Client Spotlight: LifeGate Denver

It was only a year ago that Pastor Nirup Alphonse and his family moved from Indiana to plant a church in the busy, urban center of Denver. With support from back home, he and his wife, Hannah, settled into one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. with the hope of advancing the kingdom of God, and helping people start new lives in Jesus. At LifeGate Denver, their deepest desire is to “make Jesus famous and to make heaven crowded.”

Subsplash (aka The Church App) has been working with LifeGate Denver almost as long as the church has been in existence, and it has been a joy to partner with them to see the Gospel move forward, and the good news of Jesus spread throughout the city of Denver.

LifeGate Denver utilizes Subsplash mobile apps and it has made a huge impact on their ministry. Nirup and his team have definitely maximized the use of their app to reinforce their church’s vision. Though the church is still growing and averaging about 250 people in weekly attendance, their app has been downloaded nearly 600 times and has received close to 15,500 impressions.

Here’s what Nirup had to say about how their app has helped them move the message of the Gospel forward:

TCA: What goals are you aiming to accomplish with your app?

NA: We really want people to know what’s going on at our church, so we make full use of the Events feature and social integration so that people can stay connected to the life of our church. We just started using the app as a “program” of sorts so that as soon as people show up on Sundays they can open their app and know what that week’s service is going to look like.

TCA: How has your app added value to LifeGate Denver?

NA: The app is a great way for people to learn what we are about. We even market our app separately. It’s one of the first things I tell people about when I first meet them. When I tell them about our church, I tell them about the app right away. So many people are taken back by the quality of the app. In a city like Denver, where it is difficult to see the Gospel take root, it is so helpful to have a high-quality app to show to people who really value creativity and commerce.

TCA: What results have you seen through the app?

NA: Hundreds of people have downloaded our app. I get emails all of the time from people all over the world who have downloaded the LifeGate Denver app. It’s a really attractive aspect of our ministry.

TCA: Would you like to share any other comments about your app or the Subsplash Platform, and how you’re using it to engage your audience?

NA: I love the simple design of the Subsplash Dashboard. The push notifications are so helpful. I’ve always really appreciated the quality of customer service at Subsplash. Everyone always goes above and beyond to answer my questions and the support team are some of the most patient people in the world to talk with. They walk with you step by step.

I really appreciate that the Subsplash Dashboard allows you to create an app that is unique and customizable. The Subsplash Platform allows churches to showcase their personality. In the future, we hope to focus on getting more messages out on push notifications and take advantage of music, blogs, and other features as our church grows.
 

We love partnering with churches like LifeGate Denver and seeing how different ministries’ apps bless people all over the world. Learn more about The Church App and find out how a customized app can benefit your organization. We’d love to hear from you!

Best Practices Part 5: Events

By providing a visible and effective way to promote your events, the events tab enables your audience to easily discover and sign up for events directly from their devices. 

Events 

LifeGate Church has done a great job of integrating all the benefits the events tab has to offer. In addition to promoting your upcoming events, this feature also gives your audience the ability to save them directly to their iCalendar. By including a description, map location, contact information/sign ups, and more, having this tab in place enables your users to easily sign up and share events in your community.

Like sending out a push notification, the events tab gives you another effective way to increase awareness for your ministry's events.  Download LifeGate's app here to see it in action, and stay tuned for Part 6!

Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk

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If you’ve been searching for a mobile app with Christian insight for family and daily living, look no further - Dr. James Dobson’s Family talk has an app! Dr. Dobson's ministry is built around helping families engage with one another and our culture through biblical principles. Now, they have made that content more readily available than ever...

More than 30 years ago, Dr. James C. Dobson set out to support and secure Christian values for families in today's world.  What began with a radio program on a few stations in 1977 grew into a global broadcast phenomenon that was heard on thousands of stations in North America and more than 160 countries worldwide.

Continuing to hear God's call to ministry, National Radio Hall of Fame inductee, Dr. James Dobson now surges forward and continues his threefold passion of strengthening families, speaking into the culture and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. The centerpiece of the Family Talk ministry is the 30-minute radio broadcast, Family Talk with Dr. James Dobson strategically designed to reach the younger generation with a Judeo-Christian worldview of the family.

Launched in May of 2010 and aired on nearly 700 radio outlets, Family Talk also features Dr. Dobson's son, Ryan, an ordained minister, bestselling author and host of his own show Grounded with Ryan Dobson. Executive Producer LuAnne Crane joins the Dobsons on the air and brings her extensive training, perspective, and a unique touch to the Family Talk with Dr. James Dobson show.

Now, anywhere you roam you can listen to the Family Talk daily broadcast and have access to all of Dr. Dobson’s archived programs.  It’s America’s Family Counselor on-demand 24/7, when and where you need him!  Use the App to view video commentaries, get answers to your compelling questions with our Solid Answers tool, connect with Dr. Dobson via social media and hear from the voices of Family Talk as the staff provides weekly insights on topics that concern you!  It’s practical and inspirational family resources -absolutely FREE- and available for Android, iPhone, and iPad devices. Visit your App Marketplace to download today!

Click here to download!

Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk App was created with The Church App Platform by Subsplash. Here at The Church App, we want to see the Gospel shared to the ends of the earth. We do this by creating high-quality, customizable mobile apps for churches and ministries.

What Constitutes a "Good" App?

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I consider myself to be a relatively social person. However, there are plenty of times that I find myself stuck in awkward small talk with strangers. Generic weather comment, generic sports team comment, what do you do? This question more often than not leads itself to a slightly more entertaining back and forth. When I reveal that I work for a company that “creates mobile apps” the response I usually receive is “I have a great idea for an app!”.  The entrepreneurial culture of the US today leads everyone to believe that the next big idea is just around the corner. It is this kind of thinking, combined with ingenuity, that has started some of the world’s most profitable businesses. However, this thinking does not always lend itself to the best ideas. There is such a thing as a bad  app. Whether that means it is completely useless, devoid of interesting content, or poorly made and maintained, they are certainly out there.

What is it that makes an app successful? What is it that makes an app effective? There are several factors that should be taken into consideration when rating an app. First and foremost, does it bring anything new to the table? Is there something that is unique and sets it apart from other apps? With over 600,000 apps in the Apple App Store alone, this is very critical. If you can get the same content somewhere else and it’s easier to navigate, or more visually appealing, the app will lose its competitive edge.

The user experience of the app is of utmost importance. Using applications should be a delightful experience and should require minimal effort. Giving your audience the opportunity to access your content in a beautiful and simple way on their mobile device is the ultimate goal. Often times, mobile-friendly websites just don’t cut it, and that’s where the app steps in.

Lastly, it is incredibly important to have fresh new content being added and updated on a regular basis. You must give your user a reason to keep coming back to the app. There are countless times that I have downloaded an app that seemed interesting, only to realize that I would never actually use it. No one wants to suffer the fate of a being downloaded and subsequently being deleted right away. Games and news are the most popular app categories - news apps are constantly being updated with new articles and content, and games are just plain fun.

Everyone is beginning to take notice of mobile - and it’s here to stay. With each product launch, it is evident that one of the most significant and growing markets is the smartphone industry. Although there are plenty of ideas out there, a really good one can fall through the cracks sometimes without proper execution.

Here at Subsplash, we want everyone to keep dreaming and exercising their creativity. Do you have a great idea for an app? We’d love to hear it.