Reaching Millennials for Jesus

What is a millennial?

The term "millennial" refers to the generation born between 1982 and 2004. This group of young people is the first to be born in a dominantly digital world, so it's no surprise they are usually associated with knowing and loving technology. 

There are more than 76 million millennials in the US alone, and millennials make up the most diverse and largest generation in history. What an incredible opportunity for the Church to engage such an influential group!

How are churches blocked in reaching millennials?

Most millennials are used to immediate and convenient access to almost everything. The Church has a unique opportunity to use the channels that are most likely to reach them, namely platforms that they interact with all the time like social media and apps, in an effort to engage them.

When churches don't take millennials preferences and tendencies into consideration, they struggle to engage with them in meaningful ways. By being slow to adopt new technology and methods of communication, the church is less effective in reaching this generation. Millennials have grown up with smartphones, so a customized app is the most effective way to reach them.

What can you do?

There are some very practical things you can do to take steps towards meaningful interactions with millennials. Here are 5 ways that we will unpack in part 2 of this series! 

1. Ask questions

2. Get millennials to volunteer at your church

3. Don't change your message, but the way it's communicated

4. Help millennials feel like they are part of the mission/story

5. Use your app

Get in touch with us to learn more! 

5 Ways Technology Helps the Church

Our passion is to help churches and ministries leverage technology to help more people hear the Gospel message. Here are a few ways we think technology benefits the church...

1. Wider Reach

In a day when communication travels faster than ever and is immediately available, we have an opportunity as followers of Christ to take advantage of new tools for sharing the Gospel. 

Whether you are creating an app, starting a podcast, or leveraging another communication tool powered by modern technology, you can reach more people with Gospel content than any other time in history. 

2. Cultural Relevance

Our reception or rejection of technology sends a strong message to the culture around us. The best way to reach people with the good news of Jesus is to meet them where they are at in a way that's convenient to them.

Reaching people through technology, specifically mobile technology, is one of the most effective ways to help people see how much you care to see them engage with life changing content.

3. Increased Productivity

Streamlined processes and efficiency are much more common place with smartphones that act as a calendars, phone books, and communication tools all in one. Leveraging mobile technology to get more done in less time can help church staff focus on more initiatives and love more people.

4. Better Stewardship

The costs associated with older ways of doing things can be a major budget drain for many churches and ministries. For example, by making certain resources digital, churches can avoid costs associated with printing out bulletins, song lyrics, or event flyers, providing an opportunity for better stewardship. 

5. Greater Engagement

Nothing can replace the value in face-to-face interactions with real people, but the truth is we live in a mobile world, and being more technologically savvy helps organizations stay more connected and more engaged with their people. 

We want to help you see some of these benefits play out in your church with a customized mobile app. Let's chat!

Shiny New Update: Your Video and Audio Player

Who doesn't like new things? We certainly do, which is why we've upped the shine factor on our video and audio player. Here are a few of the improvements you're going to see to the video player: 

Your play position will now save! That's right, go ahead, answer that call or text. Your video will be waiting right where you left off, no scrubbing necessary!

Now you have direct access to sharing and Airplay controls, making social sharing and streaming on your device of choice just a few taps away.

We have a new 15-second rewind button! Interruptions happen. That's why we want to make it super simple for you to skip back if you happen to miss something. Don't miss a single word of your sermon with this cool new feature.

But that's not all! We've made some improvements to the audio player as well:

New 15-second fast forward and rewind buttons. Easily skip ahead to your favorite part of that song you love, or rewind to hear that great line again in the sermon you're listening to.

See your favorite app's artwork in an even larger view. 

Call us today to see what other exciting features are available for your own customized app! 

Ways To Encourage Your Pastor To Go Mobile

Whether you're just an attendee or a staff member, it can be challenging to push for new ideas and initiatives at your church when time and resources are limited. And let's face it, change is scary!

While churches are increasingly embracing technology and influential church leaders are inviting pastors to consider how they can utilize technology to reach their congregation, it can still take some convincing for church leaders to get on board with the switch from more traditional methods, to adopting newer ones. 

To help you out, we've put together a list of a few tips on how to convince your pastor that it's time to go mobile!

Show them the facts

With 2.2 million mobile device users globally, developing a mobile app strategy is the most effective way to reach people with the good news of the Gospel. Not only that, but mobile users spend nearly 3 hours every day on their smartphones, and a staggering 89% of time spent by users on mobile is in an app. 

These numbers speak loud and clear: if you want to reach people, the best way to do it is on their mobile devices. With all of the great content your church creates, developing a mobile strategy will get your sermons, music, and blog posts in the hands of more people.

Share the benefits

We like to talk about five main benefits of creating a customized mobile app:

• Deeper engagement from your community with content that is easy to add in the Subsplash Dashboard
• Enhanced presence by having your app available in every app store, and on all devices
• Saved time and resources by providing a quick, secure mobile giving solution with Subsplash Giving
• Simplify your process by housing all of your content in the Subsplash Dashboard, and tracking your analytics in one place
• Showcase your brand by presenting your media in a beautifully designed app and unparalleled mobile experience.

We have some other tips for you that will involve your active participation in setting up an app for your church or ministry. Stay tuned for part two of this series!

6 Benefits of Going Mobile

The mobile industry has revolutionized the way we interact with digital media, and mobile growth isn’t slowing down. How is your mobile strategy going? Here are six specific benefits of going mobile: 

1. Audiences spend 20% more time on mobile than desktop

With the majority of people spending their time on mobile versus desktop, building out a mobile strategy for your organization is no longer a luxury. The first step towards going mobile is a mobile-friendly website. By creating a website optimized for mobile you won’t only reach your audience where they spend their time, but you’ll also return higher in Google searches because of Google’s latest ranking signal based on mobile.

Your website is often your organization’s first shot at making a good impression. If resources are limited, consider only optimizing the most important pages of your site first, and then expanding from there.

2. Millennials Love Mobile

With millennials spending so much of their time on their mobile devices and making up 25% of the U.S. population, targeting this group as part of your mobile strategy will help you to increase your impact and help deepen the relationship between your brand and upcoming generations.

3. Access to your Audience 24X7

Mobile phones are no longer a practical accessory, they are planner, cell phone, email inbox, and entertainment source wrapped into one. With mobile phones always being in reach, you can access your audience with ease.

By adding a mobile app to your communication strategy, you can reach your audience with push notifications and connect with them anytime, anywhere.

4. Personalized Content

With all of the personalization opportunities on mobile, you can tailor your content to fit your audience’s needs. Using the information you already have about your audience, you can personalize your audience’s experience with your brand from their first interactions with your content.

Personalizing content for your audience increases customer satisfaction and causes people to want to interact with your media for longer periods of time.

5. Drive Brand Loyalty

Mobile app users tend to revisit the apps that they love frequently. By continually improving your content for mobile, you can grab your audience’s attention and keep them coming back for more, reinforcing your brand’s trustworthiness.

6. Delight Your Audience

Part of the draw of mobile is the ability to get information quickly and easily. Having easy access to content is no longer a luxury, but an expectation for audiences. Creating high-quality content that delights your audience and is easily accessible, is sure to create a stronger bond between you and your community.