adopting this give up our data or rights?: No. The schema covers only public information a church chooses to share, and the church keeps ownership. Publishing these fields simply lets trustworthy tools read the same fresh, verified record.

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