The Mobile Revolution and the Church

7:00am hits, phone alarm goes off. Eat breakfast and check Twitter for morning news. Play your favorite Spotify playlist on your morning commute. Check notifications on your lunch break. Pay for coffee with the Starbucks app. Text family about dinner plans. Watch the hilarious Jimmy Fallon video your friend sent. Snap a pic of the breathtaking sunset. And much more in-between.

Sound familiar? Maybe the details differ for everyone, but one thing is the same for us all: mobile has become woven into our daily lives. With mobile passing the TV as “America’s first screen”, and people spending almost 2.5 hours daily engaging with apps alone, content consumed on a mobile device isn’t something to brush off as a passing trend.

In fact, we say with confidence that mobile has become vital. With the revolution of apps, mobile devices can now sync our daily, necessary, and leisurely activities all in one control center. People are relying on their devices to consume and communicate what is useful, helpful, and empowering in their daily lives.

[Enter the Church] These are the people that make up your congregation. These are the people that are actively seeking how to use their devices in greater and better ways. These are the people that can greatly benefit from your church’s resources beyond the Sunday service. With the global reach of the app stores, churches and ministries now have an amazing opportunity to enter the space of mobile technology and use it to provide a vital function in their congregation’s daily lives: hearing the Gospel, and staying connected to Christ’s Church.

This is a call to action. An action that we’ve seen countless churches use to fulfill their mission to spread the good news of Jesus, and use technology to be an active presence in the lives of those they shepherd. From more app downloads than members in their congregation, to increases in sermon downloads, to increases in giving, we’ve seen churches like The Village Church, Elevation Church, Fresh Life, and many others find great success through The Church App Platform. By making sermon archives, blogs, push notifications, giving, and other resources instantly accessible, apps can help you meet your audience in their context, on their time.

Think about the people that work weekends and can’t make it to Sunday services. Think about those that need your pastor’s weekly blog post to encourage their spirits. Think about the people who will share sermons via their social channels and will reach their friends and families as a result.

While there are a lot of overwhelming and uncertain ramifications that may accompany the mobile revolution, we challenge you to look at the great and powerful ways technology can be used for good. Here at Subsplash, we are passionate about using technology and delightful design to help make the most of your Gospel content. We want to see the Gospel shared to the ends of the earth. With The Church App Platform you can easily create and manage your own mobile apps, putting your content in the hands of a wider audience. We’d love to help you get started.

How does The Church App work?

Curious how easy it is to build and manage an app with The Church App? Watch this.

In this short one minute video, we'll highlight some of the key elements of The Church App Platform. From learning how to build and manage your app in real time using our App Builder, to seeing those changes live in your apps across multiple platforms, to then seeing how your audience can share and enjoy that content.

Stories from The Church: ChangePoint

“I am completely sold. For us it’s a no-brainer. Our app is as important as the website and social media level... it’s part of our everyday life.”

-Adam Legg, ChangePoint Church

ChangePoint Church in Anchorage is doing some incredible things to share Jesus' name in the state of Alaska. I had the privilege of talking to Adam Legg , Creative Arts & Communications Pastor at ChangePoint, and let me tell you - Adam is such an encourager and it has been a total blessing to work with him and build relationship over the past two years. When Adam first began his (now full-time) role at the church several years ago, his first big risk as the Communications Pastor was getting their team on board with the idea of an app - and the results have been incredible.

Before the app, ChangePoint was averaging 1,200-1,500 downloads per week of their online messages. After the launch of the app, that number doubled in a matter of two months.  They are now averaging 6,000 downloads/week of their messages - wow!

ChangePoint is a church of roughly 2,500 people. In the two years since the app has launched ,it has been downloaded over 6,100 times, more than twice the amount of church attendance. Anchorage is a very transient town, and this trend has lent itself to church attendance as well. On any given Sunday, ChangePoint has only 2/3 of its core members, so it has made a huge impact that people are still able to be connected through the app. The hope and goal was 2,500 downloads, and that number was achieved and passed almost immediately - much to Adam’s surprise and delight.

ChangePoint has heard about some really unique stories that took place because of the app. "I have talked with people that have been relocating to Alaska and used the app to connect with us before they even got here, so when they arrived it already felt like their church home! I have talked with a number of people that travel often for work and use it to stay connected with their church family while they are away. I have talked to people that used the app on family vacations to listen to the Sunday messages that they missed" said Adam. They have seen story, after story, after story of how God has kept people connected. The mission of ChangePoint has always been “Life in Christ for every Alaskan and the world beyond”. Through the app, they have been able to reach people not only in Anchorage, but  also the rest of the world.

ChangePoint has also seen some very tangible benefits of the app in just the last two years. After four years of declining giving, ChangePoint has seen year over year giving increase in 10 out of the last 12 months.

Not only has giving increased, but costs have decreased. Before the app, ChangePoint was spending $27,000/year printing the weekly bulletin. Because just about everyone was bringing their smartphone to church, ChangePoint incorporated their bulletin into the app and subsequently reduced printing to $4,500/year–saving them over $22,500/year. The app has been “more than they ever expected” said Adam.

In closing, Adam’s last thoughts on The Church App platform were: “What I like most about The Church App is that you don’t have to have a dedicated tech person on staff to update it. It is so simple that I recommend it to everyone. It is easy to use, and fast. I am completely sold. For us it’s a no-brainer. Our app is as important as the website and social media level... it’s part of our everyday life.”

 Download the ChangePoint app here.

Redeemer Presbyterian: +100,000 Downloads

Redeemer

Most churches make it a goal to reach out and serve their cities and communities well. What does that look like when your church just so happens to be located in Manhattan? In the case of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, they actually formed out of a heart for serving the city instead of the other way around. In 1989, a group of 15 Christians were meeting as a home bible study group and were praying for an opportunity to start a church. By 1993, 400-500 people were meeting for church each Sunday, and Redeemer Presbyterian Church was thriving in the city center with Tim Keller as the Senior Pastor.

“While no one had doubted God's direction in establishing a new church in Manhattan, neither had anyone expected an authentic revival. But so it seemed. New believers were being added weekly, skeptics were thronging to the services, every decision seemed blessed, and God provided for every need, sometimes before we even knew we had it. From its first morning worship service, Redeemer has grown to an average Sunday attendance of around 4500 per week, although it would be more accurate to say that there are about double that number who attend on a regular basis. Sunday services are held in different locations around the city and many ministries have been developed to address human needs in the city. ”

As our culture has become most readily accessible on mobile, Redeemer knew that was exactly where they needed to be. In 2011, Redeemer built the Redeemer Presbyterian App with The Church App Platform. Since the launch in 2011, they have just recently passed 100,000 downloads.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Cregan Cooke, Director of Communications and Media at Redeemer, about their experience using The Church App Platform. The app was originally intended to be just another channel to get content out, and the actual results "have been far beyond what was expected" said Cooke. Not only has Redeemer's visibility been extended significantly in the tri-state area, but the impact both nationally and internationally has been really tangible. Redeemer has also seen a “significant savings by printing fewer bulletins” said Cooke, as their organization and congregation utilizes the full potential of the app. "There has been a very positive reaction to the app, and Tim (Keller) really likes the app and has been excited about the impact."

Inside the Redeemer App users are able to access hundreds of Redeemer's free sermons, the Redeemer Report monthly newsletter, Sunday worship bulletins, and a customized bible reading plan, among many other things.

Download the Redeemer Presbyterian App here.

The Church App: Now on Windows Phone!

We’ve got great news! We have added a new operating system to The Church App Platform and we are now pleased to announce that you can extend your mobile app presence to Windows Phone and the Windows Phone Store!

Windows Phone is on pace to gain a significant segment of the smartphone market within the next few years. Trailing Android and iOS, the Windows Phone platform has been picking up steam and has nearly doubled its market share in just a few months! It has been receiving rave reviews from fans and critics alike. You may have seen the new Lumia 920 from Nokia as well as the HTC 8X. Both phones are stunning and demonstrate how Windows Phone presents content impressively.

Windows Phone. Seriously Awesome.

• Vibrant: Windows Phone is vibrant, rich, and powerful. Your content will be presented in a bold new way.
• Early advantage: Although there are already millions of users, there are relatively few apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace which means you have more of an opportunity to reach people by being one of the first to get your app published in the store.
• Powerful and Beautiful devices:  The Nokia Lumia 920 won Engadget's Smartphone of the Year and Gizmodo's Best Smartphone Camera.