Client Spotlight: CRISTA Ministries

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Watch the official CRISTA Ministries app video

"CRISTA is a family of ministries loving God by serving people worldwide in the areas of education, international relief & development, senior living, and media. Our seven Christian ministries serve all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender."

We love when our clients innovate and find new ways to reach their audience and share their apps. CRISTA Ministries did just that in this nice little video sharing the features and value of their app.

CRISTA Ministries is a multifaceted organization that encompasses everything from a K-12 school to World Concern, a ministry focused on global relief efforts.  I was able to speak with Ben Wilson from CRISTA on their app experience. "As a unique organization comprised of 7 different ministries, we love the ability for this app to provide an outlet to all parts of CRISTA on the first screen that pops up. Live streaming events, from high school football games to devotions to CEO addresses to our staff, has made this app functional for the staff we have throughout the country. All in all, the creation of the app and our relationship with Subsplash have been seamless. We’re proud to have you as a partner and thrilled at how our app will be able to evolve over time."

Client Spotlight: Grace Christian School

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How do you keep busy parents up to date on everything that’s happening at their children’s schools? For Grace Christian School, a private K-12 school in Alaska, the answer was simple: with an app!

“The app is simply a great connection tool,” explains Shannon Dow, the school’s Publications Coordinator. The Grace Christian School app includes school announcements, calendars, lunch schedules, blog entries, forms and other tools for parents.

In addition to schools, Subsplash powers apps for radio stations, businesses and a broad variety of organizations. “Our platform is incredibly versatile and can accommodate a wide range of needs,” says Chris Sharpe, Director of Marketing at Subsplash.

Dow and her team first became acquainted with Subsplash when a local church created an app with Subsplash. “We knew we wanted an app as a tool for our families.  We wanted to be up-to-date and put all the information they needed right in the palm of their hands in a very accessible way,” says Dow.

In addition to providing parents with all the information they need in one consolidated place, Dow notes that the app also provides a connection point for parents who don’t use social media. “Not everybody is into Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.  So when they don’t have an account for one of those social media sites, they usually don’t get to see the content we are sharing there,” Dow explains. “The app bridges this gap for us.”

With close to 1,000 downloads, Dow and her team are thrilled with the app. “We saw the download numbers grow quickly.  It was exciting to see our vision play out and to know that we were giving our families the connection point they had been looking for.”

Dow plans to continue to expand the app’s offerings. This school year, she plans to add weekly chapel sermons so that parents can listen to the messages and discuss them with their kids. “It’s all about connecting,” says Dow.  ”Connecting our parents to the information they need, as well as giving them an opportunity to connect more deeply with their kids about what is going on during their day, and ultimately it makes them feel more connected to the school,” she explains.

If you’re interested in creating an app for your school or organization, contact us!

Download the Grace Christian School app here.

Stories from The Church: The Village Church

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"Thank you to all the Subsplash staff who worked to get our mobile app live this week. We’ve received rave reviews already about it because it provides one more medium to extend our messages about the gospel out to the world. Your team worked tirelessly and patiently with us to get this accomplished. I cannot thank you enough for all you guys have done. We love you guys and pray the Lord’s rich blessings on you and your team members. May the gospel be shared over and over through the work you guys do and may our great King’s name be glorified.”

-Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor of The Village Church

The Village Church, lead by Pastor Matt Chandler, is a church of 10,000 people across four campuses in the Dallas, Texas area. "The Village Church exists to bring glory to God by making disciples through gospel-centered worship, gospel-centered community, gospel-centered service and gospel-centered multiplication. The gospel is the story of God reconciling and redeeming a broken creation and fallen creatures to Himself through the life, death, resurrection and future return of Jesus Christ. Our hope and desire is that the gospel would stand at the center of all that we do. It is what directs and defines us. It is our identity." Since launching in May of 2012 The Village Church App has had almost 150,000 downloads, 15x more than their congregation.

I was able to catch up with Scott Ballard, Web Manager at The Village Church, to talk about the impact that The Church App has been having on their church.

Q: What was the heart behind creating your app?

A:“The purpose of creating the app for us was another way to get the Gospel out to an audience we may or may not have been reaching in the first place. We really appreciate the ease of getting the Gospel in the hands and hearts of people through The Church App. We’ve really enjoyed the experience so far and it is serving us really well.” said Ballard.

Q: Have there been any surprising benefits of the app?

A:“We have been especially pleased with the amount of traffic/impressions coming through the app. Social traffic has been huge and much greater than anticipated. Not only that, but the global impact has been really tangible through the app.”

Q: Do you have anything you'd like to share about your experience with The Church App?

A:“Your level of service has been exceptional. TCA is fantastic and your heart to get the gospel out really struck me. We like to partner with people that love the Lord and the Gospel. There is nothing remotely negative to list. The Church App has been a welcomed addition to our family, and has really met our need and served the body well.”

 Download The Village Church App here.