Knowledge > Products > ITW Premium
IllustrateTheWord Premium Overview
What It Is
IllustrateTheWord (ITW) is a sermon illustration library for pastors and preachers. Live at illustratetheword.com, it serves approximately 50,000 curated illustrations through a materialized view sourced from over 327,000 records in the unified_rag_content table. Pastors search by topic, scripture, emotion, theological tradition, or source type to find stories, analogies, quotes, and insights that bring sermons to life.
ITW is a B2C content product -- pastors subscribe individually, not through their church. It operates independently from ChurchWiseAI's B2B products (voice agent, chatbot) though they share the same Supabase database and the illustration content feeds the ChurchWiseAI RAG pipeline.
Key Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Domain | illustratetheword.com |
| Codebase | sermon-illustrations/ |
| Deploy branch | master |
| Framework | Next.js 16, React 19, Tailwind 4 |
| Auth | Supabase Auth (email/password, Google OAuth, magic link) |
| Payments | Stripe |
| Total content | ~327K rows in unified_rag_content |
| Served content | ~50,000 illustrations via dir_illustrations SQL view |
| Content types | 26 types (see Content Types table below) |
| Embedding model | OpenAI text-embedding-3-small (1536 dimensions) |
Pricing
ITW has three access tiers with no trial period -- customers subscribe immediately at checkout.
| Tier | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Free (no account) | $0 | Browse ~7,000 public illustrations. Search by topic, scripture, emotion, tradition. No login required. |
| Free Signup | $0 | ~68% of library (~34,000 illustrations). Requires free account with email verification. |
| Premium | $9.95/mo or $99.50/yr | All 50,000+ illustrations including exclusive types (movie analogies, devotionals, lens perspectives, etc.). ~17% annual savings. |
Stripe IDs
| Environment | Monthly Price ID | Annual Price ID |
|---|---|---|
| Test | price_1TDLLLF8WTm3d6SHDBHvO5Pv | price_1TDLLMF8WTm3d6SHin6nUTlR |
| Live | See PRICING.md | See PRICING.md |
Billing Rules
- No trial period -- immediate charge at checkout
- Annual billing saves ~17% ($99.50/yr = $8.29/mo effective vs $9.95/mo)
- Cancellation: access continues until end of billing period
- Managed via Stripe billing portal (update payment, download invoices, cancel)
Content Types
ITW serves 26 distinct content types, each with its own editorial style and visibility rules:
| Content Type | Description | Visibility |
|---|---|---|
sermon_illustration | Core product -- illustrative stories for sermons | Mixed (quality-gated) |
historical_illustration | Historical events and figures as sermon material | Public |
poetry_illustration | Poetry and verse for sermon enhancement | Free Signup |
biblical_insight | Deep-dive biblical analysis and context | Free Signup |
story | Narrative illustrations (personal, fictional, real-world) | Free Signup |
quote | Notable quotes from theologians, leaders, thinkers | Free Signup |
movie_analogy | Film scenes and themes as sermon illustrations | Premium |
devotional | Devotional reflections tied to scripture | Premium |
lens_perspective | Tradition-specific theological perspectives | Premium |
application_point | Practical application suggestions for sermons | Premium |
theological_reflection | In-depth theological exploration | Free Signup |
churchwiseai_commentary | Platform-generated commentary | Free Signup |
theological_quote | Quotes from theological works | Free Signup |
trivia_illustration | Fun facts and trivia for sermon engagement | Free Signup |
show_dont_tell_prompt | Creative writing prompts for preachers | Premium |
vivid_retelling | Biblical narrative retellings in vivid prose | Premium |
character_profile | Biblical character studies | Premium |
prayer | Prayers tied to themes and scripture | Free Signup |
spiritual_discipline | Spiritual practice guides | Premium |
fable_illustration | Fables and parables for illustration | Free Signup |
analogy | Conceptual analogies for theological ideas | Free Signup |
tv_analogy | Television scenes as sermon illustrations | Free Signup |
contemporary | Current events and modern culture references | Free Signup |
lensline | Short tradition-specific one-liners | Free Signup |
| + 2 additional minor types | Various | Varies |
Visibility Tier System
Content visibility is assigned by scripts/assign-visibility-tiers.mjs and stored in the visibility_tier column of unified_rag_content:
| Tier | Percentage | Criteria | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public | ~18% (~7,000) | All historical_illustration + top ~50 per non-premium type (quality_score >= 0.75 AND word_count >= 100) | Anyone, no account needed |
| Free Signup | ~68% (~34,000) | Majority of non-premium content types | Requires free account |
| Premium | ~14% (~7,000) | Premium-exclusive types (movie_analogy, devotional, lens_perspective, application_point, show_dont_tell_prompt, spiritual_discipline, character_profile, vivid_retelling) + highest-quality sermon_illustration | Active subscription |
Visibility Check Pseudocode
function canViewContent(illustration, user, subscription) {
if (illustration.visibility_tier === 'public')
return true
if (illustration.visibility_tier === 'free_signup')
return user !== null // any signed-in user
if (illustration.visibility_tier === 'premium')
return subscription?.status in ['active', 'trialing']
return false
}
Theological Traditions
ITW supports 17 theological traditions plus a universal lens, stored in sai_theological_lenses (18 rows). Each illustration can be tagged with a theological_lens_id linking it to a specific tradition, or marked as is_universal = true for cross-tradition content.
The 17 traditions span the full Christian spectrum:
| Family | Traditions |
|---|---|
| Reformed | Reformed, Presbyterian, Baptist (Reformed), Anglican |
| Liturgical | Catholic, Orthodox, Episcopal, Lutheran |
| Evangelical | Evangelical, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal |
| Community | Non-denominational, Charismatic, Vineyard |
| Other | Wesleyan, Mennonite |
Tradition filtering is a major browse axis -- pastors can find illustrations that resonate with their specific theological context.
Architecture Overview
Content Sources (ai-sermon-assistant)
|
v
unified_rag_content (~327K rows)
| - content, metadata, embedding, visibility_tier
| - Enriched: topics, themes, emotions, keywords, doctrines
|
v
dir_illustrations (~50K rows, SQL view — live data)
| - Read-only live view for website queries
|
v
ITW Website (sermon-illustrations/)
| - Browse: /topics, /scriptures, /emotions, /traditions, /sources
| - Search: full-text search via search_vector tsvector
| - Detail: /illustrations/[slug]
| - Gating: visibility_tier checked against user auth state
|
v
Supabase Auth + Stripe
| - Free signup: email/password, Google OAuth, magic link
| - Premium: Stripe checkout -> user_subscriptions table
| - Portal: manage subscription, update payment, cancel
Relationship to Other Products
Shared Content Pool
ITW's content in unified_rag_content also feeds:
- ChurchWiseAI chatbot RAG -- sermon illustrations are searchable by the church chatbot when answering theological questions
- ChurchWiseAI voice agent RAG -- voice agent can reference illustrations when handling discipleship-related calls
- SermonWise AI -- sermon preparation tools use the same illustration pool
Independent Auth
ITW uses its own Supabase Auth flow and user_subscriptions table. It does NOT share auth with PewSearch (token-based) or ChurchWiseAI (separate auth context). A pastor can have an ITW Premium subscription AND a ChurchWiseAI plan -- they are billed separately.
MailerLite Integration
Signup includes an optional newsletter opt-in checkbox. When checked, a fire-and-forget POST goes to /api/newsletter, which proxies to MailerLite via the ChurchWiseAI API (ITW does not have its own MailerLite key -- it uses the CWA proxy).
B2C Cross-Property Loyalty Discount
Pastors who already subscribe to SermonWise AI (or future ShareWiseAI) receive a 20% recurring loyalty discount on ITW Premium at checkout. The discount is applied automatically at Stripe checkout via a coupon stored in STRIPE_FAMILY_DISCOUNT_COUPON_ID.
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Discount | 20% recurring (applied via Stripe coupon) |
| Qualifying products | Active SermonWise AI subscription (ShareWiseAI planned) |
| Detection | GET /api/b2c-status checks user_subscriptions + pricing_tiers tables |
| UI | Loyalty discount banner on ITW pricing page ("$9.95 → $7.96/mo") |
| Post-checkout | Profile page shows discount confirmation with ?discount=sermonwise param |
| Implementation | sermon-illustrations/src/lib/b2c-loyalty.ts (getActiveB2CSubscriptions()) |
JSON-LD Structured Data
Structured data (JSON-LD) is now present on the ITW homepage and illustration listing pages to improve search engine understanding and potential rich result eligibility.
Current State (April 2026)
- Live at illustratetheword.com -- fully deployed on Vercel
- ~50,000 illustrations served through
dir_illustrationsSQL view (live, no refresh needed) - 0 paying ITW subscribers -- system is launch-ready (ChurchWiseAI has 3 Stripe subscriptions across other products)
- Stripe products mirrored in test and live modes
- Visibility tiers assigned -- public/free_signup/premium distribution complete
- 2,030 stubs remaining -- AI-generated stubs (word_count <= 30) queued for regeneration via
scripts/regenerate-stubs.mjs - Supabase Auth working -- email/password, Google OAuth, magic link all functional
- B2C loyalty discount live -- 20% off for SermonWise subscribers
- JSON-LD structured data -- homepage + listing pages
Database Tables
| Table | Purpose |
|---|---|
unified_rag_content | Source of truth for all content (~327K rows). Shared across products. |
dir_illustrations | SQL view (~50K rows). Read-only live view queried by ITW website. Always reflects current unified_rag_content. |
user_subscriptions | ITW subscription records: user_id, stripe_customer_id, status, pricing_tier_id, current_period_end |
profiles | User profiles (shared Supabase Auth) |
sai_theological_lenses | 17 traditions + 1 universal lens (18 rows) |
Code Location
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
sermon-illustrations/src/app/page.tsx | Homepage: featured illustrations, browse paths, CTA |
sermon-illustrations/src/app/pricing/page.tsx | Pricing page with tier comparison and checkout buttons |
sermon-illustrations/src/lib/stripe.ts | Stripe client initialization and price ID constants |
sermon-illustrations/src/lib/queries/illustrations.ts | Core illustration query functions |
sermon-illustrations/src/lib/queries/browse.ts | Browse-by-type query functions |
sermon-illustrations/src/lib/queries/lectionary.ts | Lectionary calendar and reading queries |
sermon-illustrations/src/lib/queries/subscriptions.ts | Subscription status queries |
sermon-illustrations/src/components/providers/AuthProvider.tsx | Auth context: user, session, isPremium |
sermon-illustrations/src/app/api/stripe/checkout/route.ts | Stripe checkout session creation |
sermon-illustrations/src/app/api/stripe/webhook/route.ts | Stripe webhook handler |
sermon-illustrations/scripts/assign-visibility-tiers.mjs | Assigns public/free_signup/premium tiers to content |
sermon-illustrations/scripts/regenerate-stubs.mjs | Regenerates AI stubs via Claude Max CLI |
sermon-illustrations/internal/content-rules.md | Content editorial rules and quality standards |
sermon-illustrations/internal/shared-database-contract.md | Database ownership and write rules |
See Also
- Content Pipeline -- how content flows from generation to website display
- Search & Browse -- browse paths, search, pagination, content gating
- Auth Flow -- signup, signin, subscription checkout, billing portal
- Voice Agent Overview -- voice agent that uses the same RAG content
- Chatbot Overview -- chatbot that queries the same illustration pool